(upbeat music)
- Hey good morning everybody
and welcome to the vlog.
And Lucy is ready for me to come in and say hi to her
and today we're actually going to start the day with Lucy
but I am going to actually talk about the smallest pythons
in the world and the largest pythons in the world.
But I think I'm going to have to go get Eric and Bruce to
help me out with Lucy before I get this thing started.
What do you say we learn a little bit about pythons?
And like I've mentioned in the past,
that Lucy's been in a pretty good mood lately but
I do have Bruce and Eric here just to help me
because listen, she's a big snake.
The one thing I will say, she's very hungry lately
so I definitely don't want her to think I'm food because
oftentimes when I'm walking in, I've got a rabbit in my hand
and I definitely don't want her to think that I'm a rabbit.
But other than that, she's been in a really good mood lately
which makes it really nice and she
is definitely a big animal again, looks
like she's in a good mood again,
she's kinda just hanging out in the water,
the opportunity for us to get her out right now,
give us a chance to clean this water
which we do all the time as well.
Come on Lucy, come on girl.
It's so nice handling this animal
not having to worry about getting bit,
I can tell you that much.
Gonna hand it off to Eric just kinda
pull her out of here.
God there's a lotta snake right there.
- That's a lot of snake.
- Look at the size of that snake right there.
Oh my god.
That is a big snake right there guys.
Lucy's obviously a reticulated python
and it's the largest, longest snake on the entire planet,
not Lucy but reticulated pythons.
But I tell you what guys,
I wanna start with the smallest snake on the planet.
And that's right, that's one of the smallest pythons
in the world, that's right this is a python guys.
And these are all what they would call Antaresia,
there's actually four different species
and the actual smallest, smallest is what they call
an anthill or a perthensis.
I actually don't work with those guys
but these guys are barely bigger.
I mean this is just a little tiny python
from Australia and we actually do work with
three of the four species which is
Spotted, Stimson's and Children's python.
That's right guys, you think that pythons are big
but look at this tiny little monkey right here
and again, they don't get very big either.
This is actually an adult Spotted python.
A Children's python
and Stimson's python.
And again, you know, these guys
obviously don't get very large right?
I mean this is a full grown adult.
This is one of the proven breeders that I
actually hatched some of the babies from this year so,
they're a really cool pint sized python.
I always say like an apartment size right?
So, again oftentimes people think pythons are huge,
they hear the word python, they think
oh my god it's gotta be a 20 foot,
human eating animal or something like that.
But the truth is, the vast majority of pythons,
actually stay relatively small just like the Antaresia.
Then to be totally honest with you,
probably the most popular python of all,
would be a Ball Python and of course
this is a Piebald python which is just a paint job,
a really cool paint job that a recessive mutation,
ooh!
Little feisty monkey too.
And the truth Ball Pythons are usually,
they're really the most calmest of the pythons
and again, because they are perfect for kids
and they don't move around a tremendous amount
most of the time they don't have this kind of attitude
like this little monkey has right here.
They're usually super placid.
But again, you know, it's a python
that probably the vast majority of people
that keep snakes, wanna start with a python like this,
she's like a little machine gun,
what're you doing little buddy?
It's okay.
Again most of the time Ball Pythons
are definitely not this way.
And here's an example of how big
a Ball Python actually gets.
This is pretty much adult size.
They'll get a little bit bigger, sometimes stay a little bit
smaller but again, most people that want a snake as a pet,
they don't really want a 20 foot python right?
So if you're a kid and you're going to parents saying,
"Hey mom I want a Ball Python."
They might be thinking it's gonna get 20 foot
and the fact is that this is the adult size right here.
This is big as they get and they
are absolutely placid animals.
As you can see, this little monkey here
is not nearly as feisty as the baby is.
Absolutely never get bit by an adult Ball Python
because they are just so absolutely incredible
when it comes to an animal.
Again, this vlog is more or less just kinda
disproving the fact that pythons are giants
because there's a lot of variety when it comes to pythons.
And while we're on the topic of Ball Pythons,
I actually have a couple cool clutches
of Ball Pythons that just hatched this morning.
And as promised, I wanted to show you
a few Ball Pythons that just hatched out.
This was actually a Yellow Belly Ball Python
that was bred to a Pastel Ivory.
The Pastel Ivory of course is the Super Yellow Belly
which is a white snake and then of course,
it has a little bit of the pastel gene in it,
which blows things out.
