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Reptile Series: Pythons - Care and Husbandry

Name: Reptile Series: Pythons - Care and Husbandry
Rating: 5.0 (29 reviews)

Correct care for your python, safe handling techniques, identifying & tackling common snake problems & health issues

Highest Rated

Created bySteve Crawford

Last updated 8/2022

English

What you'll learn

How to identify and assemble the correct enclosure set-up for your python.
Ensure your enclosure environment including heating, lighting and humidity, meets the needs of your python.
How and when to feed your python, including techniques for fussy feeders and other feeding issues.
Understand and identifying natural python behaviour.
How to handle your python safely, how and when to use handling tools to assist.
How to stimulate a python's senses through enrichment.
Safe practices including enclosure and personal hygiene, and how to transport your python safely.
Understand common health conditions, why they might occur and how to deal with them, identify the signs and reduce the risk of illness.
Learn about when to quarantine a snake and the quarantine enclosure set-up.

Course content

8 sections • 48 lectures • 3h 10m total length

Introduction and welcome2:52
Learn to set up proper python enclosures and manage heating, lighting, humidity, feeding, and enrichment for healthy pythons in captivity. Gain safe handling, hygiene, and quarantine practices to prevent illness.
Introduction to pythons in captivity1:59
Explore how to keep pythons in captivity by matching temperature and humidity to diverse wild habitats, addressing climbing, burrowing, hiding instincts, seasonal breeding, and nutritious feeding.
Pythons of the world11:06
Downloadable factsheet: Pythons of the world0:05
Record keeping1:51
Downloadable resource: Record keeping example template0:02
Attached is an example of record card template for you to download and use.

Introduction to the section1:34
Terrestrial enclosures0:43
Terrestrial enclosures suit most ground-dwelling pythons, requiring only modest height. Provide a perch or climbing frame, as some species use trees in the wild; examples: black-headed pythons, womas, blood pythons.
Arboreal enclosures1:08
Design arboreal python enclosures with extra height for perching and natural movement. Secure branches or multi-level perches; suits green tree python, oenpelli pythons, scrub pythons, and some carpet pythons.
Racking systems and tubs1:31
Size and space requirements5:28
Outdoor enclosures1:46

Introduction to the section0:55
Explore the enclosure environment for pythons, including heating, lighting, substrate, furnishings, ventilation, and essential equipment; understand cold-blooded thermoregulation through a proper thermal gradient tailored to terrestrial or arboreal forms.
Heating the enclosure12:05
Lighting the enclosure2:09
Substrates and furnishings11:53
Final points about the enclosure environment2:24
Housing pythons together vs housing them separately4:02
A word about enclosure set ups for Green Tree Pythons4:29
Further reading, recommended books and references1:59
Learn why knowing your python’s species matters for its instincts and needs. Access key reference books for beginners and specialists, including The Snake Ranch Guide to Reptile Care.
Practical and downloadable resource0:15
If you already have python enclosures set up, consider the things we have talked about in these sections about the enclosure and enclosure environment and see if there is anything you could improve upon for your python.
If you are about to purchase or build your python enclosure, you might find the attached downloadable enclosure checklist a useful reminder of the equipment and requirements you need to include.

How pythons eat6:47
Explore how pythons sense and digest prey, using forked tongues, Jacobson's organ, and heat pits to locate food, plus captivity feeding with dead prey and tongs.
Choose the correct food item for your python2:47
How and when to feed your python8:33
Learn how to feed pythons safely and efficiently by timing feeds at dusk, defrosting prey properly, using tongs, and tracking feeding frequency to prevent obesity.
Considerations for after your python has fed1:36
Overfed snakes3:12
Pythons that have become fussy feeders1:19
Learn how to manage fussy feeders by using teasing techniques and scenting prey to encourage the python to eat. Explore species-specific feeding and transitioning from chicks to rodents with persistence.
Pythons that consistently refuse to eat2:19
Assist-feeding: when is it appropriate?5:58
Feeding your python

