RETICULATED PYTHON CARE SHEET
Overview: Reticulated Pythons are one of the most, if not the most, intelligent snakes available! To add to that, they are also beautiful snakes and have so many different color morphs and combinations available! Their large size can be quite intimidating to a even the most experienced keepers. Although their large size can be a bit too much for some, in my opinion if you have the space for their enclosure requirements their rather large size should not deter you from owning one! With the rise in popularity of Dwarf and Super Dwarf Retics, the standard 8x4x2 for a mainland is no longer a must. A 6x3x2 or even a 4x2x2 is fine for a Dwarf or Super Dwarf. In this care sheet I will detail all the macro and micro details of care that I have learned over the decade I have been keeping and breeding this species. Also, with my 3 years of employment at Prehistoric Pets I learned so much about the care, breeding, genetics and market of Reticulated Pythons. These snakes will always have a special place in my heart, and so long as the regulations don’t change I will always keep and breed Reticulated Pythons. In this care sheet, I will detail how to properly house, breed, feed, handle and go over advanced husbandry skills for your Reticulated Python. Whether you are a first time Retic keeper or you are a breeder looking to expand your breeding portfolio I am excited to share my knowledge I have acquired over the decade I have been breeding this amazing species!
Enclosure Size: Let’s get right into it! Reticulated Python enclosure sizes are bit of a controversy amongst the reptile community. While I will be sharing my opinion on this, I understand where the opposing argument is coming from and hope to equip some of you new keepers with a breeders perspective on these topics. While many other keepers online are very loud, larger scale breeders tend to shy away from these topics as it can be a senseless uphill battle. I believe by completely ignoring these topics it creates an illusion that the opposing arguments are correct and we are “hiding” per say. The truth is most larger scale breeders do not have the time to sit on a computer and debate these individuals online as they are taking care of their animals, which is a daily activity. Because someone may keep and breed hundreds of Crested Geckos or Corn Snakes, does not mean that they are experts on how to properly house a Reticulated Python. I am not a person that pays attention on social media, I post and close the app. And even with the little time I do spend on there, I see comments of very uneducated people saying that “All Retic keepers are evil!” or “Cage is too small.” or just say “Animal Abuser!” While I understand the comments are rooted in a good place, they simply are wrong. Keeping a mainland Retic in an 8x4x2 enclosure simply is not animal cruelty. I do understand why most breeders avoid posting breeding rooms, as they will get flamed online for having a “puppy mill”. However, I believe it is essential for the future of keeping these species to explain in detail why they are being kept this way in large.
Reticulated Pythons are the largest species of snake in the world. This would lead many to believe they would need the largest enclosure of any snake to breed in captivity. Wrong. These snakes, although the largest, are nocturnal, heavy bodied, ambush predators. They are opportunistic and have a rather slow metabolism. One meal can last for 6-8 months! What they want is food, water, heat and shelter to grow! In the wild, they position themselves to be able to ambush a large prey item, then after successfully doing so will go find the smallest possible place to fit themselves to digest that meal. And they will repeat this process only ever stoping the cycle to mate. Even though these are very large snakes, they do not like large spaces. They are very often found in burrows made by native mammals or in crevices of caves. Places you would definitely not expect a 20ft python to be living! This is why there is much success in breeding them in “small” enclosures. They like their “small” enclosures, as most snakes do!
In contrast, you will have other species of snakes that need very large enclosure to breed successfully that are a fraction of the size of a Reticulated Python. Most species of racers need very large enclosure to successfully breed. They are diurnal, thin bodied snakes with an extremely fast metabolism. They are not ambush predators, they are actively hunting prey every day. They cover a lot of ground in one day and it is essential for them to have enclosures that are very large is comparison to their body size. Yet, it is only natural for us to see such a small species of snake in an 8x4x2 enclosure and think it is a “large” enclosure for that snake. That same 8x4x2 enclosure is “small” for a Retic and “large” for a Racer. Again that is our immediate assumption, but simply not correct.
