Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know the scalation differences to tell neonate anthills (A. perthensis) from other similar pythons like childrens or stimsons.

>>Does anyone know the scalation differences to tell neonate anthills (A. perthensis) from other similar pythons like childrens or stimsons.

You might find what you are looking for at smuggled.com

I once had a site that noted head scalation differences but it is a dead link now.
-----
Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

The difference in size alone should be obvious. Hatchling Children's are 2x the size of anthills. Children's should be around 8-10g, anthills 4-5g. Also the anthills should have more of a gold/orange-ish tint to their eyes. Sorry I don't know the scalation differences offhand - I guess I could look when I get home.

Size would be good but only if you know the age. All of the anthills that I have seen (including my own) have the exact look that yours do. But I have found pictures in literature that have snakes that are indistinguishable from stimsons, but claim to be anthills. Its possible that the pics are mislabled.

I have to say, information on A. perthensis is hard to find. At best it is dated and sparse, and at worst downright wrong. Aside from the barkers book, do you know of any other reliable sources of information on these guys. (Not that they are difficult, but I'm just the curious type!)

I'd love to see some more pics of your snakes.

I may be wrong, but it seems like there are only a few (if that) different perthensis bloodlines in N. America. I'm not sure about my 2004, but I got my 2005 from a line that goes back to Switzerland. I think I've heard of other N. American lines going back either there, the Netherlands, or Germany.

Anyway, I have a feeling that most if not all of the perthensis available here come from a pretty small original sample, and will have similar characteristics - like the orange/gold eyes.

Sorry for the rambling... Are you trying to ID a snake that you have, or a picture?
Gallery

I have a couple of pics where you can see the eye coloration and the head scales (sort of). Hope this helps:

Another pic, sibling of the above snake:

I just got 0.2 2005's from Lizards of Oz. The parent stock came from Eric Crider, whose bloodlines also originated in switzerland. Where did you get yours from? I think you are right about the scarcity of diverse bloodlines in the US.

I love these guys. They are so freakin tiny and those orange eyes are sweet!

I was trying to ID some photos in an old book about childrens pythons, which I am pretty confident are mislabled. I don't have the text with me to tell you exactly what it is, but I'll try to find it.

Here is a pic of one of mine eating her first whole pinky. What kind of camera do you use, those pics are awesome.

We're all one big family. My 2005's are also from Matt. The 2004 is from Don Hamper, although I'm not sure where his line originates.

Congrats on the good feeding! One of mine is taking regularly, the other is still just getting assisted heads. I'll have to see what camera my wife used for the shots.

My 2004 girl is up to about 40g now, and is always hungry. She is the friendliest snake I've ever seen. If the others turn out to be anything like her, they will be excellent pets. Too bad they're so damn expensive.

I'm in the same boat with my two. One eats like a baby retic, the other I'm still assist feeding. They really are the calmest baby snakes I've ever worked with. I don't understand how these guys havn't caught on yet. Aside from the obvious small size of the neonates, they are so easy.

Casey Lazik worked with anthills for awhile, if memory serves me correctly. Perhaps he could point you in the direction of additional resources?