Natural History - Ball Pythons, Python regius (also known as Royal Python) are relatively small and docile specie of snake, which are native to Western and West-Central Africa. They are called 'Ball Pythons' because, when frightened, they coil around their head and into a ball.

Ball pythons are in the same scientific family as other Boas and Pythons, as such they are constrictors. The term constrictor refers to their method of subduing food by coiling around the intended item, a small mammal, and suffocating it. Ball Pythons prefer to live in areas of mixed grassland and trees (savanna), and are active at night (nocturnal). They hunt at night with the help of their labial heat pits×, and their Jacobson's Organ×. During the day, they spend their time hiding in underground rodent burrows or termite mounds. The average adult can pretty easily reach 36-48 inches. In captivity they can live up to about 50 years, but 10-30 years is probably more likely.

General Information - You will need a cage (an aquarium or snake rack), a secure lid, at least one heat source, a thermometer, a water bowl, and at least one hide box (I suggest 2 one for the cool side and one for the warm side, Ball Pythons love tight dark spaces). I would suggest you also get a hygrometer (humidity gauge). You will also need to know where to get food for your snake, and know of a qualified reptile veterinarian in your area. Wild caught typically do not fare very well in captivity, due to a host of health problems.

Once you have your snake and got him/her set up at home, the best thing to do is leave it alone for at least a week. A snake that is not stressed and acclimated will eat, and generally be a better pet. Ball Pythons do not usually bite, but if a bite is going to happen, reaching your hand in front of the animals face is typically when it does. The snake may not know your intentions and see you as a predator or confuse you with a food item. Bites very rarely happen and fortunately do not hurt any worse than getting a shot from the doctor.

Housing For Your Snake - Housing is basically something in which you can keep your snake secure and safe. Good caging means you can provide correct heat, security, humidity and NOT provide a means of escape for your snake. It can be simple like a Rubbermaid or Tupperware brand sweater or shoe box with air holes in it. More popular cages are usually modified aquariums. These do not have to be expensive. Since most people only see the value of an aquarium if it holds water, you can sometimes pick them up at garage sales.

Securing your snake in an aquarium does not have to be a challenge or too expensive. Pet stores will sell you screen lids which work fine, but you can make your own. To hold it down on the tank you can either use some weight or lid clamps.

Other options to providing safe housing for your snake would be to purchase a commercially made reptile enclosure. www.dragons4you.net and lllreptile.com are two well-known and respected caging providers.

Heat can be safely provided in a few different ways, either a heat mat or heat tape is suggested, heat lamps dry out the enclosure and do not allow for the proper humidity level needed. AVOID "Hot Rocks!!!" Hot Rocks provide a centralized heat that will not adequately heat the enclosure, and they will burn your snake if it lies against it. It's not advisable to allow your snakes to come into direct contact with any heat source. Provide both a basking spot of about 87-90 degrees F on the warm side of the tank and a cool side of the tank at room temperature should be kept above 78. Thermostats are a good way to control the hot spot in the cage (I keep my room temp at 81 f).

One thing which commonly gets over looked is the level of humidity in the tank. Since Ball Pythons spend a lot of time underground in burrows or in termite nests, they are more sensitive to relative humidity than one might expect. I recommend the ambient humidity be at least 50%. Low humidity can cause incomplete shedding, dehydration, and sometimes a lack of appetite. To either add or remove humidity, you can provide bigger or smaller water bowls. You can restrict, but not stop, air flow from the tank. You can use porous substrates (i.e. mulch) that will hold some moisture and mist the cage every so often. Also, humidifiers help keep the room at a good humidity or there are some products like the repti-fogger that can pour the mist right into the tank

Fresh water and at least one hide box are critical to your python's well-being. Depending on the size of the snake, small butter tubs or 3 gallon Rubbermaid containers can be good water dishes. I like to use deli cups with a pvc-coupler base. A hide 'box' can be anything which simulates a rodent burrow. I like to use plastic containers from the dollar store with a hole cut in the side and duct taped around to cover the rough sides. Whatever you choose to use, you would be well advised to have a few of them in the cage at different temperatures, so the snake can decide where it's more comfortable.