Yes we should base our enclosure size on the size of the animal, but we also need to take the species into consideration. We cannot just look at the overwhelming size of a Retic and immediately assume it needs an apartment sized enclosure to be happy. Pythons as a whole are generally bred in rack systems. The reason for this is, is the success rate of breeding in rack systems. It is very high. The snakes are happy to be in rack systems as they have everything they want. Food, water, a proper temperature gradient, and a clean enclosure that still smells like them. Another thing to note is if your enclosure is too sterile this can cause stress on the snake. Some keepers take this to the extreme and leave caca on the walls, but that is not necessary and quite frankly gross. However you do want to avoid strong sterilizers like bleach. I use Simple Green as it is works great for cleaning, while also not being too “sterile” if that makes sense. An enclosure that is “too sterile” will cause the snake too immediately paint the enclosure with feces and urine upon arrival. Similar to a dog peeing all the time on a walk, imagine your dog in a new backyard. It’s going to pee everywhere. When your enclosure is “too clean” your snake thinks its in a new place and that is why immediately following cleaning most snakes pee/poo minutes after being put back in. Not a big deal if it’s a cornsnake
At the end of the day, we will never be able to recreate the wild in our home. It is only out imagination that leads us to believe a few pathos plants and some bio balls are going to make that animal feel “happier”. I am not try to knock anyone who does bio active. I believe it is one of the coolest most innovative ways of keeping your pets. But, to demonize breeders who keep on a large scale I feel is the wrong way to go about things. I hate to use the words “minimum requirements” as it gives a perception that you are doing the bare minimum for your animal. Which in turn, insinuates that you only want to do that bare minimum. I like to think of it more as I am doing the most to make this animal happy enough to breed and anything else I do is for me and not the snake. Again to reiterate a snake simply will not breed if it is not happy. If it will breed in an 8x4x2 that means it is happy, happy enough to be willing to breed and bring offspring into the world in the environment it is currently living in.
With that out of the of the way, lets get into how I keep my Reticulated Pythons. Below are roughly the standard sized enclosures I keep my retics in.
Hatchlings (1.5-2.5ft):
6qt Tub Rack System
5/10 gallon style aquarium enclosure
Juvenile (3-5ft)
28qt Tub Rack System
20-40 gallon style aquarium enclosure
Sub Adult (6-10ft)
4x2x2 enclosure
6x3x2 enclosure
“Small” Adult (10-20ft)
8x4x2 enclosure
“Big” Adult (20ft+)
10x4x3 enclosure
Hatchling (1.5-2.5ft): Now lets get into a bit more detail. The reason I say 5/10 gallon enclosure is they have the same floorspace. Assuming you get a top opening enclosure a 5 gallon is a better option in my opinion. It has same floorspace as a 10 gallon and you wont have to reach as “deep in” to feed a meal with tongs. Hovering over a hatchling retic can spook them. Which in the long term will cause your retic to become more defensive. With a 10 gallon top opening enclosure you will have to come over the top more to get tongs in and this can spook your baby retic. Although, retics are semi-arboreal at this age it is much more important to ensure they are eating rather than climbing. The reason they are climbing trees is to hunt birds, bats and small rodents. They are climbing to eat, not climbing for the fun of it. So if you need to sacrifice climbing over consistent feeding, and less stress on your animal you should make sure your snake is eating and feels safe. Floor space over height for top opening enclosures. Now with a front opening enclosure you will not run into that issue. With front opening enclosure you are not hovering over your snake. Therefore, you will unlikely run into feeding issues pertaining to the nervousness of your snake. Zoo Med & Exo Terra make amazing front opening enclosures that are 10 gallon equivalent, along with many other brands of enclosures. There are other companies that make very fancy style enclosures. However, before purchasing you should consider the type of retic you have. Is it worth spending X amount of money on enclosure I may only use temporarily or short term?
Juveniles/Yearling (3-5ft): For juveniles or yearlings depending on wether you have a mainland, dwarf or super dwarf, I like to use a 28 or 41qt sterilite tubs or a 20-40 gallon style enclosure. Once they hit that 3-5ft range I think it is essential to use a front opening style enclosure. I will go into detail as to why later in this care sheet, but the cliff notes are as follows. At this size you should always allow your snake to see you coming into enclosure. If you do not this can lead to issues with a defensive or extremely food drive snake, as you are constantly surprising your snake when you interact with it. So, a front opening 20-40 gallon style enclosure is essential if you want a friendly snake as an adult. Now it is not the end of the world if it is a mainland as they will be much younger once they need an enclosure this size and their brain is still developing and they have not been set in their ways just yet. However if you’re dealing with a 2-3 year old pure kalatoa that’s a totally different story.
Sub-Adult (6-10ft): I am basing life stages of retics based on a classic mainland. Of course depending on your dwarf, super dwarf or even giant (Sulawesi) retic will determine where your animal falls into. Of course depending on your retics genetics will ultimately determine what size adult enclosure you will need. Once my retics hit that 6-10ft mark that’s when I will upgrade them, depending on if they are “ready”. A few things determine if a snake is “ready” for an upgrade in my opinion. Biggest factor is if they will eat in new enclosure. Best case scenario I will put snake into enclosure and they don’t act any different. Not uncommon, but typically they will have a change in behavior. Sometimes slight sometimes they go from being sweet snake that eat great, to complete a holes and not wanting to eat. In a case like this that means they are not “ready” for upgrade. I find this behavior most commonly happens when upgrading to a 4x2x2 or a 6x2x2 style enclosure. There are lots of enclosure style changes when switching over to these sized enclosures. Although temps and humidity may be the same, the different style of enclosure will sometimes throw them off. Not always, but does typically occur when upgrading to thus size.
