Reptiles, June 2006, Black-Headed pythons

Black headed pythons are found in Australia's outback. They are one of the most ancient of all pythons in the world. They have an variety of habitats, from sandy ridges to subtropical forests and savannas. Black heads are medium sized pythons, Adult males reach to lengths of 6 to 8 feet and weigh 6 to 10 pounds. Females reach the length of 8 to 12 feet and weigh 12 to 20 pounds. Occasionally, a male may exhibit little interest in breeding with a female Black heads have a nickname of ''Tommy tar pots'' due to their black head and neck, as if it was dipped in a pot of tar. The coloration of the body is also highly varied. the base color can range from a light brown through brilliant white or yellow. The banding can even be black, brown, red, orange of shades in between. On rare occasions, some blackheads go through incredible color transformations during early childhood (5 to 7 years old). Black-headed pythons are probably one of the easiest pythons to maintain. They are very easily housed in captivity. Babies and adults need a thermal gradient. For babies you need a cool end about 80 degrees F and warm end of 90 degrees F. Also they need a suitable space for their sizes as they grow. The bigger they get the more space is needed. Feeding Black headed pythons is one of the great joys of keeping them, they say. A good feeding schedule is a meal 5 to 7 days. Babies are usually feed smaller rats, and adults are feed medium to larger rats depending on their size. Overall i wouldn't mind having one of the Black-headed pythons but then i would have to buy lots of stuff making them comfortable  at home and i would start liking them, so then i would have to get more which means even more money is put into this.