| BALL
PYTHON CARESHEET
Natural History
Ball pythons (Python regius) are found at the
edges of the forest lands of Central and Western
Africa. They are equally comfortable on the ground
and in trees. They are crepuscular, active around
dawn and dusk. Called royal pythons in Europe,
here in the United States we call them "balls"
due to their habit of curling themselves up into
a tight ball when they are nervous, their heads
pulled firmly into the center. Like most pythons,
ball pythons are curious and gentle snakes.
Ball pythons typically reach 4 feet (1.2 m) in
length; occasionally there are specimens that
reach 5 feet (1.5 m). When properly fed, their
bodies become nicely rounded. Like all pythons
and boas, ball pythons have anal spurs. These
single claws appearing on either side of the vent
are the vestigial remains of the hind legs snakes
lost during their evolution from lizard to snake
millions of years ago. Males have longer spurs
than do the females; males also have smaller heads
than the females.
Ball pythons, like all pythons and boas, devour
a variety of prey in the wild - amphibians, lizards,
other snakes, birds and small mammals. They do
not eat mice in the wild, however, and do not
recognize the mice we offer them as being something
edible. Thus, imported wild-caught ball pythons
tend to be very picky eaters, at least initially,
and drive their owners to distraction in their
attempts to get them to eat something.
Ball pythons are reputed to be able to go for
extended periods of time without food; wild-caught
ball pythons have gone for a year or more without
food until finally enticed to eat lizards and
other snakes. This is not a healthy trait and
must not be a reason for selecting this species.
This should also make you suspicious when a pet
store tells you that their ball pythons are eating
well.
Buying captive-born ball pythons reduces the
stress on the threatened populations in the wild
and helps ensure you will get a healthy, established
eater and a snake already used to contact with
humans. Buying from a reputable breeder will ensure
that you will get the help and advice you need
to assure that your ball feels comfortable and
secure enough to eat after you bring it home and
let it get settled for a week or so.
With the increased popularity of reptiles as
pets there is increased pressure on wild populations.
In addition to the more than 60,000 ball pythons
that are imported annually, ball pythons are killed
for food and their skin is used for leather in
their native land. For some reason, despite their
low reproduction rate, wild ball pythons are the
least expensive pythons on the market, generally
wholesaling for under ten dollars. Imported ball
pythons also harbor several different types of
parasites which may go unnoticed by the novice
snake owner. All around, it is better to buy a
captive-born hatchling or an established, well-feeding
juvenile, sub-adult or adult than an imported
ball of any age.
In captivity, young ball pythons will grow about
a foot a year during the first three years. They
will reach sexual maturity in three to five years.
The longest living ball python on record was over
48 years old when it died. Egg-layers, female
ball pythons encircle their four to ten eggs,
remaining with then from the time they are laid
until they hatch. During this three month period,
they will not leave the eggs and will not eat.
Getting Started
Selecting Your Ball Python
Choose an animal that has clear firm skin, rounded
body shape, clean vent, clear eyes, and who actively
flicks its tongue around when handled. All ball
pythons are naturally shy about having their heads
touched or handled by strangers; a normal reaction
is for the ball to pull its head and neck sharply
away from such contact. When held, the snake should
grip you gently but firmly when moving around.
It should be alert to its surroundings. All young
snakes are food for other, larger snakes, birds,
lizards and mammalian predators so your hatchling
may be a bit nervous at first but should settle
down quickly.
Selecting an escape-proof enclosure
Select an enclosure especially designed for housing
snakes, such as the glass tanks with the combination
fixed screen/hinged glass top. All snakes are
escape artists; ball pythons are especially powerful
and cunning when it comes to breaking out. A good
starter tank for a hatchling is a 10 gallon tank
(approximately 20"L x 10"W [50 x 25
cm]). A young adult requires a 20 gallon tank,
and full adult may require a 30 gallon tank (36"
x 12"W [91 x 35 cm]).
