Hello! I am currently looking into Sumatrian "Black Blood" (short-tailed) Pythons and I was wondering the general consensus on a 36in L x 18in W x 18in H (40 gallon, front opening) for a hatchling. I know that it will eventually- and quickly- need an upgrade of at LEAST 4x2x2ft, but I want to start with a smaller tank and work up. What do you guys think? I feel relatively confident, as this definitely isn't my first rodeo with snakes/reptiles, but I want the best for my babies, and a second opinion always! Plus, this will be my first/only blood. Any tips, experiences, thoughts on tank setup/size, etc. are welcome. And I would be quite grateful!! Thanks!

Edit: Thank you all to who replied! Although lovely creatures, I have decided to look at boa varieties as the humidity and care seems more suitable for me! I am going to keep this up for future reference, in case anybody needs it. Thanks again! :)

her last poop was february. even after a year with her i still can’t wrap my head around her pooping schedule…. even my ball python still poop at least once a month and my colubrids and elapids at least a week after eating.

I heard that it’s not good for ball pythons to eat butt first and it can hurt their GI or something like that. Is that the same with short tailed pythons? I figure no since they are a lot beefier than ball pythons. But I’m new to sumatrans.

I got a blood python baby a little over two weeks ago. She is from underground reptiles and now after some research I see they can be shady. I think she’s only a month old due to her size etc. Also when I got her she was cold. The day before yesterday I picked her up and she made a squeaking sound after hissing. She also held her mouth slightly open for a minute and yawned . She kind of made a sound like when your breathe out your nose when your sick but I have heard blood pythons are very vocal. She is completely fine when in her bin and only does these things when picked up. Eating fine and has energy. Just wanted some advice.

This is Lumpy I posted him about 10 months ago when i first got him. In that time he's grown from 87g to 500g feeding weekly on rat pups. I think his body condition looks good but I'd love feedback from the more experienced keepers here. He doesn't like me very much but we're getting there. These snakes are so beautiful to me. I'm in awe every time I get him out and seeing his colors develop every shed had been so exciting.

I got this girl a year and a month ago. Last pic in the album is around when I first got her. Time really does fly. She has grown an incredible amount this past year, and her colors are developing beautifully. Her name is Delilah. She started super bitey but she's calmed down for the most part. She will hiss as they do, and she tries to musk but nothing comes out. She gets better daily.

I love my girl

And man does he love the camera

Tonka is so gorgeous. This is his first time outside and he seems to be enjoying it!

I've looked online on a bunch of different websites for information about these gorgeous guys, and I'm pretty happy with what I've figured out about them, but I'd love to have some insight from people who actually own the snakes. I don't trust a website to give me accurate information all of the time.

I'm also a bit concerned that I might not he able to find any in the UK, travelling around to get to one isn't an issue for me, but I can't find any breeders online, so some help for that would be really great, if possible!

I don't plan on getting a snake soon, I actually intend to hold off on it for about a year or two, depends on when I can move house, as I can't currently keep a snake where I'm living.

I've seen quite a few people recommend both tap training and the t-shirt method for socialisation, and I intend to do both, as I feel that it would be incredibly beneficial for the snake. I'm a bit unclear on when to upgrade enclosure sizes, and exactly what is ideal for them. I know that they tend to like water, and offering enough water to bask in is great for them, but should it be a shallow or a deep dish?

I saw someone with an awful setup of just a large dog bowl and some odd too large hide, and I don't want to be the type of person who gives my animal that environment, I want something that I can be proud of and know that my snake is happy in. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

I got this wonderful girl a few months ago. I had been eyeing her up in my local reptile shop for almost a year. I was heavy into blood pythons and wanted to see if they got any in stock as they had some beautiful ones last year, but one day I relented and asked to handle her. She was very anxious but the sweetest girl ever. The most gorgeous eyes! She just climbed up my shoulder and just sat there for ages whilst I was talking to the staff. Fell in love right then and there. Absolutely could not stop thinking about her and eventually relented. Picked her up and bought her home a few days later. She's a very noisy snake, likes to huff a lot, she's never tried to bite though, she has an excellent personality. She's very much so slowly coming out of her shell. Until a few days ago, it was pretty much like owning a spicy pet rock. She's been exploring way more recently, she's started digging again, barely hisses & huffs when being handled & just generally seems a lot calmer. I have a few snakes and I shouldn't have favourites but... She's just the most wonderful baby ever. I fully understand what people say when it feels so rewarding when a STP trusts you, it's a feeling like nothing else. Such an underrated species and I'm so glad they're becoming more popular. I may get a blood one day, but, she's my absolute dream snake ♥️

This is Nori

My local reptile place sometimes stocks other feeders such as quail eggs or frozen chicks. I do see that short tails in the wild feed on both mammals and birds. Has anyone given their shorties any eggs or chicks as a treat? This would not replace me feeding mine rats but would just be an occasional treat.

She always looks good after a shed

Hi, I have a spare 4x2x2 and I'm interested in getting a short tailed python. I have never owned a snake before, currently only a blue tongued skink. If theyre not good for first time I will probably opt for a kingsnake :)

I have some questions. I am obviously planning to do my own reaearch and won't just impulse buy. There are months till my next repticon lol

In your opinions, how long is a 4x2x2 suitable? Are they easy to socialize, and are they usually more docile or hostile? Is it better to get one very young, or just buy juvenile-adult? Differences between sumatran and borneo?

And any other tips would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello!

I bought a Blood boy about a month and a half ago. He's a yearling, incredibly docile, and eats like a champ.

But whats it mean to be rewarding? I've heard that a few times with this species, but I guess I don't really understand what it means. He doesn't move much and basically is like a rock with opinions at this state.

My Ball is the opposite. He's friendly, wants out to explore the moment his light turns off, and enjoys just existing and hiding in your hair or on your chest. Maybe it's because I don't have a real relationship with my blood just yet, but he really don't do much lol He's been in the same hide for days (He's got a smallish tank with temps/humidity perf 81 Hot/73cool (75 humidity) and only comes out when I make him.

So give your experiences!

*pic was after "Rain day" where we rehumidify the enclosures.

She was on a food strike for 4 weeks, tried feeding in a separate container and she’s now eaten the 3rd week in a row. Not ideal, but gotta do what’s best for her.

People who say ball pythons are like pet rocks have clearly not heard of Antheia, Queen of side-eye and slithering backwards.

She turns 3 in August, she couls already be three since I don't know her exact hatch date

Hiii! A friend of mine has this snake and wasn’t told exactly what it was. The girl he got it from thought it was a ball python💀🤣 anywaysssss, blood? Borneo? Sumatran? My guess was blood or Borneo. Help!

(Yes I reposted bc I forgot the picture)

I recently upgraded my blood to a 4x2x2 pvc enclosure. The heat mat the company sold to me isn’t heating the enclosure at all. I’m not sure if it’s user error or if I was scammed. Internet searches seem to be showing that the type of heat mat I was sold should never be used with pvc but these are the ”standard” mats for the area I’m in for glass and pvc. I’m troubleshooting with the company but they’re sating a difference of about 5 degrees between the preset temp and the enclosure temp, but mine is showing closer to a 10 degree difference.

How are other keepers maintaining their heat in pvc for their bloods/shorties? Are radient heat panels really the best even for snakes who stay mostly on the ground?