How to Raise a Stimson's Python

A Stimson's python, otherwise known as a large blotched python, reaches lengths of up to 55 inches, although most will grow to only around 45 inches, according to DoLittle Farms. The python is either tan or brown with black and dark brown dorsal designs that will fade as the snake ages. Caring for a Stimson's python requires providing the snake the proper environment, including a well-maintained enclosure and the proper food.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium
  • Paper substrate
  • Shallow water bowl
  • Frozen mouse
  • Tweezers or gloved hands
  • Heat lamp
  • Thermometers
  • Plastic plants, rocks and branches
  • Hiding hole
  • Disinfecting spray
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Instructions

    • 1

      Provide the Stimson's python with a 10- to 20-gallon aquarium or enclosure. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of paper substrate to the bottom of the container.

    • 2

      Set a water bowl inside the enclosure cage. Replenish the shallow water bowl with a fresh supply of water daily.

    • 3

      Offer the Stimson's python a thawed mouse. Purchase frozen mice from a local pet store and defrost one on a low-heat surface, such as a heating pad. Turn the mouse often until it is completely thawed, and with a pair of tweezers or gloved hands offer the mouse to the snake. The snake should grab the mouse and begin to ingest it whole. A juvenile Stimson's python requires a smaller mouse once a week, while an adult should receive a larger mouse every two to three weeks.

    • 4

      Provide the Stimson's python with a warm and cool environment inside the enclosure. Place a heat lamp on one side of the enclosure to maintain a temperature of about 93 or 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the other side of the enclosure at 81 or 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep a thermometer on either side of the enclosure and adjust the room's temperature and the temperature emitted by the heat lamp accordingly.

    • 5

      Provide the Stimson's python with a plastic plant and a branch inside the enclosure to climb. Provide a hiding place, such as a plastic rock with a hole, for the snake to use when it molts every six to eight weeks.

    • 6

      Clean the enclosure once a week with a disinfecting spray. Remove the python from the enclosure and spray down everything inside, including the walls, rocks or logs inside. Also replace the substrate at this time.

    • 7

      Remove the snake's defecation as quickly as possible as it occurs. The snake will defecate approximately one week after it eats. Clean out all of the feces and, if necessary, remove the snake and replace and wet or stained substrate.