How to Care For A Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus)

Purchase a secure and well-ventilated enclosure for the snake. A newborn can be kept in a 10-gallon glass aquarium, but these snakes grow fast. As your python grows, be sure to provide it with a cage that is at least half as long as the snake. An adult will eventually require a custom-built cage. A full-grown adult will require an 8-foot by 4-foot enclosure at a minimum.

Cover the floor of the enclosure with a suitable substrate. Newspaper, butcher's paper, paper towels or corrugated cardboard make good cheap cage liners. Aspen shavings or cypress mulch also make good substrates, but be sure to never use a substrate containing cedar as the oils in cedar can be fatal to snakes.

Provide your snake with a hot spot around 90 degrees F and a background temperature of 78 to 86 degrees F. This can be achieved using an under tank heat pad/heat tape, a heat lamp or a ceramic heat emitter. Arrange the hot spot on one side of the cage so the snake has access to a full range of temperatures. Never expose your snake to temperatures below 75 degrees F for long periods of time.

Keep the enclosure at a high humidity level of around 50 percent to 60 percent relative humidity. You can also provide a humidity hide box large enough for your snake to completely crawl inside. Fill the box with damp cypress mulch and/or sphagnum moss. Always provide your snake with fresh clean water for drinking.

Providing these snakes with extra lighting is not necessary. Make sure that you do not expose your snake to bright lights for long periods of time. Also be sure any supplemental lighting runs on a 12-hour on, 12-hour off schedule.

Newborn Burmese pythons can start feeding on adult mice or rat pups every seven to 10 days. As your python grows, so will it's prey requirements. Eventually you will need to provide a large rabbit about every other week. A good rule is to feed a prey item about the same size as the snake's thickest point. Prey can be purchased frozen and then thawed or live. It is always best to offer pre-killed prey to your snake. If it will not accept a pre-killed prey item you can try live prey. Never leave live prey with your snake overnight; prey can injure or even kill your snake. Because of their potential size, it is best to feed Burmese pythons pre-killed prey to reduce feeding aggression.

Juvenile pythons will utilize a hide box if provided. This should be large enough for the snake to completely hide in or under. Clay flowerpots, plastic flowerpot trays, plastic tubs with a hole cut out and commercially available hide boxes all work quite well. Providing such a hide for a 15-foot or larger python will be unrealistic for most keepers. Instead, an adult Burmese python can be provided with a shelf built into its enclosure. This will allow the snake a place to rest under and on top of, but will still provide you with access to the snake at all times.

Maintain your snake's enclosure by spot cleaning feces, urates and sheds whenever present. The water bowl should be cleaned and disinfected at least twice a week. Once every 45 to 60 days, you should remove and disinfect all cage items and the cage itself using either a 5 percent bleach and water solution or commercially available reptile safe cleaner such as Nolvasan.