Introduction to safe handling: Python senses0:45
Learn how pythons sense their world through vibrations and a forked tongue, and explore safe handling, reading body language, acclimating your snake to handling, bite response, and safe transport.
General python behaviour6:13
Steps towards 'taming' your python7:49
Safety precautions4:49
Best practice when transporting your python8:32
Transport your python with minimal handling to reduce stress and illness by bagging securely in breathable bags and ventilated boxes, tying bags, using zip ties, and avoiding feeding beforehand.
Enrichment for your snake3:49

Introduction to python health issues1:55
Identify health signs in pythons, monitor enclosure temperatures and behavior. Use records to detect illness early and learn when quarantine is needed and what health problems may arise.
Sloughing7:44
Assisting a Green Tree Python to shed its skin8:34
Mites10:24
Identify snake mites by noting dots on scales, around the eyes, or the vent; treat all reptiles and enclosures weekly for three weeks with Frontline, Mac Mite, Callingtons, or Ivermectin.
Respiratory infections and mouth rot4:25
Explore respiratory infections and stomatitis in pythons, signs to watch, enclosure conditions, and vet-guided treatment options to protect health and welfare.
Lumps in a python's body1:02
Kinks in a python's bones3:04
Abnormal behaviour: Neurological damage4:29
Abnormal python behavior signals neurological damage, with signs like poor coordination, writhing, and stargazing. Causes include incubation errors, overheating, dehydration, disease, inbreeding, and morphs; seek veterinary care and monitor enclosures.
How and when to quarantine a python5:04
Quarantine pythons before adding them to your collection for nine to twelve months. Use a simple quarantine enclosure, monitor for illness, treat mites and parasites, and maintain hygiene.
Health problems

Requirements

There are no prerequisites to taking this course.

Description

This course covers all the basic requirements you need to meet in order to create the correct environment for your python to live in, plus more advanced information to assist you with developing a better understanding and relationship with your python.

You will also learn about stress in snakes, health issues, as well as feeding and handling techniques. Whether you are new to keeping pythons, or have kept pythons for a while but would like to increase your knowledge and expertise, this is the course for you.

Master correct captive care and create an optimal environment for your python

· Consider different types of enclosures

· Learn about correct lighting, heating and enclosure furnishings

· Understand how your python eats and learn different feeding techniques

· Recognise python behaviour and master handling techniques

· Identify stress factors and reduce the risk of illness

· Enrichment for your python

Troubleshooting: Preventing and overcoming common problems

I will talk you through problems that may arise with your python, how to recognise and address them. You will finish this course with a greater understanding of your python and methods to reduce your python’s stress and risk of illness.

Contents and Overview

During the course I will show you video footage and images to demonstrate each topic. This course contains 48 lectures and over 3 hours of video content.

I have added some practical exercises, quizzes and printable resources to help you.

At the beginning of this course I start by introducing you to the many different python species of the world. I give an introduction into keeping these snakes in captivity, and the importance of record keeping for your captive animal. Then we delve into enclosure requirements.

In the feeding section we talk about how and when to feed your python, tackling fussy feeders and pythons that totally refuse to eat, as well as over-feeding issues.

In the safe handling section I will demonstrate how to approach and handle your python, techniques for handling more defensive and aggressive snakes, and what to do if you get bitten.

Pythons like any other animal, can carry bacteria and parasites, so I have included a section about enclosure cleaning and personal hygiene to help you prevent illness and avoid cross-contamination.

Then finally we will go through health issues that can arise with your python and how to deal with them, including quarantining.

Note this course is specifically about keeping pythons, and therefore not all the information in this course will apply to keeping other types of snakes.

Who this course is for:

Snake owners
New and beginner python keepers
People who have been keeping pythons for a while and want to increase their knowledge about correct care and husbandry

Reptile Series: Pythons - Care and Husbandry

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction6 lectures • 18min

Enclosure types for a python6 lectures • 12min

Create the optimal enclosure environment9 lectures • 40min

Feeding Pythons8 lectures • 33min

Python Behaviour: Interacting and Safe Handling6 lectures • 32min

Cleaning and hygiene2 lectures • 6min

Identifying and dealing with health problems9 lectures • 47min

Congratulations!2 lectures • 3min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: