Common name(s):
Borneo Short-Tailed Python
Latin name: Python curtus breitensteini.
Native to: Peninsular (Western) Malaysia, Sumatra east of the central
dividing range of mountains, Bangka Island and other islands in the Strait
of Malacca, including the Lingga islands, Riau islands, and Pinang. Most
blood pythons in US collection are from central Sumatra.
Adult size: 4/6 feet
Life Span: Over 20 Years But Much More In Captivity
Eggs or young: average clutch 18-30 eggs.
Appearance: This is a heavy
bodied snake. Short and stout probably best describes them. Females usually
reach an average of 4 - 5 feet. Males are usually smaller, averaging 3
- 4 feet. There are of course some specimens that can reach up to 6 feet.
These are usually older females whose weight usually exceeds 30 -35 pounds.
There is a natural color variation in this species. The head is usually
pale yellowish - brown to pale brown. The eyes are orange and they swivel.
Yes swivel. It is so neat the way they follow you around. The dark elements
on the body are light brown to tan to a real dark brown. Sometimes these
will have a black or just a very dark margin. The pale patterns on the
body are cream to yellow and the sides are usually pale brown. some specimens
have cream to yellow markings on the side as well. To date there are no
reports of albino or other hypomelanistic traits. There have been however,
reports of hypermelanistic conditions.
What does it eat? Borneo babies readily feed on mice. Small mice
that are just weaned would be prefered. They can also feed on rat pups.
What I do is provide a humid hide box for them to lay around in. In the
wild, Blood pythons are often found at night sitting in a pool of water
waiting for animals to come and drink. they are a sit and wait type of
hunter. As they get older they need to move up to bigger prey such as
rats. Bigger specimens can also take down rabbits. They should readily
take down frozen thawed food as well. After the food item has thawed heat
it up by running hot water over it. It is also not advisable to feed any
snake in its enclosure. If this is done routinely the snake will strike
at anything entering its enclosure.
Ease of care: Not really a
beginner snake. The keeper should have some experience with boids. A large
tame Blood python might not be the largest python but they are still impressive
animals with great strength.
Temperament:Borneo's do have
variable temperaments however; most can be quite calm and docile, while
others can be a bit high-strung.
Cage set up: A ten gallon aquarium is perfectly suitable for baby
borneos. But as this python gets larger and larger, a more suitably sized
enclosure will be needed. Even though this is not one of the larger Pythons
like the burmese or a retic, people often fail to provide it with an adequately
sized enclosure. To avoid ilness and other complications these animals
need to be able to stretch out as well as be able to turn in their enclosures.
Adults will need about 5 square feet of space to live comfortably. If
you can provide an even bigger enclosure, then the animal will be that
much happier.
The important thing to remember when providing caging for a blood python , or indeed any short-tailed python , is to be guided by the animal's weight , not its comparatively small size . The cage needs to be as big as it would be for a thinner-bodied python of an equal weight . Make sure that the cage is long enough for your short-tailed python to stretch out almost its full lenght , and broad enough so it can turn around . Being able to strech out seems to help avoid the respiratory infections that are chronic problems with blood pythons.
Temperature: Borneo Short tailed Pythons should be kept in the mid 80's. In fact they would do better if kept with a temperature gradient. On one side of the enclosure being warm and the otherside cooler. the warm side should be around 85 - 90 and the cool side around 79- 81. But these are just guidelines. Your temperature settings can be different but they have to be close to these figures. Also try not to expose your Bornoe to temperatures cooler than 75. As far as humidity is concerned, it should be kept at around 65% to 75%. Around shed time I increase my humidity to 80 - 85%.
Substrate: Newspaper is fine. It is easy to clean up. The only thing is it is not very aesthetic. Another fine substrate with ease of maintenace would be paper towels. Other substrates also include carpet, cypress bark chips, potting soil, gravel and peat moss. I find the aformentioned substrates to be difficult to maintain. What I am currently using are extra wee wee pads we had when we were training the dogs. These wee wee pads are available in your local pet store. They are also easily attainable in the health care profession. These wee wee pads are the blue diaper things that have a plastic bottom and a cloth top. They are albe to hold moisture and also keep your cage from getting dirt all over it. When you need more humidity, these are great because you can pour the water right over them. And when it is time to clean up, just pick up and throw away. I also place a heating pad underneath the wee wee pads. This also helps to put even more humidity in the animals enclosure. When I used newspapers and other substrates I had problems keeping the humidity up.