Children's python

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iChildren's Python

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Pythonidae
Genus:	Antaresia
Species:	A. childreni

Binomial name

Antaresia childreni
(Gray, 1842)

Children's python (Antaresia childreni) is a species of python that lives in northern Australia. The name is not derived from a relationship to children, but in honor of John George Children, who was a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum in the 19th Century.

It is a small python, with an average adult length of about 75 cm. It is an egg layer that has up to 20 eggs in a brood. It incubates these nodes through the seven week incubation period by coiling around the eggs, which also serves to camouflage them. It feeds on reptiles, birds and small mammals.

The juveniles are heavily blotched but gradually become reddish brown or brown as it grows. The scales on the body are small and smooth in contrast to the large scales on the top of his head. The juvenile pythons are fed on pinkies (baby hairless mice) but as they mature can be fed on larger adult mice. The amount they eat is dependent on the size of the portion to be digested, but it is common for the snake to only eat 1-2 mice a week. It is also common for the snake to become torpid after feeding as the snake begins to digest its meal.

This species of python lives on average around 25 - 30 years depending on the level of care they receive. Ownership of this snake within Australia requires a class 1 reptile licence, the site of which can be found here, costing $60.