Antaresia behavior

[Celea]

Hi there fellow herpers! I have been really interested in Antaresias (especially A. childreni) for a while but I haven't found any information about their general behavior and activity level.

So, are they snappy or tame? I heard that A. childreni can be more aggressive than A. maculosa, is this true? How much your Antaresias move around in the tank? And do they sleep and spend time hiding?

Thank you very much for your answers!

 

[dickyknee]

They tend to hide under substrate / paper most of the time , they are certainly not the best display snake .
At night they may venture out for a look around , but they will spend the vast majority of their time hiding away.
As with all snakes , some may bite but at the size a childreni will get to it wont hurt to much.

 

[Octane]

I have several antaresia and they definately spend most of their time hiding. If you want something to watch I would consider dragons or small monitors.
I would add some to the collection but the other half gets creeped out by herps with legs (some weird phobia about them jumping on her or something oh and the live food thing also).

Regards
Octane

 

[AirCooled]

I have 1 x 7 year old A. maculosa and 2 x 7 month olds,all unrelated,all different personalities.My best one is one of the 7 month olds,followed by the adult,then the other 7 month.Hard not to play favourites sometimes.

 

[cadwallader]

I have several antaresia and they definately spend most of their time hiding. If you want something to watch I would consider dragons or small monitors.
I would add some to the collection but the other half gets creeped out by herps with legs (some weird phobia about them jumping on her or something oh and the live food thing also).

Regards
Octane

haha my miss hates lizards too, but i still snuck 3 ackies home one night
i have 6 antaresia all different fluff hardly never hinds siting on her fake wall all day and night, others hind 24/7 and in between. Generally childreni are better then maculosa but all depends on a snake i have a jungle that the BIGGEST softly so just talk to the breeder before buying and let him know that you want one thats tame or not...

 

[leviathan]

i have a coastal and a spotted, my coastal is very shy and u very rarely see her our but she handles like a dream, my spotted on the other hand is SUPER active he is always moving around his enclosure, 90% of the time he is moving around when i walk by the enclosure. hes a great snake to watch, but am having problems when it comes to handling as he is a psycho haha. i think any snake of any species can be either tame as a pussy cat or a complete devil of a thing.

 

[FAY]

I am a big fan of childreni. I have the four species of antaresia. I find that my childreni are the nicest of all. No, they aren't over active and hide a lot,which actually suits me as I have too many to have to give them a lot of attention, but when I open their door they come out and want to crawl all over me. Maybe I just have very well adjusted ones. LOL

 

[Grogshla]

A.Stimsoni are a very docile snake and roughly the same size as A.Childreni.
I have a 6 month old Stimsoni and it is so calm and loves to explore. Very beautiful snake

 

[Nighthawk]

It really does depend on the snake. One of my childreni are incredibly shy and hides all the time, but once out it's like nailing jelly to a wall getting him back in, another would rather sit on top of her hide than in it, and another falls in between the two. They're all pretty friendly though,one of my males is the literal rubber snake (has never bitten, not that the fact makes me complacent but he's an absolute joy to handle), my female snappy when she's hungry but otherwise a dream. Kind of like me lol

 

[Renenet]

I don't have any direct experience with childreni or maculosa, but I can say my six-month-old stimmie is a lovely snake. This seems to be true of stimmies in general. Mine has never been scared of me, even at the beginning. Placid and inquisitive, she loves to come out for a wander, though winter seems to have put her off regular excursions. And fair enough. In winter I like it where it's warm too.

Her tendency to hide seems to be related to the weather - if it's cold she spends more time in her hide or under her paper. During summer she preferred to roam her enclosure. She will also hide when coming up to a shed, but most snakes of any species will do that. When she is older she may brumate in the cooler months of the year.

Having said that, all snakes are individuals. You can use species temperaments as a guide but there will always be variations upon a theme and the occasional individual that marches to the beat of its own drum. If you're really keen on getting one with a good temperament, see if you can handle before you buy.

 

[Naga_Kanya]

My Stimmie is an explorer. Everyone told me I'd never see him and he'd be boring, but he's the most 'on display' of my snakes. Very friendly, too.

 

[Black.Rabbit]

My Pygmy is extremely docile and curious, he does hide under his paper towel but come night time he is out and about exploring.

Then again, a mate of mine had a childrens who would strike at them any time they walked past the enclosure... They ended up selling to cos it was freaking her kid out.

You can't really pick it... I'd say woma's are generally known to have a more placid nature....

 

[SYNeR]

My Stimson python is the most placid animal I've come across. I've heard of others who have agro snakes, though. So it comes down to the individual animal. Being my first snake, I got one of the keepers at Snake Ranch to find me a placid snake from the list of Stimmies I was choosing from.

Agreed that generally they hide away - but my Stimson python has been out heaps in the day time over the last few days. He has either been perched up on top of his hide in the warm end, or coiled around the top of the buddha statue in the cool end.

My Stimmie is an explorer. Everyone told me I'd never see him and he'd be boring, but he's the most 'on display' of my snakes. Very friendly, too.

Yep, mine is the same. A lot of the time (especially at night -- even though his light is still on) he explores, especially on the front glass panels. When you open the enclosure, he's quite eager to come out and crawl up your arm. He's very inquisitive.

 

[Defective]

hmmm, i have to say, Keiko is a wee baby and loves to hide under the bark in her enclosure BUT...when i get her out she's extremely inquisitive and into just about everything...like a small child really, mostly she just explores me but if i'm at the computer she loves the keyboard.

 

[Ashleen]

I have two childreni and have had them for about a week and a few days now there about 5-6 months old and one of them, the smaller one who is a female loves to come out and explore and once i put her back in she just wants to get out and explore
but the male who is larger is a bit harder to handle, he seems to all of a sudden move really quickly at times and then slows down and gets scared easily but they hardly ever strike at me and are always under the paper towel, but i guess it really depends on the snake itself and its personality.

 

[Celea]

Thank you all for your answers! It really doesn't matter to me if the snake is snappy, I don't tend to handle my herps very much. My corn snake is extremely placid and my african house snake is just shy so some attitude would actually be appreciated . Of course it would be great if the snake was on display at least a bit but Antaresias are so pretty and interesting that I don't think shyness will stop me

 

[GeckoRider]

I want to get one of these snakes

 

[graphitebeans]

I take it you're in the states or UK? I have a maculosa and he's fantastic - bitey, but also is out creeping around his enclosure as often as not now that summer is here! Likes to sit coiled through my fingers (I never realized how flexible my hands were until I got a snake)


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