Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am a collecter of PITUOPHIS snakes also have a pair of KENYANS and LEUCISTIC TEXAS RAT SNAKES but am looking to get a pair of RED BLOODS I think they are marvolus looking snakes.Questions,how big do they get in lenght and what are there temp requirments.I know that they are humid loving animals and would best be set up in some sort of tub caging.Any help would be great,THANKS ALOT,P-RAT

Go to VPI.com and they have a wonderful section on bloods. Great care sheets. But, basically the reds can grow up to 10 feet. They're happy at about 87- 92 degrees. These guys are ground dwellers so an arboreal set up is not ideal. The more ground space the better.
I have heard the wild-caughts are pretty nasty. Mine are captive and ever so sweet. Never been bitten, or anything close. They like slow movements.

I will check that out.I didn't realize they would or could get that big.THANK YOU,P-RAT

An 8ft specimen would be something really rare, I'ld love to see pics of one. They usually max at 6ft. If you still don't want to take a chance, take a borneo or a black short-tail.

>> They're happy at about 87- 92 degrees

Hi Amy - In my experience, a constant ambient temperature that high would be excessive for any python species. Perhaps someone can let me know if I’m mistaken. Maybe you meant you provide a basking spot with that temperature range?

At any rate, my blood pythons usually seek to maintain a temperature of 83-84 degrees, unless they’re digesting a meal.

-Joan

A prefatory disclaimer, I only have Borneo STPs not red bloods, but if I did I would keep them the same way. Over at VPI.com they mentioned they kept theirs in a room with ambient temperatures between 78 and 82 degrees, with no supplemental heat. I took a page from their experience after noticing that 99% of the time mine was on the cool side. I can't provide a room that meets those conditions, so I have greater variance, but the cool side stays at 78 to 79 degrees, day and night. The basking spot pretty much never exceeds 86, and tends to stay closer to 84. The ambient temperature wavers in the low 80s. I have not had any problems with this arrangement, digestion occurs normally and defaction equally normally (ie, rarely.) In Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) the temperature range is between about the low 70s on one extreme and the very low 90s on the other. At the upper end of this scale I would be very surprised to see any STPs active...as more likely they would be resting on the comparatively cooler ground, most likely adjacent a water source, out of direct light. in fact, the one time my female STPs cage temps broke 90 (thermostat malfunction...different story) she raced around constantly, in great distress. Just my limited experience.

78-82 ambient, 86-88 degree hot spot or so.
even with these temps in the cooler months, i also see my bloods resting on there cool side.
And as mentioned.
Any blood moving around constantly for days on hand is probably being housed too HOT.

gvg

My bloods hottest area is up in the 90 degree range. The cooler end appx 82 or so. I would never drop them below 80... no way. First blood I had I kept in around the low 80's and the poor guy died of pneumonia after several treatments. My guys like it warm and humid. This is the temp at which they eat and they are comfortable. Don't move arount too much. I have also heard of people keeping bloods at 100 percent humidity... and others in the 50 per cent range. Each person is different. Perhaps each snake is different. If I voice an opinion it is simply what I have found to work for me. My animals are at their best in these conditions, after a small amount of experimentation. And I am pretty sure every keeper here has the ideal health of their animals in mind when giving advice. We can all learn though...