Spotted Blonde Python.
This is my entry for the #dailypetphotography contest organized by by @kona
A casual walk in the park led me to this Spotted Blonde Python. According to her owner, she was harmless and used to human contact but this didn't tempt me to get any closer than what I asolutely needed to, in order to get a few good shots.
Apologies to anyone who viewed some of the images below in a blog I posted early last year, but this one is a lot more comprehensive and hopefully, if you have a snake phobia as I do, you may feel a little warmer towards them after reading this post. I said, "Maybe!"
Spotted Pythons come in a variety of colours and the most attractive of them all, is the "Blonde" colour or morph phase of these species. The Spotted Pythons are the largest and most popular of the Children's python group.
This is the owner of 'Blondie.' He is one of the male species who reportedly prefer blondes because he was clearly infatuated with his pet python.
Occasionally they will grow in length, of up to 1.5 m although most measure about 100 - 140 cms (39 - 55 inches.) The 'Mac' (or Maculosus) variety are quite placid and actually enjoy human contact and don't mind being handled. They are easy to look after, especially when well maintained.
It is helpful to know, that from time to time, juvenile Spotted Pythons can get a bit snappy and sometimes quite aggressive but generally they make an ideal first pet for snake lovers.
Spotted Pythons (Antaresia Maculosa) are very good handlers when they reach maturity, they eat often and are easy to breed. They are also known as 'Eastern Small-Blotched Pythons' and are found in northern parts of Australia and in New Guinea. The blotches have ragged edges due to dark pigmentation which occur only on complete scales.
The diet of captive specimens consists of mice and rats but one of the favourite foods for pythons in the wild are the insectivorous bats which are caught at the entrance to their caves. Females lay up to 15 eggs in a clutch. With proper care, Spotted Pythons live from bewteen 15 to 20 years in captivity but in the wild, it would be substantially less.
This species was described in 1873 by the German naturalist and explorer Karl H. Peters. A new species was described in 2003 by Hoser A. (m. brentonoloughlini) based on specimens found in the Cape York Peninsula.
These snakes were much lighter in colour and were generally 10cms longer but this find wasn't considered valid by other herpetologists and no other subspecies of Spotted Python are currently recognized.
A Dad guides the hand of his toddler to touch, for the very first time, the cool glossy surface of a snake skin.
These pythons prefer to live in dry woodlands to wet forests, river banks and rocky areas. They do love caves and although they are agile climbers, they won't climb large trees but are often found climbing small shrubs or rock faces.
Spotted Pythons are nocturnal and actively seek their prey by using their heat sensor pits on their lower labial scales. These pits are similar to those found on pit vipers which allows them to hunt warm blooded prey including birds.
Like all Pythons, they are non-venomous but they kill their prey by means of constriction. And it is this piece of vital information that makes me very wary of them and nothing anyone can say will ever make me change my opinion of them.
My stance on snakes does not prevent me from admiring other peoples bravery such as this guy here. After only just meeting 'Blondie,' he was willing to let it get right up close to his face and even with the snakes tongue darting ever so close to him he remained calm. CRAZY!!!!
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
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Soooo cute! And even better because it's not one of the poor animals explored just for tourists to take photos with! Thanks for sharing, great post!
Hmmmmmm! I'm not sure I'd used the word 'cute' and 'snake' in the same sentence. 😊 But yes, this one is a much loved pet and I daresay the feeling is mutual between he and his owner. Thanks a lot for visiting. Much appreciated.
What to you mean? They are lovely!! ;)
Haha.....Obviously you and I have very different views of the word, 'cute,' I will agree with you by saying their skins are lovely, but 'cute' is stretching the compliments a bit far in my opinion. 😁
Eheheh. I sometimes work with those animals, and alway loved wildlife... so my definition of cute is reaaaaly embracing :))
Cool post. Full of photos and info as always @trudeehunter. My youngest son has become interested in snakes so every outing becomes a search for snakes.
That's a great shot Steven. Your son is much braver than me. 😊 The colouring on this ones looks similar to the spotted blonde one in my post.
Hi @trudeehunter,
Thanks so much for partaking in #dailypetphotography! Please follow @dpet for upcoming events.
Our discord channel is up and running, come on over and say hi, lots of avil pet owners are awaiting you there.
https://discord.gg/GYrnsNm
Thanks very much @dpet. It was my pleasure.
Dear Trudee, you got some great snaps of the python but it scares the dickens out of me. No way I could have been anywhere near that snake without screaming like a banshee and running away from the area.
It is good the kids touched it. Perhaps they won’t have a snake phobia then.
I feel the same Jo. I was brave wasn't I.
That's a pretty cool looking Blonde Python can't say i have even seen that type before thanks for sharing :)
Thanks @hangin Its amazing what one keen amateur photographer will do for a few good shots. 😁
Well that keen amateur photographer done pretty good , especially the one where the snake is almost kissing him on the cheek...lol :)
I took the opportunity while the snake was concentrating on the guy...lol .
What a beauty that's my favorite photo :)
It's mine too @hangin I was shaking in my boots to see that guy allowing the snake to get that close to him. 😀
It's amazing how they can develop such a relationship...lol :)
I love all the animals but I could not get close to the snakes ... Now I can, with your help.
Snakes aren't my favorites either and if it wasn't for the owner assuring me it will be okay, I would not have stuck around. If I saw the snake in the park by itself, I would have run a mile. Friendly or not friendly.lol.
Yes, they are very cold and unpleasant beings.
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Howdy tonight Trudee! oh my gosh I hate snakes. And of course we have alot of them where we are now, I keep a snake gun handy and have killed so many I lost count! But anyway the information is interesting and of course the pictures are first class!
Snakes are my least liked animals too and I cannot understand why anyone would want to have them as pets. Gee! you'd have to be a pretty good shot to shoot a snake wouldn't you? They are protected in Australia and under the Nature Conservation Act of 1992, it is an offence to kill, injure or take snakes from the wild. Its all to do with maintaining the natural environment apparently......blah, blah, blah.
Somehow, I don't think your two lawless cowboys would be too phased about reducing the snake population if they were faced with a venomous one. I will say, in the snakes defense, (did I just write that?) they usually retreat when disturbed, BUT......if they feel threatened, they get defensive especially when people try to kill them.
There must be many occasions where an innocent person steps on an unseen one hidden in the grass. There are no snakes in New Zealand so it was hard to adjust to finding them in unexpected places when moving to Australia. 🐍 😲
So you HAVE found them there? Like where and what kind?
Well you do have to be a good shot to kill a snake but I AM a good shot. In fact, I'm very humble and don't see myself as having any special gifts or skills or anything but I've always been very good with a pistol. I used to amaze my friends. It's the one thing that has come naturally to me. In fact, most of those things you see in movies like Westerns people think it's all just Hollywood and not possible.
But the thing is, they ARE possible, just not by the actors they're showing doing them! lol ..take this guy for example, the worldest fastest draw:
I cheat though, I use a shot shell which is like a shotgun shell but with smaller shot because sometimes I have to shoot them on our deck and I don't want to blow holes in our deck. Plus it's easier to hit if they're moving because of the shot pattern instead of one bullet.