Bit of a newbie and need some help with Coastals and Jungles

[c.wulli]

So im tossing up wether to get a second snake or not, I currantly have a Stimsons Python.

I need to know some things about both Jungle pythons, Bredl's Pythons and Costal Pythons, these are what im tosing up between for my second snake.

First, how big do they both get, on average? and which common locales are which average size? Oh, and are females or males bigger?

I have an enclosure that is 100cm x 60cm x 60cm, made of wood and has sliding front glass windows.

Would this be big enough to house either an adult jungle, adult bredli or adult costal?


Thanks very much for anyones contribution in advance!


Curdin

 

[The_Geeza]

Jungle yes... Coastal no... There is plenty of info on the site or internet for u to make your own des decision on this 1

 

[Amynickid]

I own a Jungle and he, Anarchy is known to bite randomly, he has calmed down a lot since being a hatchy and he's only a year and two months old, already almost 1.5m XD Jungle Carpet Pythons ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF THE MOST SKITTISH AND DEFENSIVE sub species. But he was my first snake and still is. with the snake your looking at buying it is completely up to you owning a hatchy was a amazing experience but i only ever plan to now buy them at breeding size and age. But it's definietly worth the none stop bites from a baby, for the joys of having him/her grow up slowly or quickly. Make sure you dont over feed or under feed. tehy should be fed once a week with 25-39% of therer body weight in rats or mice, quial, chicks etc.

Jungles generally prefer mice. so getting mine onto rats was not really difficult just frustrating and time consuming. now he smashes them down with ease. And he will soon be on small adult rats. he is on sub adults atm.

With the nice dad and mean mum, it doesnt matter its all about the individual snakes personality.. no human is the same. neither are animals. honestly research alot! it helps to ahve people around you who own pythons and have for a while also while u first start out. as i did for the first 9months. which helped alot.

heating: heating is extremely important. i recomend het cords or heat mats and a thermostat... NO HEAT ROCKS. they can and will damage your snake. and have the thermostat set to 32 degrees. thats how I have mine and its perfect.

bedding: to start with start with just news paper. easy to clean. but as the snake leaves his hatchy stage and starts his yearling stage.. almost a year old to over a year i strongly suggest repti bark, critter crumble, aspen bedding or newspaper if you wanna be boring.. NO SAND. NO GARDEN SOIL....

I use repti bark as it suits his jungle theme more with the enclosure.... sorry i bet yoou have noticed my slow decline in typing skills, i just wanna get as much info out as possible as quick as possible, sorry.


enclosure: for first 6-9months. if its a hatchy.. or a tub if older. (use it as basically quarantine, doing this will be able to make u watch ur snake closely amke sure he she is not sick and clean things easily if he is)..... use a click clack container.. like the tupper wear ones... or a tub from bunnings type thing.drill holes into it for air.... THEY NEED A HIDE this can be a purchased hide from pet store or just a cardboard box/plant pot etc. the hide goes on top of the heat spot... do not heat the whole enclosure only about 1/4 or 1/3 of it, and the hide needs to be located on that. this proviedes safety, warmth, darkness and security.

A jungle python, obviously comes from naturally a jungle habitat. so it was my best interest to set my enclosure up as decently as possible to look like a jungle. with the click clack container dont worry so much, just have something small for him/her to climb on, water bowl, heat, hide and he will be happy... with a tub.. put some sticks in. i had a stick in the click clack container suspended through it and drilled into place well screwed. give them more to play with... for a hatchy (baby) a hide could also be a toilet role tube for a month. XD

feeding: already talked about it. but best buy yourrself some feeding tongs. so they dont accidently miss and bite you. snake bites are preventable. not always but with things like that yes....

handling: never move quickly around them... scares them.... may end up with bite. most snakes hate there head being touched so avoid it, im slowly trying to just touch my snakes head without being bite it works but im still weary.... handling with confidence is key. and seriously if u wanna own a python... expect to be bite. its what they do. jsut like a dog nibbles and mawls and a ****ing cat scratches and kills poor animals...never apprach them face first always try get them from behind never head straight towards their face, try look arond and grab their body. do not restrain them with holding back of head unless neccesary.... do not play with them trhough glass as they may strike glass and hurt themselves.. for eg. tooth may end up piercing there lip. or worse. broken jaw etc.

for first week or two regardlesss of age or sizeof snake when u buy it.. leave him or her alone.. try feeding after a week. this gives them time to settlle. and then two days later start trying to handle. i say two days after feeding becaause you should never handle a snake within tw days of him her feeding.... could cause major problems and death if snake regurgitates food... i never got myself a snake hook bcos i want mine to be able to be handled so i always just braved it out aand went in with hands. but even the nicest snakes can get grumpy some days... remember this.


ummm.. im tried atm. if u need any help message me or comment. this is all i can think of atm... oh and my python loves playing in the garden or in a small tree. just make sure your with them within aa metre at all times if u let em roam around house or garden. so u dont loose, hurt or something or someone else doesnt hurt them. for example in garden or outside, cats. birds etc etc can hurt them....

but with jungles they are known for bitey personality. but hey if i can do it you can. he only bites randomly now. and in all honesty its due to me accidently scaring him, pushing my luck, or pure accident, or me just being careless while rumaging around his enclosure.


this info may not make sense some of it because it was my advice to another person wanting a jungle. so disregard anything that seems like im talking to someone else if any...

coastals are the largest of the three sub species... jungles are most snappy stereotypical but depends on the snake really and how its raised. that enclosre should be fine for a adult jungle and i think bredlis roughly get same or a bit bigger. never heard of a jungle being bigger than 1.9m... mine though is 1year and two months old and already a metre and a half almost