What to put on the bottom of the cage, i.e. substrate? Well, I prefer to keep things simple, so I just use a few sheets of newspaper on the bottom then a little aspen on top of that. It's cheap and easy to replace when soiled. Of course there are other materials you can use. I would caution to stay away, very far away, from cedar mulch. Cedar oils are toxic and can lead to deadly respiratory infections. Plant/Wood based mulches that are safe to use include: Aspen, Long Grain Sphagnum Moss, and Cypress (whole trees are ground up to make it; Cypress is not "Environmentally Correct"). Another substrate which I've used in the past is Astro-turf and/ or felt. Your local home supply or craft store sells it cheap, and it comes in colors which may be more pleasing to you than newspaper. I would suggest getting enough so you can switch out clean for dirty pieces. If the idea of newspaper appeals to you, but you don't like the look of the sports section, some local newspaper offices sell the ends of the unprinted paper spool.

Well besides substrate, hide boxes, and water bowls what else can go into the tank? Well it's always good to have an item which is rough, so the snake can rub against it to help with shedding. Some people like to add plants. If you'd like to put in plants, I would suggest getting plastic ones. Live plants tend to get crushed. I would be a little cautious concerning some plastics. If it has a strong plastic smell to it, I would not put it into a cage.

Care and Husbandry - Snake can easily go a few weeks, and in some cases almost a year without food! Keep this in mind if/when your snake decides to be finicky about eating. Yes Ball Pythons are a little sensitive and sometimes won't eat unless they are 100% comfortable and feel safe. See the next section Feeding strategies for questions about feeding.

A young snake that's growing may shed as often as every four to six weeks. Older snakes which aren't growing as much may only shed a few times a year. If you are worried that your snake is constipated, usually a luke-warm/cool bath in a couple inches of water seems to loosen things up.

The processes of shedding, or sloughing, usually take about 7-10 days to complete. You'll first notice that your Ball Python's belly is getting a pink color. Once you notice this, it's best advised to not handle your snake. Shortly after noticing the belly getting pink, you should see the eyes begin to look foggy and the snake's colors begin to dull. After 5-6 days of this, things begin to clear up. A few days after the clearing, your snake will find something rough and rub against it. Ideally your snake should be able to shed in one full piece, which comes off inside out, like when you pull off your sock. If your snake doesn't happen to get it off in one piece, that's a sign that you are not providing enough humidity or your snake may be a little dehydrated. The two problem areas you should watch out for, if it didn't slough in a single piece, are around the eyes, and the tip of the tail. If the eye caps did not shed off, your snakes eye(s) will have a foggy silver look to them. To help the snake shed off those last few bits of skin, you can try soaking it in a luke-warm/cool bath for a half hour to an hour. Then gently dab it with a warm damp cloth. Placing the snake in a damp cloth bag for a while sometimes helps also. If you cannot get the eye cap(s) off, I wouldn't worry too much, and pay extra attention to the humidity level and the hydration of the snake through its next shed cycle. Most likely the eye caps will come off with the following slough. If after two shed cycles, the eye caps are still intact, a trip to the vet may be called for because this can lead to blindness.

Parasites, may sometimes factor into a bad shed cycle. Ticks and Mites are the two most common ectoparasites you will find. If you suspect your snake is unhealthy a veterinarian will be able to identify internal parasites by looking at a fecal (poop) sample under a microscope. A tick is about the size of a zero "O", and a mite is about as big as the period at the end of this sentence. Typically a snake will get parasites either from you bringing them in from other places like shows or pet stores or other reptile owners homes / being outdoors / occasionally from the rodents that you are feeding your snake. Ticks can be pulled off with tweezers. You may want to dab some antiseptic (Neosporin or Betadine) on the area to help guard against infection. Mites on the other hand are a little more difficult to get rid of.  First I place a flying insect pest strip in the snakes room no closer than 4 feet away from the cage. Then I use warm diluted ½ hour Betadine baths followed with a complete (this means the face too mites can live in their eyes) covering of new cooking oil (Olive, Canola, Vegetable) repeating this process every week for a month. Remember to dispose of all bedding, disinfect the cage and boiling/disinfecting all items likes hides and water bowls in the cage, every time they get the bath. A final bath in warm soapy water will remove most of the oils and what’s left the oils will be completely removed with one shed. Although I haven't used it, Provent-a-Mite from Pro Products is supposed to be effective. It's best to talk to your veterinarian about the proper use of these items and/or suggestions on other products to use.

