~ nocturnal, terrestrial,
carnivorous ~
Size:
Ball Pythons reach
sizes between 3 and 5 feet, females generally being larger.
Life Span:
They usually live at
least 25 years when in good care.
Cage Size
The cage can be a
regular 30 gallon for an adult male, but females will need
something larger. This is recommended as the first tank size
just because you won't have to change the tank every time your
snake grows a little. They can be store bought or custom made.
If you make your own, make sure you don't use any rough wood
that could scuff your snake's head or nose if it rubs against
the sides or top, which most do frequently. If you do make a big
enclosure, be sure to provide multiple hides to ensure the snake
stays stress-free.
Heating
On one side of the
enclosure it should be about 78 degrees, and about 90 on the
other. Reptiles need more heat to thermo regulate and digest
food. Because they are cold-blooded, they need an external
source of heat, but this is covered in the substrate section.
Lighting
Because snakes are
mostly nocturnal, they do not
require a light or photoperiod, but I recommend one as do
most breeders and keepers. The regular lighting in a house is
sufficient.
Substrate
This is highly
debatable like with most reptiles, due to impaction. This is
when your herp swallows some of the dirt or wood chips and it
blocks their digestive tract. You may use vinyl or astroturf
because it retains the heat, but leaves your snake with less
security. Or you may use reptibark with the possibility of
impaction, but holds moisture and is more comfortable. Lastly is
newspaper. How attractive. This is, however, the easiest to
clean but retains no moisture or the fecies. This is up to you I
am not suggesting anything (astroturf or bark) but I will say
not to use sand. If you use bark, be sure not to feed your snake
on it to decrease chances of impaction.
Furnishings
Your snake should not
have to chose between heat and security, so be sure to have a
hide on both sides of the enclosure. They are not arboreal (tree
dwellers) but instead live low on the ground. The only reason
they climb to the top of enclosures is to push at the top. you
can throw in fake plants or pretty much anything you want - just
make sure it poses no threat to your snake though like poisonous
plants people put in because it "looks cool".
Humidity
They do not require a
lot of humidity, but 60% is suggested. It is, however, important
to provide a water bowl that your snake can roll up inside when
it's about to shed. Make sure it cannot be flipped over easily
or you don't fill it up too high as to push the displaced water
over the edge and cause great breeding grounds for bacteria.
Feeding
You may either feed
Live or Frozen/thawed rats. This is also highly debatable, and
here's why: Live rats can also get hungry and turn the tables on
its predator, but if you feed the rats and give them enough
water prior to feeding, there should be no problem. Once you
feed live, a dead animal may never spark the feeding response
again. But likewise, after feeding frozen, a live animal may
just scare the snake. So, all in all, once you decide what to
feed your snake there is a good chance you won't be able to
re-make that decision. I was lucky. All the balls I've bought
have been on live. Around July, I brought the temps up a little
to feed more for breeding season. I had NO problem switching 99%
of my snakes to pre killed.
Rats: 1. Are more nutritious, 2.
Grow faster,
which is good because balls eat big rats, and
3. Make really good pets. But.. Mice keep the snake slimmer, so
I keep my males on mice until they are about 900 grams. At about
700 grams it takes two HUGE mice to fill up a snake, though.
...Or you can do what worked
for me: Give your girlfriend some rats for her to breed, let
her play with the babies until they get too big and you take
them off her hands. This may sound mean, but that comes with
owning any snake unless you buy those sausage things.
(sausages don't breed as well as live rats do) So you may
want to check with the soon-to-be-rat-breeder before hand.
Joanna loved it.