 

[The_Geeza]

Bredli get way bigger than jungles

 

[c.wulli]

okay! Well I think ill tough out the attitude problems that i might come across and look for a nice vibrant looking Jungle! Thanks for your help [MENTION=29458]The_Geeza[/MENTION] and [MENTION=38711]Amynickid[/MENTION]

 

[damian83]

You could always get a coastal and just upgrade the enclosures in 5 years amd get another snake again

 

[The_Geeza]

okay! Well I think ill tough out the attitude problems that i might come across and look for a nice vibrant looking Jungle! Thanks for your help @The_Geeza and @Amynickid

Not all jungles r bad... But u welcome to come found and handle my new addition female palmy if u like.... She not a people kinda snake

 

[pythongirl1]

I too started with a Stimson and have bought 2 bredli's 1yo female & 2yo male. They have a great temperament and being so young the female strikes if something moves too fast for her liking but the male is great. I got them undersized so they're currently in a 2foot by 1foot enclosure but as they grow i'll upsize enclosures. Definitely recommend Bredli's!

 

[CrystalMoon]

I have a Julatten & Palmerston Jungle, I really didnt think they would lose their defensiveness. At 2 years of age they are pretty good to handle, The Palmerston is still a little tetchy but the Julatten is very placid now. My Coastals have always handled like a dream, they and my Bredli are and will always be larger than my Jungles. What you keep really has to be your choice, just because a Python is smaller or bigger than another variety doesnt necessarily mean they will be more placid. I have had wonderful experiences with Coastals and very nearly gave up on my Jungle's. Time, experience, research and APS members have helped me become the keeper I am today(not perfect, but no longer a danger to Pythons and Mankind lol)
I wouldn't put any of the Pythons you've suggested in the enclosure(dimensions of above)at adult size as they are arboreal/semi arboreal and would need a higher dimension of enclosure(just what I would consider for my own reptiles) the Coastals and Bredli's will grow between 8-9 ft on average so 100cm in length for a full grown is still a little cosy. As Damian suggested you could always upgrade to another enclosure and put a new addition in that one lol.

 

[Vengeance]

Honestly, go with the animal you like the best. If size matters, Jungles are probably on the shorter end of the snake size spectrum as far as carpet pythons go. Depending on which state you are in, NSW has a Code of Practice that calls for certain enclosure sizes (with arboreal species, the dimensions are counted from the back wall, not the floor).

The following only applies if you are in NSW: The shortest side of an enclosure shouldn't be shorter than 20% of the length of the snake residing in it. Therefore by that reckoning, you could house a snake up to 300cm long. However, taking into account the 100cm dimension mentioned, you would be able to legally house any class A, B or C adult python up to 300cm in length going by the NSW Code of Practice for Reptile Keeping. Although if the height is 60cm and you wish to house an arboreal species, the enclosure size would only be suitable for a class A or class B adult python. Jungles are class C while Coastals and Bredli are class D. For anything under 18 months old, that enclosure sounds like a great size, although if you are getting a hatchling, you'll likely end up starting out with a click clack style tub as large open areas may encourage a hatchling to go off its food as it may not feel secure. Placing plenty of hides may mitigate this.

I've got a Black and Gold Jungle and he's the calmest snake in the household (there's another B&G Jungle and an albino Darwin). However, he was also the most defensive hatchling out of the snakes we have to the point of it being a surprise if he didn't bite during a handling session. None of our snakes are aggresive. They have only bitten when acting in self defence, or if hungry. With the defensive bites, it was a matter of allowing the snake to get used to being handled, moving slowly, holding the snake with confidence, etc. With the feed response bites, upgrading food size solved that issue. Whichever snake you go for, be confident with handling the animal. Handle a few times a week to allow the python to adjust to you, maybe even leave an article of clothing with your scent in its enclosure. Chances are the snake will mellow with age, although there are snakes out there that are natural born demons regardless of species. All the best with whatever carpet you end up choosing.

Edit: Had a bit of a brain fart there, realised I have my math wrong. I was calculating the side wall dimensions of 60cm by 60cm for some odd reason and not the back wall dimensions of 100cm by 60cm. Technically, you could house a class C python in an enclosure of the mentioned size. Although a carpet python would appreciate a taller, rather than wider enclosure. Personally, I house mine in a enclosure that is 120cm high, 90cm long and 60cm deep.

 

[Amynickid]

its fine

 

[c.wulli]

[MENTION=37419]Vengeance[/MENTION] thank you! That was very helpful information about the cage size! Greatly appreciated!

 

[Vengeance]

Glad to be of assistance, although I am only quoting the Code of Practice, interesting read if you are a resident of NSW (found here: Code of practice for the private keeping of reptiles | NSW Environment & Heritage). I do not have any adult pythons, so cannot speak from experience for how large they grow. I went for an enclosure size that was well over the minimum CoP enclosure size in the event adjustments are made to it. Caine utilises every bit of area within the enclosure that he can reach, so it's not necessarily wasted room.

The good thing is that with snakes, their enclosure sizes can be changed with growth. Hatchling, 5-7ltr tub. Yearling, larger tub or enclosure. Adult, bigger tub again or enclosure. That generally gives you a year from obtaining the snake as a hatchling to purchase or build an enclosure for an adult sized snake. I third damian83's comment, although if you're in NSW it'll be more like 18months and not 5 years.

 

[tyewall]

I think a diamond would suit a second snake. My first snake was a stimpsons then I got a diamond and never could of gone wrong now have and adult and sub adult diamond. Both handle amazing and smash food