BALL PYTHON
- Adults are four to six feet on average, and very heavily bodied. They grow approximately twelve to eighteen inches per year until they reach adult size.
- Ball Pythons are naturally found in tropical, scrub and semi arid areas of central and western Africa.
- Come in a very wide variety of color morphs.
Diet
We recommend feeding frozen-thawed rodents. Some individuals can be picky and will only accept live. It is important that you find out what your snake is eating before taking it home. To choose an appropriately sized meal, the rodent should be the same body girth of the snake’s thickest body section. As the snake grows, you can offer larger sized meals less frequently.
Juveniles can be fed once every one to two weeks and adults can be fed once every 3 weeks. However, each individual python’s eating habits will differ. It’s important to find what’s best for your python.
A dish of fresh water should be available at all times.
Housing
Babies can begin in a twenty gallon long aquarium but will quickly need to upgrade to a forty gallon breeder aquarium with either a coconut fiber substrate or cage carpet, moss, heat lamps, under tank heater, thermometer, water dish large enough for the snake to fit coiled up inside, driftwood, hide spots, and fake plants. Adults will need at least a 40-75 gallon aquarium with the same amenities as listed for juveniles. To accomplish appropriate humidity levels, ball pythons must be kept warm and misted once to twice daily.
The tank should also be furnished with furniture such as corkbark or other hiding spots. Be sure no furniture can shift or topple and injure your snake. There should be a hiding spot in both the heated and cooler sections of the tank. A soil or bark based substrate should be used for bedding.
Temperatures should be between 82 - 88º F during the day and 75 - 80ºF at night. Heat only one end of the tank to provide a thermal gradient.
Handling & Care
Adults and juveniles both are generally very docile and easy to handle. Handling your snake soon after it eats may cause him to regurgitate his meal. This is especially true if that meal was large. Do not lift the snakes for a few days after they have eaten.
Spot cleaning by removing feces once a week will ensure a healthy, clean environment but bedding should be thrown away and the entire cage and decorations wiped clean once every month to two months.
Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap after handling any animal.
Health
Mouth rot (infectious stomatitis) can occur if a snake's teeth are broken, the mouth lining is injured, or if a struggling rodent being constricted bites the snake.
Respiratory distress can occur if the cage temperature changes radically or if humidity is high and the cage is damp.