Other ailments which commonly affect, mostly imported, Ball Pythons are mouth rot, blister disease, and respiratory infections. If you suspect your snake is ill, increase the heat a few degrees and get it to a qualified herp veterinarian. Your local herpetological society or Kingsnake.com should be able to help you find a good doctor. Mouth Rot is an infection within the snake's mouth. If you are seeing a white cottage cheese like material in the snake's mouth, chances are your snake needs treatment. Signs of a respiratory infection are: open mouthed breathing, wheezing or popping when the snake breaths, and/or clear fluid coming out of the snakes nostrils or mouth. Blister disease (Scale Rot) is usually a direct result of the snake being kept in poor conditions. Lowered, or no heat, combined with a damp dirty cage and possibly ectoparasites can lead to blister disease. The snake will have red sores or blisters usually on its belly or lower sides, but occasionally they appear on the back. Again, if you suspect that you have an unhealthy snake, a trip to the veterinarian should be in order. An important part of keeping your snake healthy is keeping it warm and clean. A solution of 10-15% bleach and 85-90% water can be used to disinfect the cage.

Snake are like potato chips, you can't stop with just one... At least I couldn't. Once you do get another snake you need to quarantine it from your other snake(s) for a month. The new snake may be diseased or parasitized and you wouldn't want it to infect your healthy animals. If you decide to house 2 ball pythons together you will want to separate them at feeding time. And you may notice that they will not eat unless housed individually.

One aspect of keeping snakes which is easy to overlook is record keeping. Just keep simple notes on when they eat or refuse. What type of rodent they ate. Was the rodent live, fresh killed, thawed? When they shed is also worth keeping. Once you get a few months or years of notes, some patterns may evolve, and you will recognize that your snake may not eat at certain times (like right before or after a shed cycle). It's also helpful if/when you go to the veterinarian. For the few minutes it takes, it will teach you a lot about your snake.

Feeding Strategies - You may, or may not, have heard that Ball Pythons can be finicky eaters. This is somewhat true. The process of feeding occurs in a few steps. First the snake identifies prey by the scent, color, size, movement, and temperature. If the Ball Python feels that it's in a safe location and won't be molested during the eating process, it will bite and coil around the intended prey item. The coil is intended to kill the prey by suffocation. After the prey stops moving, the snake then usually finds the head and begins the process of swallowing. After the food is in its stomach, the snake will want to find a small, dark, and warm location to lay around for four or five days and digest the food. In the wild, this warm and dark location is usually a rodent burrow, after the snake has eaten the inhabitants.

So how often should you offer food to your snake? Here is the feeding chart I use.  I offer food every week. Snakes eat whole animals and do not need vitamin supplements. This feeding schedule assumes that the adults will be off feed for a few months during the winter/breeding season.

Should you be offering live or dead food? It generally depends on the individual snake, but I offer pre-killed food items. Dead food can't fight back. If the snake has gone awhile without food, is looking thin, and I've exhausted most other options, live food is something worth a try. The downside to offering live food is that the rodent will fight back and can harm your snake. Do NOT leave a live rodent in a cage with a snake unattended! If the rodent attacks your snake, it will scar it, and possibly deter the snake from eating. Most pet stores will pre-kill a rodent for you if you ask. If it's left up to you, there are a few simple and painless ways to get the job done. The easiest would be to place the rodent into a small paper bag and hit it against a hard stationary object. The rodent impacts with enough force to instantly kill it. The other options, are to freeze them or use a CO2 kit that is a little more expensive that puts them down.

I would strongly caution against feeding your snake wild mice or other animals. There is no way of telling what diseases, parasites, or poisons that a wild mouse is carrying. African Soft Furred Rats, Gerbils and gerboas are a Ball Python's natural food item. If your snake doesn't happen to like rats or mice, a regular pet store gerbil is pretty tempting, albeit a little more expensive.

