BEARDED DRAGON AND BALL PYTHON BREEDER
PYTHON REGIUS
General Care
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
The information we give to you is not to be used like it is the only option or way. These are just our preference based on our own personal experiences and knowledge gained from our history caring for our ball pythons, our way isn't for everyone so do what works out best for you as long as your pet is healthy and thriving and respectfully cared for and haves everything it needs. Please do a lot of independent research, consult with veterinarians that are specialized in reptiles before following any advice by other article's or information on the internet. It doesn't matter how much experience any "herpetoculturist" or breeder think they might have, there is still always a lot more to be learned and the complete understanding and care for these animals.
QUARANTINE
When you bring a new reptile into your home/collection, it is very important to give it one week or two to settle in. As difficult as it may or can be, try not to handle or disturb your new reptile during these couple of weeks to keep stress levels down unless you need to clean feces or give food and provide water.
If you have other reptiles, it's important to keep your new reptile addition in a separate room if possible to quarantine them from your other reptiles. The quarantine period should be a couple months, and this will give you the opportunity to make sure that the reptile is healthy as well as keeping your other reptiles safe. Regardless of where you get your reptile from, it's always better to be safe than sorry unless you can risk your other reptiles well being/health.
NATIVE HABITAT
The ball python (Python regius), also called the royal python, is a python species native to West and Central Africa, where it lives in grasslands, shrublands, wooded areas, savannah and open forests. They are also commonly found living in termite mounds, mammal burrows and other underground hiding places where they aestivate and hide during the day.
Ball pythons eat smaller sized mammals in the wild, including African soft-furred rats, shrews and birds. Ball pythons use their tongue to smell as well as heat sensitive scales called heat pits to find their prey.
LIFESPAN
Well kept captive ball pythons can live for 20 -30 years and even longer, in some rare cases. 47 years in captivity was the longest in record so far.
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When considering whether it’s the right pet for you. Owning a ball python is a very long-term commitment.
BALL PYTHON SIZE
Female ball pythons get larger than males. The average size of a male is 61-91 centimeters, the average length of a female is 121-152 centimeters. some females grow to maximum length of 182 centimeters and males 106 centimeters. Ball pythons are the smallest snakes in the python family.
HEATING/LIGHTING/HUMIDITY LEVELS
Heat lamps and other lights are not necessary for snakes and can actually do more harm than good. They dry out the air and don't provide belly heat, which is necessary for snakes to digest their food. A heat pad under tank/enclosure or a heater controlled by a thermostat is best to provide heat for your ball python.
Your ball python should have a hot spot of around 33Ëšc and the (cool spot) around 26Ëšc to 27Ëšc on opposite side/ends of the enclosure. This will give the snake options to choose if it wants to be warmer or cooler and allow it to stay as comfortable as possible with the options they decide to choose.
Proper humidity levels are necessary for your snake to shed properly and keep it healthy without stuck shed. Humidity levels for a ball python should remain between 50% and 60%, but these levels may be raised up to 80% for a short time during their shedding period.
FEEDING SCHEDULE
You should feed a ball python from 0-1 years old once a week.
Sub-adult to an adult ball python from 1-3 years old once in 10-14 days.
Once your ball python reaches maturity at around 3 years old, feed it once in 2-2.5 weeks.
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Prey rodents should not be larger than the thickest part of the ball pythons body, and frozen rodents can be thawed on the counter or table in a zip lock bag and then dipped in hot water just before feeding it to your ball python. If the prey is freshly killed, this process is not necessary.
If you choose to feed your ball python in a different container, be sure to place the snake back in its original container softly/gently. If you disturb or handle the ball python excessively right after it eats then it will regurgitate its food, so please avoid this problem at all cost.