Select a suitable substrate
Use paper towels at first. These are easily and
quickly removed and replaced when soiled and,
with an import, will allow you to better monitor
for the presence of mites and the condition of
the feces. Once the animal is established, you
can use more decorative ground cover such as commercially
prepared shredded cypress or fir bark. Pine and
aspen shavings should not be used as they can
become lodged in the mouth while eating, causing
respiratory and other problems. The shavings must
be monitored closely and all soiled and wet shavings
pulled out immediately to prevent bacteria and
fungus growths. The utilitarian approach is to
use inexpensive Astroturf. Extra pieces can be
kept in reserve and used when the soiled piece
is removed for cleaning and drying (soak in one
gallon of water to which you have added two tablespoon
of household bleach; rinse thoroughly, and dry
completely before reuse). Remember: the easier
it is to clean, the faster you'll do it!
Provide a hiding place
A half-log is available at pet stores. An empty
cardboard box or upside-down opaque plastic container,
both with an access doorway cut into one end,
can also be used. The plastic is easily cleaned
when necessary; the box can be tossed out when
soiled and replaced with a new one. The box or
log must be big enough for the snake to hide its
entire body inside; you will need to eventually
replace it as your snake grows. Ball pythons prefer
dark places for sleeping and, as they are nocturnal,
they like the dark place during our daylight hours;
they also like to sleep in something that is close
around them, so do not buy or make too big of
a cave for its size. Place a nice climbing branch
or two in the tank with some fake greenery screening
part of it; your ball will enjoy hanging out in
the "tree."
Keeping it warm
Proper temperature range is essential to keeping
your snake healthy. The ambient air temperature
throughout the enclosure must be maintained between
80-85F (27-29 C)-during the day, with a basking
area kept at 90F (32.5 C). At night, the ambient
air temperature on the coolest side may be allowed
to drop down no lower than 73-75F ( 23-24 C) only
if a basking area of at least 80F (27 C) remains
available. Special reptile heating pads that are
manufactured to maintain a temperature about 20
degrees higher than the air temperature may be
used inside the enclosure. There are adhesive
pads that can be stuck to the underside of a glass
enclosure. Heating pads made for people, available
at all drug stores, are also available; these
have built-in hi-med-lo switches and can be used
under a glass enclosure. You can also use incandescent
light bulbs in porcelain and metal reflector hoods
to provide the additional heat required for the
basking area. All lights must be screened off
to prevent the snake from burning itself. All
pythons, especially ball pythons, are very susceptible
to thermal burns. For this same reason do not
use a hot rock. New on the market are ceramic
heating elements. They radiate heat downwards,
do not emit light, and are reported to be long
lasting. Plugged into a thermostat will enable
you to adjust the temperature inside the tank
as the ambient room temperature changes with the
seasons.
Buy at least two thermometers - one to use in
the overall area 1" (2.5 cm) above the enclosure
floor, and the other 1" (2.5 cm) above the
floor in the basking area. Don't try to guess
the temperature - you will either end up with
a snake who will be too cold to eat and digest
its food or one ill or dead from overheating.
Lighting
No special lighting is needed. Ball pythons are
nocturnal snakes, spending their days in the wild
securely hidden away from possible predators.
To make it easier to see your ball during the
day, you can use a full-spectrum light or low
wattage incandescent bulb in the enclosure during
the day. Make sure the snake cannot get into direct
contact with the light bulbs as ball pythons are
very prone to getting seriously burned. Respect
your ball's needs, however, and be sure to provide
a hide box, and expect them to use it!
Feeding
Allow your snake to acclimate to its new home
for a couple of weeks. Start your hatchling (about
15" in length) off with a single pre-killed
one week to 10-day old "fuzzy" mouse.
A smaller sized hatchling may require a smaller
mouse; try a pre-killed 5-day old. Older ball
pythons may be fed larger pre-killed mice or pinkie
rats. If you have not had any experience force
feeding a snake, you may not want to try it yourself
until you have seen someone do it. Force feeding,
whether of a mouse or with a formula inserted
by catheter and syringe, is very stressful for
the snake (and it isn't much fun for the owner!).