What can I do to get this snake to eat?! This is a question that most Ball Python owners have asked themselves at one time or another. Stress is usually the reason that Ball Pythons don't eat. Your Ball Python can be feeling stress: from not being comfortable in its home, from parasites (either internal or external), from you handling the snake too much, or from infections (respiratory, mouth rot, blister disease, etc). Assuming that the snake is otherwise healthy, free of parasites, and just not eating, try some of the following:

- Double check that your temperature and humidity are correct and your snake has a few places to hide in the cage.

- What season is it outdoors? It's pretty common for adult males (and sometimes females) to go off feed during the winter months.

- If your snake is shying away from the food item, chances are it's stressed about something.

- Are you handling/disturbing the snake? If so how often? Try leaving the snake alone for a week or so and then offer food.

- Is there another snake in the tank? Some of my Ball Pythons do not eat unless they are the only snake in the cage.

- Is the cage in a room that gets a lot of foot traffic and noise? Try moving it to a more quite room.

- Is it within a few days of, or during a shed cycle? Most snakes won't eat during this period.

- Are you offering live? Try offering dead, or if you are offering dead, try offering live.

- How large of a meal are you offering? Even though they might be able to swallow a large meal, some snakes prefer smaller ones.

- Are you offering different types of rodents; Mice? Rats? Gerbils?

- What color of rodents are you offering? Some snakes don't recognize white lab mice and rats as food items. Try and get some with some color on them.

- Are you offering male or female rodents? Some snakes show a preference one way or the other.

- What is the temperature of the dead rodent? Sometimes a fresh kill is the right temperature, and a thawed rodent isn't.

- When you offer food, how are you doing it? Are you disturbing the snake first? a lot of times, if you use the hemostats and dangle a rodent in front of the snake or, just in front of the hole in the hide box, the Ball Python will take it.

- What time of day are you offering food? Remember that Ball Pythons are nocturnal and may not want to eat if it's light out.

- Are the lights on in the room when you offer food? Some snake like it dark when they eat.

- How far away from the snake is the rodent? Somewhere around 2-6 inches from the snakes face is about right.

- Try putting the Ball Python in a brown (opaque) paper bag over night with a DEAD rodent. Make sure you put the bag back into the tank! Sometimes they get out of the bag.

- Talk to the pet store and see if they will provide you with some soiled gerbil bedding. Place that in the paper bag with the rodent.

- Try scenting a dead rat or mouse by rubbing it against a dead gerbil.

- Try thawing a rodent, refreezing it, and thawing it again. The freezing process breaks down the cell walls and makes the rodent smell more pungent.

- It isn't very pleasant, but try splitting or cutting the dead rodent's skull so that some brain matter and blood come out.

Occasionally the snake decides to take a rodent, but it's not the preferred size of meal. A small mouse is but a snack for an adult Ball Python. Sometimes if you offer a few items, the snake will eat more than one rodent at a sitting. You can also strongly encourage a Ball Python to take a second (or third) rodent during the last stages of swallowing the previous one. As the last of the legs go down, using the hemostats, you can introduce the head of another rodent into the snake's open mouth. Most of the time, the feeding response is strong enough that the snake will just keep swallowing. You can get them to swallow a rat after the gerbil/mouse and end up with a good sized meal for the snake.

Notice in the preceding section that I did NOT suggest you try and force feed your snake? It's stressful on you and the snake. This does not solve any problems and creates a lot more.

Common Questions and Problems  In no particular order

Q: How often should it poop/defecate?

A: It depends on how much you are feeding your snake and its metabolism.  You should expect it to "go" at least every 2-6 weeks for an adult. 

Q: What does 1.2 or 0.1 mean?

A: It's simply an abbreviation for gender ratio of snakes (Male.Female). 1.2 means one male and two females and 0.1 mean no males and one female.

Q: Are Ball Pythons good "beginner" snakes?

A: Generally yes. They are usually pretty docile, stay small, and are somewhat hardy, though they can be a challenge at times. Other good beginner snakes are North American Kings (Florida and California) and corn snakes

Q: Does my Ball Python need ultra violet light?

A: No, Ball Pythons are nocturnal× and won't significantly benefit from UV light.

