Care Sheet for Ball PythonsAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 3.00 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 12/21/2005 |
Main Category: | Snakes |
Sub Category: | Ball Pythons |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Bcimperator |
Years Experience: | Over 20 Years |
Species: | Ball Python (Python regius) |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | This care sheet will cover ball pythons plus all morphs and sexes. |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Ball pythons, due to the short tail, are usually hard to sex properly. The only definite way is probing which should be performed only by a qualified person and only if you really feel you need to know. |
Mostly Active During: | Night |
Substrate and Water Needs: | Many people use different substrates and most are just as good as the other. So here is a list from best to good: Newspaper, Reptibark, or Paper towels. Some people use aspen shaving but these may get lodged in your snakes mouth.
Never feed on any types of bark as the snake may swallow it. Never use cedar of pine as a bedding or anywhere at all! These leek phenols which are potentially dangerous/deadly!
Many ball pythons enjoy a good soak, this is especially true of gravid females and snakes who don’t get proper humidity. I recommend a rubber contained deep enough for soaking and sturdy enough so that it wont tip. This water dish should be concealed behind logs and brush or under a cardboard box. If left in the open then chances are the snake wont soak. If you use a heating pad then you can put the water dish partially over the heated floor so that the water is warm, this will also raise the humidity of the cage. |
Lighting and UVB: | No special lighting is required, but this doesn’t mean you should leave them in the dark. Put them in a room in which a light is on about 6 hours a day. This is only to replicate normal conditions of light cycles. Remember the ball pythons need at least 9 hours of darkness. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | The cage should be broken into three parts, not physically but gradiently. One side should be hot, the middle warm, and the other end cool. The "hot" side should have a floor temperature of 88F. The Middle should even out going down a little. The cool side should be the overall temperature. The overall temperature shouldn’t drop bellow 80F.
Humidity can be brought up by moving the water dish towards the heated side or adding another water dish near the heated side. |
Heating and Equipment: | The best tool for the job is a Heating Pad, I use human heating pads as they are adjustable whereas regular reptile heating pads are not.
I do not recommend heat tape! Heat tape needs to be manually wired and can be a fire hazard.
The room or area in which the snake is being kept in should always have a smoke detector. Fires are rare and are usually human errors. To avoid defective equipment inspect the heating device thoroughly monthly. |
Caging Provided: | For Babies - 10-20 gallon cage
For Younglings - 20-40 gallon cage
For Adults - 40-60 gallon cage
First put on the heating pad on the outside of the cage (tape it in place if needed). Then add you substrate (when using barks first add a layer of paper towels). Add a climbing tree on the cool side. A hide box in the middle of the cage and another over the heated area.
The reason we put it in the middle is because we they don’t want to stay hot always, but when they went to the cool side for hiding they became to cool, when we put the hiding cave in the middle they seemed to show signs of healthier activity.
Provide some sort of barked object like a log or a grape vine (sterilized of course). |
Diet: | Carnivorous |
Description of Diet: | Mice or Rats:
Babies - (pre)killed small fuzzies or live pinkys (1or2 weekly)
Younglings - (pre)killed moderate sized mice (1 weekly)
Adults - (pre)killed large mice or small rats (1 every 9 days)
Never feed your snake anything larger then the fattest part of its own body.
***After purchasing a new snake wait at least a week to feed*** |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | When using once frozen and thawed - calcium + vitamins
When feeding new imports - calcium + vitamins
Clean wounds with benadine and add a bandage (no sticky) held in place with a comfortable fit rubber band.
Mouth rot clean with a mixture of peroxide50%/water50% or what your vet recommends |
Maintenance: | Spot clean whenever needed. Thorough clean once or twice a month.
Clean water daily and purify with an aid. |
Some Words on this Species: | Wild imports have a bad history for not eating well, but new farmed babies usually show no problems. Like all pythons there are especially weak to IBD.
Most are docile in temperament and make a long lived happy pet. |
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