Python regius is most commonly known as the Ball Python and are found in Western and Central Africa. They are equally comfortable on the ground and in trees. They are crepuscular, active around dawn and dusk. Called royal pythons in Europe, in the United States they are called “balls” due to their habit of curling themselves up into a tight ball when they are nervous, their heads pulled firmly into the center. Like most pythons, ball pythons are curious and gentle snakes.

Contents 1 Description 2 Choosing your snake 3 Habitat 3.1 Substrate 3.2 Furnishings 3.3 Temperature 3.4 Lighting 3.5 Water and Humidity 4 Feeding 5 Handling

Description

Ball pythons are named for their defensive behavior of rolling into a tight ball with their head in the middle. Like all other pythons, ball pythons have spurs at their vents. There are many different color morphs and patterns available today in captive bred specimens. The “standard” ball python has large chocolate brown markings with lighter medium-brown spots interspersed between the darker spots. The belly is generally off-white or a pale gray.

Choosing your snake

Health checks for any snake:

• Firm rounded body.
• Clear eyes (may be a little cloudy if about to shed). There should be no sign of discharge.
• No evidence of mites – check especially around the head and eyes, check for faint specks on body and check your hands after handling the snake
• The snake should not have to open its mouth to breathe and should not appear as if it is gasping for breath.
• The inside of the mouth should be a uniform pink – reddened areas or cheesy looking matter may indicate mouth rot.
• Shiny smooth skin with no scabs or sores.
• Clean vent with no swelling in area
• Should move smoothly with no tremors

If you are unsure about the health of a snake, you can ask the vendor for a demonstration feeding, usually on pre-killed mice. If your new snake appears distressed or overly active, be patient but not ignorant, snakes will be agitated until they settle in to their new environments but if the problem persists it may be necessary to seek veterinary advice.

Habitat

Ball pythons are not particularly active snakes, so an enclosure of 10-20 gallons for younger snakes and a 30 gallon tank for an adult specimen will suffice. However, they are adept escape artists, so a securely fitted top is an absolutely necessary.

Substrate

Shredded bark, newsprint, Astroturf. Astroturf is probably the easiest – cut a few pieces to fit the cage, and simply replace the dirty pieces as necessary (the soiled pieces can be soaked in a solution of one gallon of water with 2 tablespoons of bleach, rinsed well, dried and then used again).

Furnishings

Provide sturdy branches and a dark hiding place (they like to feel securely enclosed, so it should be just large enough to accommodate the snake).

Temperature

80 – 85 F (27 – 29 C) during the day, with a basking spot of around 90 F (32 C). Night time temperatures can fall to around 75 F (23 -24 C) as long as an area of 80 F is maintained. An under the tank heating pad designed for reptiles works well for providing the cage heat, with an incandescent bulb or ceramic heating element used to provide the basking temperatures. Never use hot rocks, and the bulb or heat element should be placed or screened off to prevent contact with the snake or burns may result. Use multiple thermometers to monitor the temperatures in the cage (one at the bottom of the cage and one at the basking spot).

Lighting

Ball Pythons are nocturnal, so have no special lighting requirements. However, they are nocturnal, so incandescent bulbs should not be used at night (to preserve the light/dark cycle the snake needs) – instead use red, blue or black bulbs.

Water and Humidity

Provide a dish large enough for the snake to soak in. Soaking is especially important during sheds. Some owners like to provide a covered dish (e.g. plastic storage container) with a hole in the lid, to provide security for the snake so it will soak longer if necessary. Another alternative is to provide a humidity retreat, which similarly uses a covered container with an access hole lined with damp sphagnum moss to provide the moisture (a water dish is still provided outside the retreat).

To successfully maintain the desired humidity conditions for your Ball python you are going to need a hygrometer. A hygrometer is a device used to measure relative humidity within the enclosure.

Feeding

Ball pythons can be fed exclusively mice or small to medium sized rats (as appropriate for the size of the snake), and only need to be fed every week or two. Young snakes should be fed fuzzy mice every 5-7 days, older snakes should be fed increasingly larger prey and can go a little longer (i.e. 10 – 14 days). Use pre-killed prey as live mice can injure a snake – dangling the prey in front of the snake with forceps usually gets the snake interested.

Moving the snake out of its cage into a separate enclosure for feeding is a good idea and will help in the taming process. The snake will associate eating with the other enclosure, and is less likely to confuse your hand for prey when you put your hand into the cage. This will make it easier to reach into the cage to get the ball python out for handling.

Even captive bred ball pythons sometimes refuse to eat, fasting for a couple of months. As long as body weight and condition are maintained, this is not problematic. If your snake stops eating, carefully examine the husbandry, handling, health, and environment of the snake to make sure stress isn’t responsible. Consult a vet or experienced keeper for help if the fast is prolonged or causing weight loss. If necessary, some tricks to encourage a python to eat include dipping the prey in chicken broth, trying different colors of mice, exposing the brain of the prey before feeding it, feeding at night, covering the cage with towels after offering a mouse. You may even want to try feeding a hamster or gerbil, although this may make your snake more likely to refuse mice if it develops a preference for these animals.

Handling

After giving your snake a couple of days to settle in, begin picking it up and handling it gently. It may move away from you, and may threaten you by lashing it’s tail and hissing; don’t be intimidated – it is usually just a warning. Be gentle but persistent. Daily contact with each other will begin to establish a level of trust and confidence between you and your snake. When it is comfortable with you, you can begin taking it around the house. Given a chance and close proximity to seat cushions, your ball will make an attempt to escape, easing down between the cushions and from there, to points possibly unknown.

Always be gentle, and try to avoid sudden movements. If the snake wraps around your arm or neck, you can unwind it by gently grasping it’s tail and gently unwrapping it – do not try to unwrap it by moving the head. Some snakes are a bit sensitive about being handled soon after they have eaten. If you feed your snake out of it’s enclosure, go ahead and replace it back into it’s enclosure after it has finished eating. Then leave it be for a couple of days.