Blood Python Care Sheet

Blood pythons (Python brongersmai) are an interesting breed of snakes, named after the red and orange colouration that is common for these species. They are heavy-bodied like other pythons, but only reach up to around 6ft in length, putting them firmly in the middle of the pack size-wise. They do have a reputation of being quite defensive, but we have found that with proper handling and patience, they do tame down quite well.

Blood python requires a wooden vivarium as their enclosure. This is because wood is an excellent insulator of heat, and so a wooden vivarium will make it easier to control the crucial temperatures required inside the habitat. Other enclosures, such as glass terrariums, are far too efficient at releasing heat. The wooden vivarium should have good ventilation to allow air flow in and out of the enclosure.

The blood python's vivarium should be at least 48" in length. There are 2 main reasons for this; firstly, blood pythons are not small reptiles and can easily grow to 4-6ft in length. They require a proportionate amount of space to live happily. Secondly, the vivarium needs to have a sufficient length to allow for the creation of a temperature gradient. The enclosure needs to be warm at one end, but have enough distance for the temperature to drop at the cool end.

Blood pythons require a warm basking area but a near-constant air temperature. A basking area of 88°f is created by using a ceramic heat emitter. These radiate heat but produce no light. This bulb should be protected with a bulb guard and controlled by a good-quality thermostat. This temperature can remain constant day and night, so there is no need to turn off your heating equipment. Temperatures should be monitored daily using a thermometer.

To light the enclosure, we would use LED bulbs. These can be on for 10-12 hours a day, but should be turned off at night to ensure the snake gets a good day/night cycle.

Blood Pythons do not require UVB to use the calcium in their diet like other reptiles, but it is still a beneficial addition to the enclosure. The snake would naturally be exposed to UV from sunlight in the wild, and as we are trying to emulate nature in our enclosures, we recommend providing some UVB.

A 2-5% T5 UVB tube or a more powerful but smaller unit should be sufficient. The UV tube should be mounted to the ceiling at the back of the enclosure to provide a light gradient running parallel to the temperature gradient. There will be times when the snake will want less or no UVB, so partial and full hiding spots should be placed all along the width of the enclosure.

Blood pythons should always be kept on a dry substrate so not to increase the humidity inside the vivarium. Whilst any loose substrate has the potential to be accidentally swallowed, we have found this to not be a problem with coarse beech woodchips and that is what we keep our blood pythons on. It is also very easy to clean.

Whilst blood pythons are not an arboreal snakes, they do like to climb on top of things to survey their surroundings. The vivarium should be decorated with various pieces of wood to enable them to do this.

The blood python vivarium can be decorated with artificial plants for a more natural look. A hiding spot at each end of the enclosure will allow the snake to move freely and thermoregulate without feeling insecure.

As hatchlings, blood pythons should be fed weekly on defrosted pinky mice, as the snake grows the food size should be increased until the snake is taking either extra-large mice or small rats. Adult blood pythons can be fed once every two weeks as they can become overweight if fed weekly.

A water bowl large enough for the snake to get into should be used, provided it does not raise the humidity in the enclosure too much.

If you keep a male and female together, they may breed. You do not need to do anything to encourage this, providing they are healthy and the conditions are good, it will happen naturally. You need to consider whether you want this to happen. What will you do with the babies if you incubate the eggs?

A gravid female should have access to a nesting box to lay her eggs. The box should be large enough that she can fully turn around inside it. We use moss to keep the box moist and humid.

The eggs should be incubated in an incubator at 84oF. We incubate our eggs in sealed boxes on a moisture-rich substrate (such as Hatchrite) to trap the humidity around the eggs. After approximately 60 days the eggs will start to hatch, the first babies to emerge will encourage the rest of the eggs to hatch.

Blood Pythons, as with most pets, require a clean environment to thrive. We recommend a spot clean as often as possible (every day) and a full clean every 4 weeks or so. If you are keeping the snake in a bioactive enclosure, you can spot clean and monitor the enclosure. It may still be a good item to change out the bedding a few times per year

. When cleaning the enclosure, you should remove your animal, all decorations, and all of the bedding. Once the enclosure is clear, you can spray it all over with a reptile-friendly disinfectant. These usually work very quickly and only need to be left for around 30 seconds. Instructions can normally be found on the disinfectant packaging. Once the disinfectant has done its work, it can be wiped away from the surfaces with a paper towel. In some cases, you might want to repeat this process a second time to ensure that the enclosure is thoroughly cleaned.

Your decorations can be cleaned in a similar method, simply spray them down with the disinfectant and rinse thoroughly with water before drying them off and putting them back into the enclosure. We recommend this process be done during the daytime to make sure that the snake will be going back to a warm vivarium for at least an hour before the basking lamps are turned off for the night.