Children's python

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Children's Python

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Pythonidae
Genus:	Antaresia
Species:	A. childreni

Binomial name

Antaresia childreni
(Gray, 1842)

Children's python (Antaresia childreni) is a species of python that lives in northern Australia, specifically in the region spanning along the coast between The Kimberleys in Western Australia to Mt. Isa in North Western Queensland. This python was discovered by John Gray, who named the python in honor of his mentor, one John George Children, who was a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum in the 19th Century.

The Children's python is part of the Antaresia family, which has four members, including the two smallest python species in the world. The four members were all originally thought to be Children's pythons, and were included in the Liasis family with the Water Python (Liasis fuscus) and the Olive python(Liasis olivaceus), but are now in an entirely seperate genus. The other members of the family are the Spotted Python (Antaresia maculosus (which gives it the other common name of "Mac"), the Stimson's python (Antaresia stimsoni), and the smallest known python, the Pygmy python (Antaresia perthensis). It is a small python, with an average adult length of about 90 cm, but can reach up to 1.1 meters. It is an egg layer that has up to 25 eggs in a brood. It incubates these nodes through the seven week incubation period by coiling around the eggs and occasionally shivering to keep them warm, which also allows the mother to protect them from predators. It feeds on reptiles, birds and small mammals, particularly micro bats. To catch these bats, the snakes dangle from the stalactites in caves, which they commonly inhabit, and snatch them out of the air as they fly past. This is truly a sight to behold, especially as the bats possess echo-location abilities, so they know where the pythons are!

The juveniles are heavily blotched but gradually become reddish brown or brown as it grows. The color depends on the area it lives in. Jungle versions are a browny green. The scales on the body are small and smooth in contrast to the large scales on the top of his head, and have a rainbow sheen when in direct sunlight. The juvenile pythons are fed on pinkies (baby hairless mice) but as they mature can be fed on larger adult mice or small rats. The amount they eat is dependent on the size of the portion to be digested, but it is common for the snake to only eat 1-2 mice a week. It is also common for the snake to become torpid after feeding as the snake begins to digest its meal. However, these snakes are prone to obesity, so if fed weekly, the meals should be small.

This species of python is considerd to be one of the best starter pythons, along with the Murray Darling or Inland Carpet python (Morelia spilota metcalfei) due to it's good nature and the fact that they are very easy to handle and setup properly. They live on average around 25 - 30 years depending on the level of care they receive, although they have been known to live considerably over that. They are approximitly $200 - $350 each, however the cost of the entire setup must be considered, so an eventual cost of up to $1000 (snake included) is not uncommon. Ownership of this snake within Australia requires a class 1 reptile license, the site of which can be found here, costing $60 for two years, and $120 for 5 years (as of April 2007).