It was Christmas Eve at Symbio Wildlife Park when the first of six new pygmy pythons raised its tooth to the ceiling and slit open the egg in which it was encased.
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The tiny head that emerged was little bigger than a noodle.
It disappeared back inside, seeming to want to think over all that it had just witnessed.
Over two days, staff watched in fascination as each of the eggs’ inhabitants roused themselves, until – on Christmas Day – six healthy snakes had emerged.
Fully grown pygmy pythons are only about 60 centimetres long and as thick as an index finger, making them the world’s smallest pythons.
Too tiny to take on an an adult’s diet of small geckos, lizards and mammals, the Symbio babies would dine on the legs of pinky mice until they grew, said Symbio’s Matt Radnidge.
The pythons are residents of Symbio’s recently opened reptile house and their births are being hailed as a sign of good zookeeping practice.
‘‘The female laid six eggs and six babies hatched out,’’ Mr Radnidge said.
‘‘This is a very good result, because often not all the eggs in a clutch will hatch.
‘‘This means the animals are happy to breed and reproduce and it’s a good sign that the improvements we made to the reptile house are working.’’
