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Whether you are a new or experienced Herpetologist, whether this is your first snake or tenth
snake, we feel that it is your duty to find out as much as you can before purchasing you desired
species. This way you can decide whether this species is correct for you, and that you have the
time, effort and knowledge to provide the correct care. Here we have tried to give you our views
and facts on the Ball Python to help you decide whether it will make an ideal pet for you, but
please remember these are only our opinions based on our experience.
Latin Name: Python Regius
Common Name: Ball Python
Aka: Royal Python
Habitat
Ball Python’s are the smallest of the African Python but in our opinion, the best. They’re origin
ranges from West to Central Africa in the countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Togo, Ghana,
and Guinea. They exist in tropical, arid conditions in the African scrubland and spend most of there
lives underground in vacant or active rodent burrows.
Description
These are very hardy and robust snakes. They are very heavily bodied with a long slender neck. They
have a large broad head with a distinctly rounded snout. Normal colouration is black with yellow,
gold or brown markings. The patterning along the body can vary from broken, banded or reduced and
some even display what can only be described as alien faces down the flank.
Size
Female’s can grow up to 6 feet although 4 – 5 feet is average. Male’s can grow up to 4 feet again
2 -3 feet being average. The average size for a hatchling is between 8” to 12”. From what I have
read the longest ever recorded Ball Python was over 7 foot. The biggest we have in our collection
is probably between 5 – 6 feet in length and weighs over 3000g.
Life Span
The average life span is approximately 25 years, although with the correct husbandry and proper care
a life span of over 40 years is not unrealistic. In fact there has been a report that a Ball Python
of over 40 years olds produced a clutch of 9 fertile eggs, although I am sure that her producing
offspring this late on in her life, carries a greater risk than that of a younger more healthier adult
female.
Colour Mutations
T- Albino, T+ Albino, Lavender Albino, Albino Spider, Arctic, Axanthic, Bumble Bee Spider, Honey Bee,
Killer Bee, Caramel Glow, Cinnamon Pastel, Coffee, Classic Jungle, Clown, Coral Glow, Desert Ghost,
Ghost Hypos, Hypermelanistic, Killer Bee Spider, Lemon Pastel, Leucistic, Mojave, Melanistic,
Pattern less, Pearl, Piebald, Platinum, Snow, Spider, Striped (genetic), Super Pastel, and
many More.
Do Ball Pythons make good pets?
YES, Ball Pythons make great pets and I would even go as far as to say that they also make a fantastic
beginner snake. They are bigger bodied than the Corn Snake (which is regarded as one of the best starter
snakes), they move in a lot slower manor which makes them easier to handle. I remember my first starter
snake, I was only young and wanted a snake so I went to a pet superstore and after a brief conversation
with the so called expert I left the store with a fully grown 6 foot Bull Snake! To those who don’t know
about Bull Snakes they really show aggressive behaviour, always hissing and striking at you, but to be
honest it’s all a big front. Once you have them in your hand they rarely bite, but I was not to know this
and needless to say I did not touch it for a month (should’ve done my homework on what I was buying!)
Ball Pythons are very secretive and private snakes, very rarely displaying aggression and once they are
feeding regularly and are established they seem to enjoy being handled. I have had a few that will simply
lie on my lap and not move for hours. They are very cheap to keep and need less care than most other
household pets. They are reasonably clean so there is no need for any rigorous cleaning routine that
takes up all your spare time, in fact 5 minutes a day and 1 hour each week is more than enough time to
make sure your Python has the best care. As long as they have a regular supply of fresh water they can
be left for a couple of weeks without any concern at all.
Buying a Ball python
When buying your first Ball Python try to purchase it from a well established reptile/pet shop,
preferably a shop that specialises in reptiles. Try to find out if it is captive bred (CB) or captive
farmed (CF) as from young these make the best pets. Try to avoid Wild Caught (WC) Pythons at all costs
as I believe this is where the Ball Python gets its reputation for being a bad feeder as they simply
do not adapt well to being in captivity. If possible ask the person you are purchasing your Python
from if you could see it feed on a defrost mouse. This may or may not be possible depending on how it
feeds, if it is an aggressive feeder then it will normally strike at the prey item and start to feed
within a few minutes, however some snakes will feed only when the item is left in the enclosure and
the night time hours have drawn. If you do not see it feed then take a good look at the snake, check
that it is alert, if it is striking at you then this can be a good sign as a snake in poor condition
will not have the energy to strike and within a couple of handling sessions he/she will soon calm
down and stop striking. Look around the eyes, make sure they are nice and clean and mite free, take
a look at the general body shape, this should be round and full, NOT triangle and thin. If there are
folds in the skin and the stomach feels empty then this not a good sign. You can also take a good
look around the rest of the shop and see if all the animals look in good health. See if all the
enclosures have been cleaned and maintained to a good level of hygiene as if they cant be bothered
to clean the tanks then they do not have a lot of regard for they’re animals. Even with little
experience it is not to difficult to spot the difference between an unhealthy animal and a healthy
animal, if you have any doubts then wait until you are certain. But please, remember to do your
homework on whatever species you obtain, they do not choose to be in a cage and they are totally
dependant on the care that you give them.
Enclosure
Due to the vast increase in reptile’s for the pet industry there are now many different enclosure’s
to choose from that are all suitable for housing your Ball Python. So I have written a complete article
that takes an in depth look at housing your Ball Python. (link)
Heating
As with all reptiles, you need to create a thermal gradient. Basically this means you want to create
a hot end and a cool end in the enclosure. The hot end of the enclosure should be between 88˚ - 92˚F
and the cool end between 80˚ - 84˚F. In the following article we have covered most of the different
ways that you can provide the correct heat in your enclosure. (link)
Humidity
You want to try to achieve a humidity level between 50% - 60%. Please click on link to find out the
different ways that you can provide the proper humidity. (link)
What do they eat?
They feed on rodents, including Mice, Rats, and Gerbils although I have never actually used the latter
myself and have always had good success on defrost rats or mice. For a more in depth look into feeding
Ball pythons please click on link. (link)
Reproduction
Male Ball Pythons become sexually mature at around 18 months or 800g and females between 3 -4 years
and 1500g. Clutch size can be between 2 – 15 eggs. Please take a look at our breeding pages for a more
in depth look.
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