Bredlis are honestly the hardiest and loveliest species of python they are absolutely A+ and deserve every bit of love and attention ever
See? Puppypunkrock knows whats up! In fact, i feel like MORE of you need to know whats up… That’s right. It’s time for:
THE MORELIA BREDLI APPRECIATION POST!
Buckle up for a crash course in obscure python natural history!
These guys are severally under appreciated in the snake-keeping hobby. If you’re looking for something that’s docile, and beautiful, and easy as hell to keep; they are the perfect package. But hey, I’m not just gunna say that Bredl’s pythons are hardy, gentle, beautiful animals… i’m gunna tell you WHY.Morelia bredli (common names include Bredl’s python, Centralian python, and Central carpet python) are native to the infamous Australian outback.
Who knows why, but millions of years ago these guys decided that the dead center of one of the most unforgiving continents on the planet is a great place to call home. …but this strange unforgiving environment is the whole reason Bredli are so awesome!Can this place explain why are Bredli so docile?Sorta, yeah! These guys are large and in charge and they know it.
Bredl’s are the largest ground predator in this area. Adult max out 6 to 8 feet long. Aside from birds of prey, there isn’t really anything that threatens them. Even wild Bredli are surprisingly docile, and rarely lash out to bite a harassing human.
They’re large, but they’re not crazy large. I like to think of it as a compromise between a ball python and your average boa constrictor. Here’s a great youtube video demonstrating the size of an adult male:
Does this environment also explain why Bredl’s pythons are so pretty?Yup! Just look at this photo of a wild bredl’s python. They’re beautiful orangey-red hues are great camouflage among the red rocks. Those tan and black lines help break up their shape, and help them blend into the trees and brush too.
If you google “Trephina gorge national park” you’ll get a great idea of the place these guys call home!
Is this arid place is also the reason why Bredli are easy to keep?
I once asked a breeder about their famed hardiness and he replied
“The only way you can kill a Bredl’s python is with a shovel.” I feel like that more or less sums up how ridiculously hardy these things are. This desert is blisteringly hot in the day, but insanely cold at night. In order to thrive in this harsh environment, these animals have to be able to deal with large temperature swings. Surveys of wild Bredl’s pythons had their body temperatures range from 91 to 66 degrees (33 to 19 celcius). I’ve even heard one particular breeder regularly cools his animals to 50 degrees (10 celcius) for a month every winter. Thats practically unheard of in reptiles. I’m not saying you don’t need heat to keep them, you definitely do, but the range of temperatures in which these animals can thrive is much wider than any other commonly kept species!It probably goes without saying, but deserts also bring drought, so Bredl’s pythons do wonderfully with low to no humidity… but interestingly higher humidity doesn’t seem to bother them either. You can more or less completely ignore humidity keeping this species. Give em a water bowl and you’re good.
Okay, we get it. Bredli are amazing, and the area they evolved in makes it so they can easily thrive in captivity…
So then why arn’t they more popular? What’s the catch?The secret to success with popular reptiles like bearded dragons and ball pythons isn’t really their ease of keeping so much as their ease of breeding… Now, Bredli arn’t hard to breed per say, but in order to breed them you do need something more reptile keepers seem to lack.
Patience. Bredli take 3 to 4 years to reach sexual maturity. This is a long time in comparison to the 6 months to a year it can take with more commonly-kept reptiles.
So why is this? Again, we can look to their native area. The desert is a very unforgiving place, and a snake could find itself in the middle of a year long drought or famine if the weather turned unfavorable. A younger snake with less size and fat stores could die if it bred too young in this environment. More patent animals, who waited to reproduce were often better off. With time, waiting to breed was selected for, making the species slower to mature.
…but, yeah. If you’ve got no interest in breeding, or are a patient reptile keeper: what the heck are you waiting for?!
In short: Bredl’s pythons are gorgeous, docile, and easy to keep snakes that deserve way more love than they receive.
(Bonus lesson: pay attention to your natural history, no matter what animal you keep! Where an species has evolved can tell you so much about it’s appearance, behavior, and what makes it tick.)
images and information sourced from: http://coolcompanions.com.au/, http://inlandreptile.com/, & the Complete Carpet Python.
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