“Small” Adult (10-20ft): Now I say “small” in quotation marks because the truth is most retics do not ever reach over 20ft. For a retic to get over 20ft you have to feed it like it is going to be over 20ft. Most people will never have the ability to feed a retic to get over 20ft and even if you could it is not necessary for them to live a full happy life! Later we will go into why this is true, but for now we will stay on enclosure size. Upgrading from a 4x2x2 or a 6x2x2 up to an 8x4x2 is not generally a tough transition. Some breeders prefer an 8x3x2, which to be fair, is a much better pick if you want an enclosure that is easier to clean. The unprinted newspaper packs from Uline fit perfectly in 3 foot deep enclosure. It is quite efficient for cleaning especially if you have a larger collection. Also you do not have to crawl inside enclosure to scrub the walls as you will definitely be needing to do this from time to time. But with all that said I still use 8x4x2 sized enclosures as I build all my own enclosures and might as well give them that extra 8 square feet rather than cut it out an make more work.
“Big” Adult (20ft+): The reality is there are very few people that own retics that will ever own one that is over 20ft. Lots of people think they own retics over 20ft and they really do not. Once you measure them you realize they are 18-19ft. I’m not saying that mainlands stay under 20ft, just unlikely for most to get over 20ft. There is a variety of reasons for this, besides food. Like the fact that lots of morphs originated from dwarf and super dwarf locales. For example, the G-Stripe mutation was originally a Selayer locale animal. If at any point G-stripe was thrown into your animals bloodline at some point, it is unlikely to push 20ft. And so on a so forth. Back to enclosure size, if you are lucky enough to grow your snake up to be over 20ft then you will need an enclosure that is at least 10ft in length, 4ft deep, and 2ft tall. The height of your enclosure should be determined by what type of heating element you will be using for the enclosure. If you are using heat panels then your ability to make the enclosure taller will be limited. A heat panel that is 5ft away from a snake that is over 100 pounds won’t do much to heat them up, extreme example, but hopefully gets point across. If you are using a heat pad then really you can go as tall as you like. We will go over heating later in this care sheet. Once, you start keeping large constrictors it is essential to understand their natural behavior in the wild. As juveniles, sub-adults and even in young adult hood they are semi-arboreal. However, there will reach a point when they are “too big” to be climbing trees to hunt down food. Also, later in life the large adult retics hunt swine and other larger mammals. Although you see your retic climbing a ton while it is 8ft, 12ft, or even 15ft in length, there will reach a point when one, they will not climb and two, where it is dangerous for them to do so. What do I mean by dangerous? Well imagine this, a 20-30 pound snake falls out of a tree. While I’m sure it is not pleasant, it is not life threatening. Now imagine a 200lb snake falls out of a tree! Broken ribs, internal hemorrhaging and not to mention all the neural trauma that would cause. Here is something else I have unfortunately experienced first hand working at private zoos that keep fair amounts of large constrictors, is that enclosures for large constrictors that are not “flat” almost always cause broken ribs. Now if you have ever seen a skeleton of a snake you know how thin their ribs are. Not really designed to take heavy falls with some weight behind them. This is why it is essential to keep large constrictors in flat enclosures, in my opinion. Pretty much any uneven surface in the enclosure can cause broken ribs. Hide boxes, “small” odd shaped water bowls, decor, etc… are all things that pose risks for big constrictors. Lots of weight and pressure concentrated on a small point of the body with a very thin set of ribs, not a great combination. Some may say that Reticulated Python ribs are strong enough to climb through trees and strangle monkeys, but you are saying not strong enough to sit on top of a water bowl? And I thought the same thing at first, until I realized why this was happening to the largest of the Retics. When Retics are attacking, constricting, and climbing their muscles are completely tensed up, supporting their skeletal structure. When they are inside their enclosure and are relaxed their weight is being beard almost solely on their bones. If they are laying on something that is an odd shape when the relax they can easily break a rib. This can lead to a refusal of food which can be a death sentence for a large constrictor. My point of saying all this, is to further reiterate my point of the lack of information on keeping very large constrictors in “small” or “abusive” style enclosures. It simply is not true and I can go on on about this subject, but the truth is there are many reasons Reticulated Pythons have been kept and bred in a certain style enclosures since the 90s, and to think that those pioneers have not tried every big, small, tall, wide, giant, bioactive and everything in between style enclosure is ridiculous.
