The ball python also called the royal python is a good snake to keep as a pet. Growing to a maximum size of about 2 meters, ball pythons are not as large as many of the other constricting snakes that are kept as pets, and are quite docile and easy to handle. No special lighting is needed for pet ball pythons since they are nocturnal. A captive bred ball python usually flourishes given the proper care.

The Ball Python lives in the tropical West and Central Africa and feeds on small mammals and birds. The ball python is a maximum total length of about 2 m. The ball python is caught in large quantities for the terrarium. Because of  its smaller size compared to other pythons and commonly docile temperament as well as beauty and low sales price, these snakes are bred in captivity and have become popular as pets.

A pet ball python

Ball Python Description

The color pattern of the ball python is typically black or dark brown with light brown or gold sides and dorsal blotches. The belly is a white or cream that may or may include scattered black markings. The body is solid, the tail short, it accounts for about 10% of the total length. The broad head is clearly separated from the neck, the snout is broadly rounded. From above, the large nostrils on the head are clearly visible.

Ball Python Diet

If known, the ball pythons only eat small mammals and birds. In a study in southeastern Nigeria, individuals under 70 cm total length fed almost exclusively on freshly born and fledged birds, just as in animals with more than 100 cm in length were found almost exclusively mammals as food. Overall, there was the food of males to 70% of birds, the remainder consisted of mammals, and females lay a bird's share of only 33%. This difference has been attributed mainly secondary to the larger average body size of females.

The head of a ball python

Geographic Range

The ball python is spread over large parts of western and central Africa. The range extends from Gambia eastwards to the Sudan. The species is in terms of their habitat of very adaptable, they colonized the closed tropical rainforest as well as savannah and agricultural areas to the edges of settlements.

Way of life

The ball python is crepuscular and nocturnal, on this nocturnal activity, or the hunting methods in the field as in most species of the genus hitherto apparently unknown. Spend the day ball pythons in hiding, mostly in termite mounds. In captivity, young individuals, like climbing, ball pythons are mostly ground-dwelling elderly. The English name "Ball Python" refers to the fact that the snake when threatened often curls up tightly with the head on the inside.

For more information on ball pythons see these sites:

• Python Regius
• Ball Pythons as Pets