General Care
Living Conditions
The living conditions of any pet are absolutely crucial to the pet’s health. Ball Pythons are no exception. The first aspect of a Ball Pythons environment is the cage size that they will be living in. A hatchling Ball Python can thrive in a ten-gallon tank until its length reaches about 2 feet. Once this point has been reached it is time to upgrade your tank size to a 20-gallon long tank, very suitable specially designed reptile cages can be found at boaphileplastics.com. If a standard aquarium is purchased and not one specifically made for housing reptiles, securing the cage will be required. Snakes are natural escape artists and will find a way to escape if the opportunity is presented.
The next objective in providing an adequate environment for your Ball Python would be choosing a substrate for your cage. Here at the Boa Barn we use cypress mulch, we choose this because it absorbs moisture, helping keep the humidity at a desired level. For hatchlings as well as yearlings we use a several sheets of newspaper, which allows for easy cleaning. Both of these methods are easy to use and will work great for any Ball Python. Never use cedar or pine substrate due to the fact that the oils are toxic and can cause sever if not fatal respiratory problems. Astroturf can also be used, however you must be sure to buy several sheets of it to ensure that it can be cleaned when soiled.
After a substrate is chosen the next requirement to fulfill would be how to heat the cage. NEVER use a heat rock to heat the cage, these do not heat the cage but rather contain the heat generated and can severely burn the snake. Here at the Boa Barn we use UTH, or under tank heaters. The under tank heat should cover one fourth to one third of the bottom of the tank and only at one side. This creates a thermal gradient where the hot side of the cage should be around 90 degrees, while still providing a cool side so that the snake can regulate its own temperature properly. There should be hide boxes at both ends of the cage. One important thing to remember is that the temperature in the tank is never going to be the same as the glass. Therefore do not judge how to change the temperature just by feeling how warm the glass is. A rheostat should also be attached to the heating device to help control the temperature. The entire tank should never be heated. To ensure that the risk of fire due to overloading an electrical out is minimized use a power strip.
There are also several extras that should be put into the cage to help your Ball Python thrive. One needs to be a water bowl that is big enough for the snake to drink from without running out of water to quickly. The water bowl also helps raise the humidity levels in the tank. Another item that is essential to Ball Pythons is a hide box or two, in the wild Balls dwell in dark places underground having a hide box simulates this in captivity and helps the snake feel secure. The last thing that e would suggest is an item in the cage that is somewhat rough that helps the snake shed, this could be the hide box, a branch, or artificial rock.
Feeding
Ball Pythons are sometimes described as picky eaters. This can be true depending on the way that you look at the situation. As mentioned before Ball Pythons are constrictors thus they constrict their food. This occurs in several steps; first the snake recognizes the prey by sensing heat, smell, and movement. When the snake is comfortable it will strike at its prey and while clinched onto the preys body, begin to constrict the prey until it suffocates. The Ball python will then usually move around the prey to its head and begin swallowing the prey. Do not be concerned if the python swallows the prey from the opposite side. The snake will then usually retreat to its hide box to begin the digestion cycle. During the next 2 to 3 days it is suggested not to handle the snake. This can cause your snake to regurgitate its meal.
Many new Ball Python owners will ask what size and how often to feed their snake. For a hatchling Ball Python it is suggested that they eat large fuzzies to hopper size mice. If you contact your local pet store and tell them the size that you need they will be able to assist you in picking out the appropriate size. Hatchlings should be fed at least once a week. If you are looking for your Ball Python to grow more rapidly then feeding twice to three times a week is also an option. However your snake should not be overfed, if your snake becomes fat then there is a problem. For sub-adult to adult size snakes (upwards of two feet), medium to jumbo size rats can be given. The size of the prey is dependent on the size of the snake. A basic rule is the size of the prey should be about the size of the girth of the snake, while still making a slight bulge in the snakes belly when eaten.
When feeding there are several options on the prey frozen, freshly killed, and live. Frozen prey items are the safest for the snake simply because there is no chance for the prey to harm your snake. Frozen food items need to be thoroughly thawed before given to the snake. If left in the cage unattended a live rodent will be able to attack the snake living it scarred or even killing the snake. If you feel that you want to feed live rodents too your snake be sure to monitor the activity in the cage. If the snake does not eat the prey within 15 minutes remove the prey and try again in a couple of days. In order to feed freshly killed prey items you can either go to your local pet store and they can kill a rodent for you or you can do it yourself. The easiest way we found to do it yourself is to simply grab the rodent close to the base of their tail and swing them against the edge of a hard surface (sidewalk, table, ect.), this will cause the spine to break and instantly kill the rodent. Unfortunately due to the high amount of pythons that we have here at the Boa Barn we are unable to freeze all of our rodents or kill them before feeding time, therefore we do feed all of our snakes live rodents. However after 15 minutes we do go back and check to see if they have eaten and if they have not the rodent is removed from the cage.
