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 Ball
Python
(Python regius)
Natural History
Wild ball pythons (Python regius) are
found at the edges of the Central and
Western African forest lands. They are
equally comfortable on the ground and in
trees, and are active around dawn and dusk.
In the United States, we call them "balls"
due to their habit of curling themselves up
into a tight ball, with their heads pulled
firmly into the center, when they are
nervous. Like most pythons, ball pythons are
curious and gentle snakes.
Ball pythons typically reach 4 feet in
length. When properly fed, their bodies
become nicely rounded. In the wild, they
devour a variety of prey--amphibians,
lizards, other snakes, birds, and small
mammals. Mice are not part of their normal
diet, but with patient training they will
also learn to eat live or dead mice. See
below for feeding tips.
In captivity, young ball pythons will grow
about a foot a year during their first three
years. They will reach sexual maturity in
three to five years. Ball pythons are
egg-layers. The females encircle their four
to ten eggs, remaining with them from the
time they are laid until they hatch. During
this three month period, they will not leave
the eggs, and will not eat.
Getting Started
Selecting Your Ball Python
Choose an animal that has clear firm skin, a
rounded body shape, a clean vent, clear
eyes, and who actively flicks its tongue
around when handled. If at all possible,
make sure your ball python is already eating
before you purchase it (see Feeding Tips
below). All ball pythons are
naturally shy about having their heads
touched or handled by strangers; a normal
reaction is for the ball to pull its head
and neck sharply away from such contact.
When held, the snake should grip you gently
but firmly when moving around. It should be
alert to its surroundings. All young snakes
are food for other, larger snakes, birds,
lizards and mammalian predators. So your
hatchling may be a bit nervous at first, but
should settle down quickly.
Selecting an escape-proof
enclosure
Select an enclosure especially designed for
housing snakes, such as the glass tanks with
the combination fixed screen/hinged glass
top. All snakes are escape artists; ball
pythons are especially powerful and cunning
when it comes to breaking out. A good
starter tank for a hatchling is a 10 gallon
glass tank. A young adult requires a 20
gallon tank, and a full adult may require a
30 gallon tank.
Select a suitable substrate
Use paper towels at first. These are easily
and quickly removed and replaced when
soiled. Once the animal is established, you
can use more decorative ground cover such as
commercially prepared shredded cypress or
fir bark. Pine and aspen shavings should not
be used, as they can become lodged in the
mouth while eating, causing respiratory and
other problems. The shavings must be
monitored closely, and all soiled and wet
shavings pulled out immediately to prevent
bacteria and fungus growths.
Provide a hiding place
Most pet stores carry half-logs.
However, an empty cardboard box or
upside-down opaque plastic container, both
with an access doorway cut into one end, can
also be used. The plastic is easily cleaned
when necessary; the box can be tossed out
when soiled and replaced with a new one. The
box or log must be big enough for the snake
to hide its entire body inside. Remember
that you will need to eventually replace it
as your snake grows.
Ball pythons prefer dark places for sleeping
and, as they are nocturnal, they like a dark
place during our daylight hours. They also
like to sleep in something that is close
around them, so do not buy or make too big
of a cave for its size. Place a nice
climbing branch or two in the tank, with
some fake greenery screening part of it.
Your ball will enjoy hanging out in the
"tree."
Keeping it warm
Proper temperature range is essential to
keeping your snake healthy. The ambient air
temperature throughout the enclosure must be
maintained between 80-85F during the day,
with a basking area kept at 90F. At night,
the ambient air temperature on the coolest
side may be allowed to drop down no lower
than 73-75F only if a basking area of at
least 80F remains available. Special reptile
heating pads that are manufactured to
maintain a temperature about 20 degrees
higher than the air temperature may be used
inside the enclosure.
There are adhesive pads that can be stuck to
the underside of a glass enclosure. Heating
pads made for people, available at all drug
stores, are also available; these have
built-in hi-med-lo switches, and can be used
under a glass enclosure. You can also use
incandescent light bulbs in porcelain and
metal reflector hoods to provide the
additional heat required for the basking
area. All lights must be screened off to
prevent the snake from burning itself.
All pythons, especially ball pythons, are
very susceptible to thermal burns. For this
reason, do not use a hot rock. New on the
market are ceramic heating elements. They
radiate heat downwards, do not emit light,
and are long lasting. These make good
choices to keep your ball comfortably warm
without overheating it.
Lighting
No special lighting is needed. Ball pythons
are nocturnal snakes, spending their days in
the wild securely hidden away from possible
predators. To make it easier to see your
ball during the day, you can use a
full-spectrum light or low wattage
incandescent bulb in the enclosure. Make
sure the snake cannot get into direct
contact with the light bulbs. Respect your
ball's needs, however, and be sure to
provide a hide box. And expect them to use
it!
Feeding
Allow your snake to acclimate to its new
home for a couple of weeks. Start your
hatchling off with a single pre-killed
7-to-10-day old "fuzzy" mouse. A smaller
sized hatchling may require a smaller mouse;
try a pre-killed 5-day old. Older ball
pythons may be fed larger pre-killed mice or
pinkie rats.
If you have problems getting your new ball
to eat, try some of these tricks:
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Provide a dark hide box for it--an
inverted flower pot with a hole in it, a
cardboard box, half log, hollow log
section, ceramic cave--whatever works.
