Bloody beautiful Bloods!

The first time I laid eyes on a Blood Python (Python curtus brongersmai) in an old issue of Reptiles magazine, I thought, "What a cool, weird-looking snake!" The blood red-colored herp had the girth of a medium-sized Burmese and the stubby size of a ball python! It was like the diminutive Hobbit House waiter Abdul Jabbar of the snake world! Aside from their resemblance to midgets, Blood Pythons are also known for their short tempers that can be quite challenging.

I have had the privilege of owning a pair of Malaysian Bloods which are total darlings despite the nippy reputation. Totally unskittish and docile, they were imported originally from CB stock from famous North American snake breeders Dave and Tracy Barker. I know of some Blood Python owners who can only handle their wards with a snake stick; my tame Bloods can definitely be picked up and handled like any ball or Burmese Python.

The Blood Python is one of the snake species where choosing a hand-fed, captive-bred specimen would make a hell of a difference from caring for a wild-caught animal.

If you are a beginning herper, a Malaysian Blood is definitely not for you. If you have a few years of experience handling boids (Pythons and Boas), the Blood Python with its feisty disposition would prove to be a challenging yet rewarding member of your herp family.

The Blood Python is found in Malaysia and Sumatra and parts of Borneo. Widespread throughout their range but in quickly waning numbers, these amazing boids are slaughtered for their meat and hide. If you buy a Python skin wallet or handbag from Malaysia, you can be 99 percent sure it is skin from a Blood Python. Over 60,000 Blood Pythons are harvested for the leather trade each year! (Snakey says, "What a sssickening thought!")

Python curtus brongersmai are short and squat serpents with color that ranges from bright blood red to light brown depending on locality. The ones from Malaysia are bloody red while the Sumatran ones like mine are brownish yellow. A relative to other reptile species, they can live twice as long as your dog. While Snoopy has 12 years, Snakey lives till 25!

Enclosure

They do not need much space. An adult Blood will be happy with a four-foot aquarium with a locking lid. Snakes, unlike dogs and cats, are actually happier with cramped enclosures. I remember in a reptile exhibit many years ago, an overzealous yet well meaning famous animal rights advocate made a little scene over the exhibited snakes having small aquariums, (blissfully) ignorant that snakes get stressed and will not feed if their habitats are too large. Bloods very seldom roam and are happy curled and soaking in a suitably sized batya  inside the cage where you shall find them 50 percent of the time. They have a fondness for pooping in their water so be sure to clean up every time they do.

Substrate

This is one snake where I recommend garden mulch (cypress). Newspaper is fine, too, just be sure that the snake is misted at least once a day. They are rain forest floor dwellers in Malaysia and cypress mulch approximates this habitat.

Feeding

Blood Pythons, especially juveniles, are prone to regurgitation so be very careful not to handle them after a meal. Feed juveniles once a week and adults once every 10 days. Snakes, unlike mammals, are never avaricious. It is actually cheaper to maintain a small collection of reptiles than a pedigreed Labrador Retriever that has to eat expensive dog food twice a day. I feed mine rats and rabbits (sorry, Mickey and Bugs. Snakey would eat camoteng kahoy if he could but can’t).

Hide Box

Like any other starstruck celebrity, Snakey needs privacy if he is to be healthy and happy. Provide a suitable hide box that can be easily cleaned. An overturned basin with a hole is suitable. A piece of cloth over the reptile can also work. I used to put old used underclothes ("Eeeewww!" says Snakey!) inside the enclosure to get the reptile used to my smell and make him tame. Although seemingly logical, there are no scientific findings to prove this.

Final Word

Although still quite plentiful in Malaysia, Python curtus brongersmai will quickly be gone if the unabated harvesting for food, skin and the pet trade continues. This column does not in any way condone buying wild-caught specimens from whatever source, legal or otherwise. Blood Pythons and other Pythons will be enjoyed by generations to come if children of all ages are educated on proper care and conservation by us parents. Adiosss!

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We shall be answering queries sent by loyal readers next week! Watch Animalandia in Magandang Umaga Bayan at 6 a.m. on ABS-CBN. E-mail Kim and Snakey at kuyakim@hotmail.com or text 0918-2010405.