Children's Python

This page is educational reference material for preparing questions. A licensed veterinarian examines the animal, makes the diagnosis, and sets the treatment.

A small python with an old name

Children's pythons, Antaresia childreni, are the little brown pythons of northern Australia. Adults are about 2.5 to 4 feet and often live 20 to 30 years. A captive-bred animal is calm enough for a first snake. A wild one is not, and you should not have one.

They need a secure cage with a warm side in the upper 80s, a cool side in the 70s, and a water bowl. Humidity can sit near ordinary room levels, with a moist hide at shed time. They use a branch and they also sit on the floor. A 40-gallon or a 3-foot tub suits an adult. Hatchlings are tiny and do better in a small tub until they are eating reliably. The species is nocturnal enough that a red night check shows more snake than a noon visit.

Mice, and a long clock

Thawed mice are the diet. They can be eager. Tong-feed so a strike hits the mouse. Australian wildlife law is why the legal pets are captive-bred descendants, not new wild exports. Spotted pythons are the close relative with their own page. Pattern and adult size differ. Do not assume the care sheet is interchangeable in every detail, even though both are small Antaresia.

A snake that stops eating and looks thin needs the not-eating guide and a vet from ARAV.

Children's python questions

Are Children's pythons pets for kids?

The name comes from John George Children, a museum naturalist. The snake is small and often calm. A child still should not be the only keeper of a 20-year animal.

How big do they get?

A typical adult is 2.5 to 4 feet. That is a real adult, not a hatchling size that stays put.

What do they eat?

Thawed mice, sized to the snake. They are rodent eaters.