Q: Why did my snake regurgitate/throw up?

A: It could be that you are keeping it too cold, handling it too soon after a meal, or it could be an infection and/or internal parasites.  If you think it's the latter, take it to a qualified reptile veterinarian.

Q: Is it Ok to keep more than one snake in a cage?

A: Yes and No.  I don't advise it.  After a month quarantine, two or more Ball Pythons of similar size can be house together in a big cage. If they happen to stop feeding, I would suggest separating them to individual cages, and you'll want to separate them at feeding time.

Q: Can I safely refreeze rodents?

A: Yes as long as they are not too 'gamey' or rotten.  Snakes in the wild are opportunistic and will eat carrion. 

Q: What's the difference between Captive Hatched [CH] and Captive Bred [CB]?

A: Captive Hatched means the eggs were taken from a wild female and incubated.  Captive bred means that someone took the time to induce a male and female snake to get together, in captivity, and make eggs. CB is much more preferable.

Q: My snake ate the mouse backward?!

A: Don't worry, sometimes with smaller food items, snakes will eat from the tail end of the rodent.

Q: My snake yawned!  Is it all right?

A: Yes, snakes usually yawn to re-align their jaws after a meal.  Ball Pythons sometimes do it for no particular reason.

Q: Should I be worried about Salmonella?

A: Well, Most eggs laying animals can/do carry salmonella. There are a few guidelines to follow that should help.

1) Keep your snake out of the kitchen and away from anything that goes into your mouth (ex. your fingers, a drinking glass, etc.). 

2) Wash your hands after you've handled your snake.

3) Keep your snake away from anyone who may have a depressed immune system (babies, elderly, etc.).

Q: Can snakes swim?

A: Yes, snakes are very agile swimmers, as well as being skilled climbers.

Q: My snake has been soaking in it's water dish for a day or two, is this normal?

A: Well it can just be that the snake wants to be there. It can also be a sign of mites. Check for small specks moving around on the snakes body and near it's eyes or little black speck in the water dish.

Q: Why is my Ball Python hissing?

A: When some snakes feel the need to defend themselves they will puff up and expel air with force, which causes a hissing sound. This is a snake's way of warning you to leave it alone. With time, your snake will settle in and learn that you are not a threat to it.

Q: Do Snakes drink?

A: Yes, most of the water a snake needs it gets from the prey item. Though snakes will on occasion drink.

Q: What's that white "chalky" material?

A: Most snakes have evolved to be very efficient with body fluids. They don't urinate (or pee) like you and I, their kidneys pass 'dry' urates.

Q: Help, My snakes eye has a dent in it!

A: Don't panic. This occasionally happens and can be attributed to the snake being a little dehydrated. Make sure it's got fresh water and a bowl that it can soak in. The dent should be gone with the next shed cycle.

Vocabulary

Crepuscular: refers to animals which rest during the extremes of the day (ie. noon and midnight) but are active in the morning and evening.

Diurnal: refers to animals which are active during the daylight hours and rest when it's dark.

Ectoparasite: are external parasites that you will see crawling over, or on, the snake's body. Mites which are about as big as a period [ . ] and Ticks which are about as big as a zero [ O ], are the two most common you will see.

Endoparasites: are internal parasites. If you have a wild caught Ball Python, a veterinarian will be able to find eggs or the parasites themselves in your snakes feces (poop), by looking at it under a microscope.

Heat pits: are part of the Ball Pythons group of senses. They are located on the upper 'lip', and a few are on the back of the lower 'lip.' Scientists believe they can see heat with these pits in the form of infra-red light. It's like having a pair of night vision goggles. You will also notice the snake in the picture is partially blind and has cataracts as a result of previous trauma to it's eye.

Herpetoculture: is the hobby of keeping and breeding reptiles and/or amphibians.

Herpetology: is the scientific study herptiles.

Herptile: Refers to either a reptile or amphibian.

Jacobson's Organ: is the sensor located in the roof of a snake's mouth. They take particles out of the air with their forked tongue, and the Jacobson's Organ interprets these particles and tells the snake a little about its environment.

Savanna: habitat composed of flat ground with a mixture of trees and tall grasses.