Ophelia the Woma Python is Here!

SerpentineDream · 03-16-16, 08:00 PM

Ophelia the woma python landed today. She is gorgeous, friendly and personable. Even right out of the shipping box she was mellow as can be. She immediately set about exploring her cage. Her breeder said she absolutely loves to climb so I set it up with that in mind.

After a while she fell asleep right on top of her warm hide. :lol

"It looks like I should be able to go so much further."

Admiring the desert broom flowers?

Admiring the sunset?

All tired out. Time to sleep. She can't even be bothered to go into her warm hide.

Zelg · 03-16-16, 08:10 PM

What a beautiful setup and a stunner of a snake! Im really starting to warm up to womas and you certainly have done them justice.

Humble308 · 03-16-16, 10:00 PM

Very nice! Love the setup and she's gorgeous. Congrats

AwesomeGuy376 · 03-16-16, 10:03 PM

Cant get over that setup its amazing, really nice job! Also nice snake

**EL Ziggy** · 03-16-16, 10:42 PM

Beautiful snake, awesome enclosure and great pics. Can't beat that.

SerpentineDream · 03-16-16, 11:37 PM

The setup is actually pretty easy. The background is what makes the difference. When my snakes are big enough to move into display enclosures they each get something like that - a background that mimics their natural habitat, a few appropriate fake plants, something to climb on and a couple of hides. The exception is my ball python, who is in a hand-me-down cage that--for the moment--still has a river garden background.

Ophelia's scene is from Arizona rather than the Australian desert if I'm not mistaken and I'm not sure where all the fake desert plants hail from, but I'm counting on her not to notice.

Backgrounds can be found on Amazon (surprisingly, not a wide selection), PetBackdrops.com (big selection, great prices) and DeepBlueThemes.com (huge selection but very pricey). A well-chosen backdrop can turn an otherwise so-so setup into a really neat habitat and I believe it helps the animals feel a bit more at home.

I love this girl already. She is super curious and fun to watch. I think she has just as much fun people-watching.

PatrickT · 03-17-16, 04:36 AM

awesome Woma! I have two as well and tehy are simply the most stunning species out there

macandchz · 03-17-16, 08:33 AM

that set-up is amazing and so is the snake!

**Tsubaki** · 03-19-16, 07:28 AM

Beautiful! i hope she does not turn out to have mites, that would be quite the nightmare in such a lovely set-up.

SerpentineDream · 03-19-16, 08:14 AM

Oh, I sure thought of that! I repeatedly rubbed her all over with a damp white paper towel before I let her into the cage to see if any dark specks showed up on the towel.

**Tsubaki** · 03-19-16, 08:21 AM

Not a guarantee she won't have any though, did the same with my Burmese python and it came off clean, kept him on paper towels anyway (And a long quarantine as i always do). 5 weeks later i spotted a few tiny mites, probably eggs hitching a ride or tiny mites hidden under his scales. Not saying your girl has mites, at all! don't get me wrong, just saying that you can not be sure she doesn't. (i bought my burmese from a breeder, with a 'no-mite' guarantee.. hah..)

SerpentineDream · 03-19-16, 06:18 PM

Now I'm going to be scrutinizing her every time I look at her. I figured if a vigorous paper-toweling didn't yield mites, we were home free. If it comes down to it, everything in that cage with the possible exception of the driftwood can be sterilized and the bedding can be tossed out, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

Sasha2 · 03-19-16, 06:50 PM

Gorgeous woma.Ive always wanted one.
Here is an interesting blog I found while researching.Whats interesting is the fact they found womas so incredibly high up in the trees, ten meters is pretty darn high.I always thought they were strictly terrestrial till I read this.

The Woma Python Story

SerpentineDream · 03-21-16, 04:25 PM

I fed her for the first time today. I wasn't sure if she would take the mouse because she's only been here a few days but gave it a whirl. I left the F/T mouse just outside her warm hide. I sat down at my desk, turned around to look and the mouse had already disappeared into her hide.

And then, wouldn't you know it, she slithered out of her hide with the half-swallowed mouse, stopped at the glass and stared at me while she proceeded to finish swallowing. This mirrors a story someone reported in the "Woma Wisdom" thread about a woma coming right up to his owner to eat a rat.

What IS that? Maybe "Hey, thanks for the grub?" Or perhaps "You're next?"

I have never seen that behavior in any of my other snakes.

REM955 · 03-21-16, 06:09 PM

Lovely woma. Can't wait to get mine. I get to also enjoy these oddball behaviors.
Who is the breeder you got her from?