Many people become concerned when their python refuses to eat for several weeks, the best piece of advice that we can offer is to relax and be patient. Keep good records of your snakes weight, if they have not lost 15%-20% of their initial body weight then there is nothing to worry about. Ball Pythons can go off feed for up to 6-8 months and still be in perfect health. However if your python’s weight loss does slip beneath the 15%-20% of its original weight go see a vet. There are several things that can trigger a snake not feed these include:
- Temperature and humidity levels are not where they need to be
- If it is winter outside
- The snake can be stressed
- You may be handling the snake too much
- The room where the cage is may be too busy or loud
- The snake be getting ready to shed
- You may be offering a kind of prey that is not suitable to the snake i.e. frozen, live, rat mouse, ect.
- Last are you placing the rodent within 2-6 inches of the snakes face
If not experienced force-feeding is never an option. This can cause severe damage to the snake as well as stress.
Health
The health of any animal in captivity should always be at the forefront of the owners mind, Ball Pythons are no exception. There are quite a few health issues that can occur if the basic care guidelines are not followed, these include dehydration, mites and ticks, mouth rot, blister disease, and respiratory infections. Dehydration is caused by not providing enough water and or humidity to the snake’s environment. Raising humidity levels and providing fresh water more often can easily remedy this. Parasites are a very common problem in a little of breeds of snakes. If you suspect that your snake may be ill then take it to a vet and have it tested for internal parasites. Mites and ticks are ectoparasites which means they reside on the outside of the body. A mite is about as big as the period at the end of this sentence. A tick is about as big as this “O”. A tick is relatively easy to remove with a pair of tweezers, you must be sure that no scales are ripped off and that no part of the ticks mouth remains on the snake. Mites are a little bit more stubborn when it comes to removal; there are many different products available to use to get rid of mites. Contact your local vet to see what they recommend. If you ever suspect that your snake may be getting sick increase the temperature a couple of degrees and see a vet. Here are some of signs to look for if you suspect your snake as any of the following illnesses:
- Mouth Rot- White “cottage cheese” material in the snakes mouth
- Respiratory Infection- Open Mouthed breathing, wheezing, clear liquid coming out of mouth and/or nostrils, or an almost sneezing sound.
- Blister Disease- This is caused by poor living conditions, red sores and blisters on belly or lower sides.
Again if any of these signs occur go to your local vet immediately. Keep a good record of weight and feeding when keeping your snake as this can greatly help when going to a vet.
Breeding
After you realize that you have become obsessed with Ball Pythons and have a large enough collection it may be possible for you to begin breeding your snakes. The first thing that needs to be done is to sex your snakes to find out your ratio between males and females. This is written as 1.3 or 2.6, which simply means one male and three females, or two males and six females. Males will generally have thicker tails than females, however the sure way to tell which sex you have is too probe the snake, this can be done by some vets or an experienced breeder. Here at the Boa Barn the breeding cycle begins with the breeders beginning to refuse food around late November early December. This continues for several weeks until we feel that enough of the breeders are off feed to set up the breeding groups. We then decide which males we are going to set up with the females. We move the snakes into different cages to organize, which snakes go with each other. When the males and females are paired up we keep the temperatures in the normal 80’s then the lights get turned off via timer and the temperature drops slightly. In the morning the lights come back on the temperature rises again. The males are rotated almost everyday unless they are copulating. This continues for several weeks until we feel that most of the females have mated. The males are taken out of the cycle and put back into their own cages. The regular temperatures are then put back into place. The females then are feed very heavily to build up body mass for the upcoming clutch of eggs. When the females become gravid or pregnant they start refusing food, they will then go through a shed cycle and begin laying eggs after the shed. The females usually lay their eggs at night and stay tightly coiled around their clutch. We then take the clutch of eggs into our incubating room. After about two months in the incubator room the hatchlings begin to stick their heads out of the eggs. They will absorb the egg yolk then come out of the egg completely. After 7-10 days they go through their first shed, after about a week after the shed they receive their very first meal.