Sometimes you will find when upgrading your snake to the next size enclosure it stops eating or will just seem stressed out. This can show itself in many forms. More defensive, inconsistent feedings, digestive issues, etc… If you find this happening there are a few things you can do. The easiest thing is putting its previous enclosure inside the new enclosure but leaving it open. This gives them a sense of security and helps with the transition process of swithching enclosures. Eventually you can take it out when you feel your snake is ready, there is no set time on how long you should leave its’ old enclosure inside new enclosure. If you take it out and find your retic is still acting weird, then put it back in. This is easy to do when switching from tubs to front opening glass enclosure. But, can be difficult to do with a 40 gallon into a 4x2x2 for example. The next best thing to do is to use “dirty” bedding from previous enclosure into new enclosure to help your snake feel more at home. Adding more hides, deeper substrate, live prey items, and less frequent handling are also great things to try if your snake is not taking upgrade well. You can have a friendly snake that takes frozen thawed regularly that never strikes. You upgrade that snake and it doesn’t want to eat, it’s suddenly defensive. This is not just a retic thing, but really all snakes.
Sometimes you will find that no matter what you do, your snake is not taking the upgrade well, but clearly needs it. In this case you will have to just wait them out. It is not worth allowing your animal to be stressed out. Eventually, your snake will “accept” the new enclosure as its’ home. Just having patience is key. If you have not already there are some great videos on Youtube of Reticulated Pythons in caves and you can clearly see that they will wedge themselves into some very small crevices of the caves. They will have multiple sheds in the same small area. This is why they tend to like smaller enclosures. Again we should always base our enclosure sizes on the size of the animal, but also they lifestyle of that animal in the wild.
Heating: There are many different types of heating elements. Heat bulbs, heat panels, heat tape, heat pads, heat cable are the most commonly used. They all have their place and from my experience they all work just fine. I will not say one is better than the other because they all have their place. You should, however, pick your heat element based on the style enclosure you will be using. For example, using a heat panel on a rack system is pointless. With that said here is how I like to determine which heating element I will be using.
Heat Lamp/ Bulb: I generally shy away from heat bulbs as I am very paranoid of one breaking and potentially causing a fire. However, they have been used with success for many decades. They work best with taller enclosures, as it will make your snake have to use the entire enclosure to thermoregulate which is great for semi-arboreal species like retics. You can get a fixture that sits on top of your screen enclosure. You will determine the wattage of your bulb based on your enclosure size and ambient room temperature. If your room generally runs warm then a lower wattage is best. Something else to keep in mind is temperature spikes in the room durning summer. When using heat bulbs it is very difficult to use a thermostat properly. Therefore, you will likely be running the heat lamp for 10-12 hours at a time. It is best to use a lower wattage and put an area inside enclosure close to the heat pad to create a basking spot as opposed to an entire half of the enclosure warm. If you are trying to achieve a warm side with a heat lamp you are in for lots of trouble shooting. So many factors can cause issues when trying to achieve this that it is just best to go with a lower wattage bulb and a high point in the enclosure to create a hot spot rather than warm side. This is why heat lamps are best used for smaller retics (hatchlings up to yearlings). Some front opening enclosures come with fixtures on the inside of the enclosure like 4x2x2s or 6x2x2s. Obviously, if you decide to go with this method keep in mind that you will definitely need a cage put over bulb, never have an exposed bulb where a retic has access to it. Again I think bulbs are great for smaller retics up to that 5-6ft in length size. After that, they are not the most efficient way to provide heat for a larger snake. Imagine a 20ft plus retic trying to digest a goat with a heat bulb as its only source of heat. Again they work great for smaller retics just not big ones.
Heat Pads: There are a lot of different companies that make heat pads. Personally I have not found one to be better than any other. Reptile Basics carries some great sizes of Ultra Therm heat pads which I really like as they are completely insulated in a plastics wrap and they do not get extremely hot like other heat pads. It is not necessary to us a thermostat on them like it is on other brands. I would still recommend that you do use a thermostat anyway but again it is not necessary. Heat pads work great for all sized retics in pretty much any style enclosure. They are very simple and easy to use and you never really have to worry about your snake hurting itself on a heat pad. You always want to place your heat pad on the outside of the enclosure if you can help it. If you are dealing with multiple front opening enclosures stacked on top of one another this may not be possible. In this case you can place heat pad inside but be sure to “seal” it off. Because it will be sitting on the bottom of the enclosure you want to avoid it getting wet from a spilled water bowl or your retic urinating on it. A piece of shower board slightly bigger than your heat pad is best to cover it and then caulk it in. This will waterproof your heat pad. Also you will want to make sure your heat pad is big enough for your snake to actually fit on. Something to keep in mind is if your Retic is significantly larger than the heat pad when curled up in a “donut” then you should look to upgrade your heat pad size.