It's okay if the snake's body touches
all the sides when it is inside, they
feel more secure this way. Dangle killed
prey (use forceps so that it smells only
the prey, not your hand) in front of it.
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Feed at night, not during the day. These
are nocturnal snakes, and may be
uncomfortable feeding during the day.
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If it takes the prey but won't eat, or
won't take it...drop the mouse inside,
swathe the enclosure with towels to
block the snake from seeing anybody or
anything, and leave it alone for 24
hours.
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Try colored or multicolored mice. There
are no albino mice in the wild--at
least, not enough for any animal to
imprint on them. Wild balls eat various
shades of brown prey, so select brown or
multicolored mice for feeding.
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Remove the snake from its enclosure, and
keep it out for about half an hour or
so. (This also allows you to keep it
hand-trained.) While it’s out, place a
freshly killed mouse in the enclosure,
then introduce the snake back into the
enclosure.
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Dip the pre-killed mouse in warmed
chicken broth.
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If all else fails--and this should be
considered a last resort because of the
potential danger to your snake--securely
hold the snake between your arm and
body, and VERY gently pry open its
mouth. Watch out, those teeth are
tiny but they're sharp! Place a
pinkie mouse in the snake's jaws, and
gently close the jaws, encouraging the
snake to clamp down. It will
probably thrash around, fighting this
procedure--and that is a good sign,
because a limp snake that doesn't
struggle is probably 9/10ths dead.
Eventually, after several feedings, your
snake should begin to coil around the
pinkie. This is an even better
sign, because it means that its natural
instincts are returning. If you
persevere, in time your snake should be
willing to accept live food without your
"helpful" intervention.
If
you aren't sure of your ability to
force-feed your snake, and it has refused
food for so long that it's beginning to
noticeably lose weight, take it to a reptile
vet or contact your local herpetology
society, and ask to speak to someone who is
knowledgeable about ball pythons and feeding
problems. A good inexpensive book that
covers some of the tricks to enticing
reluctant ball pythons to feed is The
Care and Maintenance of Ball Pythons by
Philippe de Vosjoli, or the new edition,
The Ball Python Manual, by de Vosjoli,
Dave and Tracy Barker and Roger Klingenberg.
Water
Provide a bowl of fresh water at all times.
Your snake will both drink and soak, and may
defecate, in it. Check it daily, and change
when soiled. Soaking is especially good just
before your snake sheds. When its eyes clear
from their milky opaque, or "blue" state,
soak the snake in a tub of warm water for
ten minutes or so, then lightly dry it off,
and return it immediately to its tank. It
should shed cleanly within twenty-four
hours.
Ball pythons should routinely shed in one
piece, from snout (including spectacles) to
tail-tip. If a snake does not shed cleanly,
something is wrong, either with the snake or
with its environment. Newly acquired snakes
may not shed properly for the first month or
two, as they are getting acclimated to their
new surroundings. This is a sign of
transient stress. If it continues, or begins
to occur in a long established snake, the
snake must be evaluated for possible health
problems, and the snake's environment must
be evaluated for humidity problems.
Humidity and Ball Pythons
Ball pythons are native to very warm, but
not hot, dry areas in Africa. Many people
make the mistake of trying to keep them in a
too-humid environment, using damp sphagnum
moss or misting them frequently throughout
the day. Keeping the overall environment
damp can lead to skin lesions and more
serious diseases.
In fact, a ball python really only needs an
area within its dry enclosure to retreat
when it requires higher humidity. One way to
accomplish this is to provide a water bowl
large enough for the snake to soak in when
it wants. Depending on the ambient humidity
of its enclosure, this may be enough, or may
be enough during part of the year. Another
good, safe option for a ball python is a
humidity retreat box.
Handling your new snake
After giving your ball 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 its tail and
hissing. Don't be put off--it is usually
just a bluff. And snakes, like most
reptiles, are very good at bluffing! 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. But don't
get overconfident! Given a chance and close
proximity to seat cushions, your ball will
make a run (well, a slither) for them,
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 its tail and unwrapping it from
around your neck or arm. 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 its enclosure, go
ahead and replace it back into its enclosure
after it has finished eating. Then leave it
be for a couple of days. As the snake gets
more comfortable with you, it will be less
nervous--and less likely to give you back
your mouse.
Enjoy yourselves
You have a companion that will be a part of
your life for a great many years, if taken
care of properly. It should remain alert and
active well into its old age. The main
causes of death in captive snakes are
directly related to their care--improper
temperatures, contact with heating and
lighting elements, no regular access to
water, lack of necessary veterinary care and
treatment, careless handling--all things for
which we, as their caretakers, are directly
responsible.
Sources
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The Ball Python Manual, by
Philippe de Vosjoli, Dave and Tracy
Barker, and Roger Klingenberg 1995
Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside CA
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Completely Illustrated Atlas of
Reptiles and Amphibians, by Obst,
Richter and Jacob 1988 TFH Publications,
Inc. Neptune City, NJ
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Snakes of the World, by Scott
Weidensaul 1991 Chartwell Books,
Seacacus, NJ
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Living Snakes of the World, John
M. Mehrtens 1987 Sterling Publishing Co.
New York
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