If your new ball has gone several months without
eating and is beginning to noticeably lose weight,
take it to a reptile vet or contact your local
herpetology society and ask to speak to someone
who is knowledgeable about ball pythons and feeding
problems. A good inexpensive book that covers
some of the tricks to enticing reluctant ball
pythons to feed is The Care and Maintenance of
Ball Pythons by Philippe de Vosjoli, or the new
edition, The Ball Python Manual, by de Vosjoli,
Dave and Tracy Barker and Roger Klingenberg.
Water
Provide a bowl of fresh water at all times. Your
snake will both drink and soak, and may defecate,
in it. Check it daily and change when soiled.
Soaking is especially good just before a shed.
When they eyes clear from their milky opaque,
or "blue" state, soak the snake in a
tub of warm water for ten minutes or so, then
lightly dry it off, and return it immediately
to its tank; it should shed cleanly within twenty-four
hours.
Health problems
Routine veterinary care for newly acquired snakes
is essential. Many of the parasites infesting
ball pythons and other reptiles can be transmitted
to humans and other reptiles. Left untreated,
such infestations can ultimately kill your snake.
When your snake first defecates, collect the feces
in a clean plastic bag, seal it, label it with
the date, your name and phone number and the snake's
name, then take it and your snake to a vet who
is experienced with reptiles. There it will be
tested and the proper medication given if worms
or protozoan infestations are found.
A common problem encountered in captivity include
retained eye shed (spectacles) and mites. When
snakes shed their skin, the layer of skin over
their eye is also shed, and can be clearly seen
when looking at a piece of head shed. Always check
your ball's head shed to assure it has shed the
spectacles. If one or both spectacles have been
retained, bathe the snake again in warmish water
for about ten minutes. Before returning it to
the enclosure, place a dab of mineral oil on that
eye with a cotton-tipped swab. The spectacle should
come off within twenty-four hours. If it does
not come off, wrap your four fingers with transparent
tape, sticky side out. Gently rock your fingers
from left to right (or, from nose to neck) across
the eye; the spectacle should come off. If this
does not removed the spectacle, then seek veterinary
assistance.
Mites are a sign of poor environmental conditions.
Adult mites are tiny reddish brown dots barely
bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.
You may first notice them swarming over your hand
and arm after you have handled your snake (don't
worry--they are harmless to humans) or see them
moving around your snake's body or clustered around
the eyes. Mites are harmful to snakes, especially
ones that have not been kept properly. On the
positive side, they are easy and relatively inexpensive
to get rid of, although the process is time-consuming.
Read the article Getting Rid of Reptile Mites
to find out the best ways to eradicate them.
Snakes, including ball pythons, should routinely
shed is one piece, from snout (including spectacles)
to tail-tip. If a snake does not shed cleanly,
it is a sign that something is not right, either
with the snake or with its environment. Newly
acquired snakes may not shed properly for the
first month or two as they are getting acclimated
to their new surroundings. This is a sign of transient
stress. If it continues, or begins to occur in
a long established snake, the snake must be evaluated
for possible health problems, and the snake's
environment must be evaluated for humidity problems.
Humidity and Ball Pythons
Ball pythons are native to very warm, but not
hot, dry areas in Africa. Many people make the
mistake of trying to keep them in a too humid
overall environment, using damp sphagnum moss
or misting them frequently throughout the day.
The problem with this is that keeping the overall
environment damp leads to conditions such as blister
disease where in the skin, usually of the belly,
becomes covered with blisters, leading to bacterial
infections of the skin, which in turn leads to
overall health problems.
In fact, all a ball python needs is an area within
its dry enclosure to which to retreat when it
requires higher humidity. One way to accomplish
this is to provide a water bowl large enough for
the snake to soak in when it wants. Depending
on the ambient room (and thus enclosure) humidity,
this may be enough, or may be enough during part
of the year. Another good, safe option for a ball
python is a humidity retreat box.
