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Python breitensteini (Borneo shorttail python)

Python breitensteini

Origin: Southeast Asia and Thailand
Length: up to 1.2 meters and in rare cases 2
Age: up to 30 years
The body is brown in color and is covered with a strongly varying pattern of spots. The unique thing about the shorttail python is, as the name suggests, its short tail, which is tapered. This ensures that the shorttail python can be recognized by the body alone.

Care
Experience: Experienced snake keeper
Food: Live or dead prey. Primary prey animals are mice and rats.
Adult feeding: every 2 to 3 weeks
Feeding young: Every other week
Water basin: Yes
Change water: twice a week
Food
There is a choice to offer the prey animals alive or dead. It is advisable to offer dead food. This is because it is more practical and prevents the food animal from injuring your snake. Thereby it is advised to offer the food animal with a pair of tongs and to feed your snake outside the residence. This ensures that your hand is not associated with food and prevents your snake from grasping your hand during feeding. If you go for live food, you must supervise it during feeding. The prey can also injure the snake. If you hold several snakes together, feed them separately, as it may happen that the snakes injure each other during feeding. The ideal prey is about the same width as the widest part of the snake.

Water
The shorttail python needs a large water bowl, not because they are in it but because they drink a lot of water in a session. A water container that can hold 2 liters is enough to satisfy its drinking cycle. Change the water if the water has run out or if the water has become dirty.

Cleaning
The shorttail python is unique in that it relieves little to not often. In young animals it can be once a week or once every 2 weeks. In adult animals it can be every 30 to 45 days. This means that the accommodation needs to be cleaned less often. The best advice is to remove faeces as soon as you see it.

 Handling
To feed the and to clean the accommodation you will have to handel the snake. If you handel your snake  use a snake hook or lift it with both hands. Do not hang your snake around your neck, this is because if the snake falls it will clamp itself around your neck. There are some important things to look out for when handling a . First make sure that your snake understands that you are going to handle it and move gently when you handle it. Also make sure that your hands are washed and do not smell like food. Finally, do not handle your snake when it is peeling and do not handle it in the dark.

Housing
Minimum size of stay for 1 snake: 100 x 50 x 30
Lying area: 0.5 m2
Day temperature: 26-28C
Night temperature: 23-25C
Hours of light: 12 hours
Humidity degree: 60% -70%
Ground cover: Newspapers, bark shavings, shredded shavings, sand or humus
The shorttail python is a real bottom dweller and will not beseen climng so quickly. For this reason, unlike many other strangle snakes, he does not need climbing opportunities. They do appreciate a lot of hiding places. This can be done by using a flower pot, piece of wood or dried leaves. They like it to be slightly more humid in one of their hiding places, you can get this moisture by putting wet moss in the hiding place. Unlike many other snakes, the shorttail python cannot control its temperature by moving up or down in the enclosure. For this reason, the python needs a warm and cool place in the residence. The warm spot must be between 27-30c and the cool spot between 24-26c. Such a difference can be created by using a heat spot or a heat mat.

Behaviour
Hunting method: Constricting snake.
Lifestyle: Testrial & night active
Character: Quiet character but can sometimes be moody. The more the animal gets used to human contact, the less moody they become.
Points of attention: It is advisable to allow the short-tailed boa to get used to handling and to humans from an early age. If this is not done, they can become defensive.

Costs and Purchase
Legislation: The shorttail python falls under CITES II, to own this snake you need CITES or transfer papers. You should get this when purchasing.
One-off costs: This includes the costs for accommodation, lighting, heating, water bowl and decoration. This can together cost a few hundred euros to a few thousand euros. The final amount depends on the quality and size of the products.
Fixed costs: Fixed costs include the costs for the feed, this is several tens of euros per year.
Unexpected costs: Costs have been incurred if your snake accidentally falls ill or your equipment breaks down.