Blood pythons are found in the western Malaysia, eastern Sumatra, and various islands in the Strait of Malacca. They are found in tropical rainforests, swamps and marshlands.

This species is carnivorous and feeds on rodents. Feed a rodent that is big around as the snake’s girth an average of once every 7-10 days, and monitor the snake’s weight and body condition—as your blood python reaches adulthood, you may feed less frequently to avoid obesity.

Adult snakes may do well eating about every 2 weeks, particularly on larger food items. Because this snake is heavy-bodied and can take larger food items, you may also want to wait 48 hours (instead of the usual 24) before handling for larger meals.

This snake does well feeding at night and on a schedule. For individuals with a particularly strong feeding response, offering a plate at a distance and allowing the snake to discover the food may be useful.

This snake may wait awhile to defecate, and a soak in a shallow, tepid (81-86F) bath once every 7-14 days may be useful to encourage regularity.

“Short-tailed pythons” may refer to any of three species:

• P. curtus- the sumatran short-tailed python
• P. breitensteini- the borneo short-tailed python, or
• P. brongersmai- the red short-tailed python or blood python

These species can vary widely in color patterns and somewhat in size. However, they are all large, heavy-bodied snakes and have similar humidity and care requirements.