Handling your new snake
After giving your ball a couple of days to settle
in, begin picking it up and handling it gently.
It may move away from you, and may threaten you
by lashing it's tail and hissing; don't be put
off - it is usually just a bluff, and snakes,
like most reptiles, are very good at bluffing!
Be gentle but persistent. Daily contact with each
other will begin to establish a level of trust
and confidence between you and your snake. When
it is comfortable with you, you can begin taking
it around the house. Don't get overconfident!
Given a chance and close proximity to seat cushions,
your ball will make a run (well, a slither) for
it, easing down between the cushions and from
there, to points possibly unknown. Always be gentle,
and try to avoid sudden movements. If the snake
wraps around your arm or neck, you can unwind
it by gently grasping it's tail and gently unwrapping
it from around your neck or arm - do not try to
unwrap it by moving the head. Some snakes are
a bit sensitive about being handled soon after
they have eaten. If you feed your snake out of
it's enclosure, go ahead and replace it back into
it's enclosure after it has finished eating. Then
leave it be for a couple of days. As the snake
gets more comfortable with you, it will be less
nervous and less likely to give you back your
mouse.
Inclusion Body Disease / Quarantine
Inclusion body disease (IBD) is a virus that affects
boas and pythons (boids). It is always fatal in
pythons. Unfortunately, the lust to sell has overcome
common sense in private breeders as well as pet
stores and wholesalers, and an increasing number
of boas and pythons are being sold who are infected
with this virus.
Always spend a considerable amount of time observing
boids before you buy them, especially at pet stores.
Even reptile specialty stores have been selling
infected stock so buying from such stores is no
guarantee that you are buying an uninfected/unexposed
snake. Don't buy a boid because you feel sorry
for it, because it looks sick and the store isn't
providing proper care for it - you may lose every
boid you own.
Always observe strict quarantine procedures when
bringing in a new boid into your house if you
already have other boids. IBD may take several
months to manifest itself. Owners have reported
their new snakes showing signs as little as one
month after acquiring hatchlings to well over
one year after acquiring a new boid.
Always have boids who are not acting well (loss
of appetite, regurgitating meals, mouthrot, respiratory
infection, contorted body positions, stargazing)
seen by a reptile vet as soon as possibly after
symptoms are noticed. Warn the vet before coming
in that it may be IBD so they may take precautions
to reduce exposure to other boids who may be in
their office at that time.
Remember that it doesn't require snake-to-snake
contact to spread the disease. You may unwittingly
spread it by handling other snakes without first
thoroughly washing your hands. Viruses are airborne
- think twice about taking your snakes to places
where they will encounter snakes belonging to
people who may not be taking proper precautions.
Necessities
Some things you should have on hand for general
maintenance and first aid include: Nolvasan (chlorhexidine
diacetate) for cleaning enclosures and disinfecting
food and water bowls, litter boxes, tubs, sinks,
your hands, etc. Betadine (povidone/iodine) for
cleansing scratches and wounds. Set aside a food
storage bowl, feeding and water bowls, soaking
bowl or tub, even sponges, to be used only for
your snake.
Enjoy yourselves
You have a companion that will be a part of your
life for a great many years if taken care of properly.
They should remain alert and active well into
their old age. The main causes of death of snakes
in captivity are directly related to their care:
improper temperatures, contact with heating and
lighting elements, no regular access to water,
lack of necessary veterinary care and treatment,
careless handling--all things for which we, as
their caretakers, are directly responsible.
Sources
- The Ball Python Manual, by Philippe de Vosjoli,
Dave and Tracy Barker, and Roger Klingenberg,
1995. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside CA.
- Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and
Amphibians, by Obst, Richter and Jacob. 1988.
TFH Publications, Inc. Neptune City, NJ.
- Snakes of the World, by Scott Weidensaul.
1991. Chartwell Books, Seacacus, NJ.
- Living Snakes of the World, John M. Mehrtens.
1987. Sterling Publishing Co. New York.
Caresheet by Melissa
Kaplan.
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