But weirdly enough, we didn't produce any normal
Pastel Yellow Bellies which is not that uncommon
but is just kinda interesting.
But nevertheless, these are the codominant Yellow Bellies.
And the reason they were called Yellow Bellies
in the beginning was the fact that
they typically has yellow bellies but then,
as more people bred them, they realized that not all of them
had yellow bellies so, it's kind of a weird name
because sometimes people get them they're like,
"Why do I get a Yellow Belly
that's not even a Yellow Belly?"
Fact is, they are basically white snake producers
and of course, these are the little white snakes right here.
And weirdly enough, we didn't get any Pastel Yellow Bellies
but it appears that every single white snake
is a Pastel Ivory.
So again this is the super form of Yellow Belly and Pastel
and the only difference between a Pastel Ivory
and an Ivory is that their heads are a little darker
on the ivories and they're not quite as blown out,
have a little bit darker yellow
splotching on them and stuff like that.
So these guys are beautiful.
The normal ivories are really incredible as well
but when these get a little older
with the pastel gene, they turn even more white
which is really incredible.
And the odds were pretty good,
we got one, two, three, four Pastel Ivories
and three Yellow Bellies.
So can't complain about that clutch.
As we're getting a little bit bigger,
you would say Woma Pythons probably fit in that mid range
snake right because they'll get about seven foot
so most of the time about six foot
to be totally honest with you.
This is a relatively big Woma Python.
These guys are from Australia,
they're hatched pretty small, not much bigger
than a Ball Python but they do get a little bit larger
but, as you can see, they're
typically very, very good temperament wise.
They are aggressive feeders that's for sure
but if you want a kind of a cool mid sized python
something that's almost the size of a boa constrictor
let's say, Woma Pythons are actually a really good option.
And then the Woma's very close cousin
is actually the Black-headed Python right here.
Essentially the almost look just like Woma Pythons
but they have that really amazing black head
and I've said this before, what they use that black head for
is they'll actually hide in the crevices
and just stick the very top of their head out,
and that black can actually absorb the Sun
and they'll thermoregulate their entire body
which I think is amazing.
Now Black-headed Pythons are slightly larger than
Woma Pythons, they'll get another foot to two foot,
a little bit more girthy but still an
absolutely gorgeous animal and I figure hey,
if I'm gonna show a Woma, I got to show a Black-headed
Python because trust me, they are pretty awesome animals.
Another cool little python is actually a Blood Python
and they're not quite as little as say a Ball Python
but they kind of look similar to a Ball Python
and this is that beautiful one that I got a while ago
that is a little bit cantankerous.
And of course Sweety is pretty much an adult Blood Python.
They can get a little bit larger than this not gonna lie
but she's a pretty average size right.
She's about three years old.
Adult animal could produce eggs at this size
but you can see how absolutely placid these guys are.
Now some Blood Pythons are a little bit cantankerous
just like the one I showed you before
but if you work with them, Sweety is proof
that they can be absolutely wonderful animals.
I mean we get people from all over kids
coming in and just handling Sweety and we've never had
even the slightest incident with her.
So Iif you want kind of a big, beefy python
but one that only gets four to five foot,
Blood Pythons are absolutely a great option.
Kind of in the same ilk as a Woma or a Black-headed Python
would be the kinda same size with Steely,
the Jungle Carpet Python.
Now there's a ton of different Carpet Pythons
from Irian Jaya to Jungles to Centralians to Darwins,
all kinds of different stuff and they do vary in size
a little bit, the smallest being maybe five foot,
the largest being maybe nine foot, somewhere in this range.
But typically Jungle Carpets stay you know, in that
five to six foot range, right in that range anyways.
Beautiful snakes, really placid, good animals,
good eaters I love Carpet Pythons and again,
just another example of python that doesn't get 25 foot.
Green Tree Pythons like my girl Pickles here,
are a good example of another kind of cool python.
Now these aren't necessarily a great like pet python
that you wanna take out and handle.
Although some can come out and be handled,
the majority of them kinda wanna sit in there.
I always say that these are kinda like the aquarium fish
of the reptile trade if you know what I mean.
Kinda like you set up a really cool environment,
you put them in there, you view 'em
just like you would view a fish.
You don't take your tropical fish
out and play with them right?
