{"id":12455,"date":"2026-05-01T16:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/2026\/05\/01\/what-is-a-childrens-python-and-why-is-it-named-so\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T16:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:52:22","slug":"what-is-a-childrens-python-and-why-is-it-named-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/?p=12455","title":{"rendered":"What is a children&#8217;s Python, and why is it named so? |"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130678141,imgsize-2365158,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/130678141.jpg\" alt=\"What is a children's Python, and why is it named so?\" title=\"Discover the Children's Python, a small, non-venomous snake from Australia, ideal for beginners. Named in honor of John George Children, this nocturnal hunter grows up to 4 feet and thrives in diverse Australian habitats. With a captive lifespan of 15-30 years, it's a fascinating and manageable pet.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Discover the Children's Python, a small, non-venomous snake from Australia, ideal for beginners. Named in honor of John George Children, this nocturnal hunter grows up to 4 feet and thrives in diverse Australian habitats. With a captive lifespan of 15-30 years, it's a fascinating and manageable pet.\">Discover the Children&#8217;s Python, a small, non-venomous snake from Australia, ideal for beginners. Named in honor of John George Children, this nocturnal hunter grows up to 4 feet and thrives in diverse Australian habitats. With a captive lifespan of 15-30 years, it&#8217;s a fascinating and manageable pet.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Snakes are fascinating slithering creatures, that can be intimidating, but you might be surprised to learn that some are total beginner pets.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"1\"\/>Quite small, nonvenomous, and interesting. This non venomous creature is an adorable cutie from Australia, without any fangs, that loves hiding and hunting at night.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Meet the Children\u2019s Python<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Children&#8217;s python (Antaresia childreni) is a non-venomous, nocturnal snake from northern Australia&#8217;s arid zones. Slim and reddish-brown with darker smears, it grows to a maximum size of 3-4 feet, and is one of the smallest pythons.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/>Hatchlings are born with brighter colours but start fading till maturity. They hunt small mammals, birds, lizards by constriction, climbing trees or rocks. They are mainly ground dwellers but adapt to the surroundings when kept in enclosed spaces.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/> <\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"What is a children's Python, and why is it named so\" msid=\"130678222\" width=\"\" title=\"Children's Python (photo via Wikimedia Commons)\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-130678222\/what-is-a-childrens-python-and-why-is-it-named-so.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Children&#8217;s Python (photo via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Why is it called the \u2018Children\u2019s\u2019 python?<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>There is a fun backstory behind its name. Back in 1842, a guy named John Edward Gray, a British zoologist, discovered this little Australian snake and named it Liasis childreni to honour his mentor and boss, John George Children.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>John worked as the curator at the British Museum&#8217;s zoology section in the 1840s, helping classify cool specimens like this one.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>The name stuck over time, even though it&#8217;s not about children at all! Later, scientists renamed the genus Antaresia after the bright star Antares, but &#8220;Children&#8217;s&#8221; stayed as the common nickname.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>How long does it live?<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Captive ones live 15-30 years with good care, with a maximum record of 25.7 years. They have a lesser lifespan in the wild due to predators and inconsistency of food.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Where is it found?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>According to the IUCN Red List, children&#8217;s pythons live across northern Australia, from far northwest Western Australia, through the top third of the Northern Territory, to northern Queensland, plus Torres Strait islands. The Stimson&#8217;s type spreads even wider inland, from Queensland to Perth. They&#8217;re found in forests, open grasslands, deserts, shrubby areas, and wetlands.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/etimes\/animals\/what-is-a-childrens-python-and-why-is-it-named-so\/articleshow\/130678141.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover the Children&#8217;s Python, a small, non-venomous snake from Australia, ideal for beginners. Named in honor of John George Children, this nocturnal hunter grows up to 4 feet and thrives in diverse Australian habitats. With a captive lifespan of 15-30 years, it&#8217;s a fascinating and manageable pet. Snakes are fascinating slithering creatures, that can be&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-style"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saharanews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}