Heat Panels: I have almost exclusively switched over to heat panels for all my front opening enclosures. They are fire resistant as the actual heating element is encased in a hard plastic. They never get over 110F and they distribute the heat they give off well. You can put them inside the enclosure without the worry of your snake burning itself also. With all the different sizes they have available they are a great option for almost every stage of your retics life! I find that they work great as well for stacked enclosures as the heat panels from enclosure below will double as a heat pad for the enclosure above. I generally put my males on the bottom of the enclosure stack as I try to keep them cooler. I have only ever used vivarium electronics heat panels and have never had issues. Another thing that should be noted is that you should still use a thermostat on them. Probe placement is key with heat panels as you can get a lot of mixed temps based on where you place the probe. I like to have my probe hanging a few inches below my heat panel. You don’t want it sitting on the bottom of the enclosure. Your retic will sometimes move it even if its taped or if a bigger retic lays on top of the probe and it was just on the cool side you will get a false reading.
The temperatures I like to aim for are 88-89F hot spot and a 72-75F cool end. Now these are ideal temperatures if I could keep constantly. Unfortunately, this is never possible for me. Summer time heat and winter time cold tends to make my reptile rooms fluctuate. What I will sometimes do during summertime is only run my heat in the morning and late evening for a few hours and shut off at night. I know of some breeders that do not even use any heating element inside enclosure and just heat the room during the day up to 85F and shut it off at night letting it dip into low 70s. While this is not practical for my breeding rooms I do have to admit that it is a great way if not the best way to keep and breed reticulated pythons. Another thing that I didn’t really touch on is rack system heating. I don’t feel the need to speak on this too much as it is pretty much self explanatory. Heat tape or heat cable connected to a thermostat. Retics do great in rack systems for as long as they can fit in them. Although, they all eventually grow them out.
Humidity: I’m always aiming for about 60-65% humidity in all my retic enclosures. I have seen some care sheets saying 90% which is crazy to me. While retics in the wild thrive in this high humidity environment, attempting to recreate that in captivity is nearly impossible. Something people tend to forget is that even though it may be 80-90% humidity in the wild they still have lots of airflow. In order to achieve these extremely high humidity level is North America you would essentially have to shut all the ventilation. This will almost guarantee health issues in the future. I have found that my retics shed perfectly fine in one piece in that 60-65% humidity range. While it may dip down to 50% or spike up to 70% its not the end of the world if either of those things happen. Most of the time in my experience worrying too much about humidity will cause a new keeper to have more issues by trying to do too many different things to address it. If your snake is shedding fine then don’t worry about it! Here are a couple things you can do to raise your humidity % if you are having trouble getting it up to 60-65%.
Larger water bowl- Sometimes it’s a simple as that. Before you start making all kinds of drastic changes you should definitely try a bigger water bowl. More water=more evaporation=more humidity!
Spill a water bowl- I would not recommend doing this with certain substrates like aspen. This is a great option if you see your snake is going into a shed cycle and you are using a substrate that can tolerate water such as cypress mulch.
Use “spongy” substrates- Cypress mulch, peat moss, repti-bark are all great options. I tend to avoid any coconut fiber type substrates as they dry out very fast and do hold humidity but not for long.
LESS ventilation- Notice I said less. It is important that you still have ventilation in your enclosure. But you can close off vents as a way to increase humidity. If you have a screen top enclosure you can place a thick towel covering half of the screen and cover more if needed.
Humidifiers/foggers- These are both great ways to increase humidity. Just be mindful of the type of enclosure you have. Foggers mixed with an unsealed wood enclosure is definitely going to cause the wood to rot over time.
These are the easiest ways to increase your humidity. You shouldn’t really have issues of too high humidity, but if you do just do the inverse of these. Dryer type substrate like aspen, smaller water bowl, and more ventilation. Humid hides are a great option too, but not a necessity for your retic to thrive.
Lighting: Reticulated Pythons are nocturnal and generally spend most of their lives inside caves anyway. Lighting is not necessary for them to live long happy lives. I am open to the idea of nocturnal snakes benefiting from UV lighting. As more research comes out it would seem to point in that direction. However, until it proves to be a necessity I will not say that it is a requirement. It has proven that