That's kind of the way I feel about Green Trees.
That's not to say that you can't have a tame Green Tree,
I know people that handle theirs and stuff like that.
But I think there's a little bit of stress that goes along
with it, these guys will get about six foot in length,
but the way the coil up and they always kind of
stay like Pickles are right here,
they don't look like they're very big at all.
So again, not a giant snake but a relatively sizeable
snake and an absolutely incredibly beautiful snake.
This guy is certainly not a python that you would
probably typically hear about when people say,
"Hey if you want a pet python" 'cos
D'Albertis Pythons are very common number one,
and to be honest with you,
oftentimes they're not the most docile animals.
Now this particular one is super good.
It's of course the northern version which is more gold,
the southern version gets a little bit larger
and is kind of almost all black.
But absolutely beautiful animals.
I figured hey, any excuse I have to show off a D'Albertis
or a white-lipped python, I'm gonna do it.
And hey if I'm doing a python episode,
I might as well show this beautiful little monkey off.
Making our way up to the size scale when it comes to snakes,
we're gonna get into some of the giants.
Now there are some pretty big snakes out there like
Scrub Pythons that get really large
but really, you think about three really big pythons
when you think of the giants.
And that's of course the African Rock Python,
the Burmese Python, like my girl Sunrise here,
and of course we'll get into Lucy in a minute
which is the Reticulated Python.
But the Burmese Python I think, of the three,
are the kind of puppy dogs right.
They're very slow moving compared to
the Rock Pythons and Reticulated Pythons.
As well as the fact that they're
just really docile animals comparatively.
I had a Rock Python for about 20 years
and it was definitely a challenge to say the least
and we all know that Lucy sometimes is in
a great mood and sometimes she wants to,
well give me a little kiss if you know what I mean.
But regardless, Burmese Pythons are a large animal.
Sunrise is only a little over two years old
and she's already nine foot, about 40 pounds or so.
She's going to eventually get about 18 foot
and up to a couple hundred pounds.
Now it's pretty rare for Burmese Pythons to get much over
18 foot pushing 20 might be the absolute max
but I personally have never ever seen a 20 footer
bu they can get pretty sizeable
and they're certainly one of the giant pythons.
Back to the biggest or longest snake in the world.
You know a lot of people think that Anacondas are actually
the longest snake in the world but the truth is,
Green Anacondas typically rarely exceed 16, 17 foot.
Now don't get me wrong, Green Anacondas can certainly
be one of the heaviest bodied snakes in the world
but Reticulated Pythons like Lucy here,
is the animal that takes the crown
when it comes to the longest snake in the world.
These guys can literally get almost 25 foot long.
Let's just get her up here.
She is a big snake.
And trust me, they can still get pretty big.
I've seen Reticulated Pythons that probably rival Anacondas
when it comes to the actual girth as well.
So I'm not going to argue the point
whether the Anaconda or the Reticulated Python
are the longest or biggest snake in the world.
I can say they're definitely the longest snake.
But again, pythons doesn't mean that they're giants.
Just because it has the word python added,
oftentimes people think of a snake like Lucy here
being that she is the biggest snake.
And like you had shown in today's vlog,
most pythons are actually relatively small animals.
There's only a few of the giants.
Reticulated Pythons, Burmese Pythons and Rock Pythons
and I tell you what, Lucy is a handful.
She is an absolutely wonderful snake
and you can see what an amazing difference,
just a month makes with disposition.
The fact that she cleared herself out of eggs and has been
eating regularly has just calmed this animal down
'cos again, there's no way that I would have my face
this close to Lucy a month ago 'cos she would've
definitely taken a pop at me but, I tell you what,
just a look at guys woo.
This is a lot of snake right here.
And this is a beautiful snake and I'm so very lucky to have
Lucy in my life because she is a truly amazing animal.
So I tell you what guys, from the smallest python
to the longest and probably for certainly biggest python
and maybe biggest snake in the world,
the Reticulated Python and my girl Lucy.
Woo what an absolutely amazing time.
Let me know down in the comments
which snake you would like to handle.
And if you were surprised about the fact
that there's such diversity in the length of pythons
and I tell you what guys, I'm about wore out
so I'm going to go take a nap or something
like that, get my energy level back.
Wish you guys an amazing day.
Tell you that I love your beautiful faces.
Be kind to someone and I promise,
I'll see you guys tomorrow.