Royal Pythons (Ball Python)

This week I’d like to talk about one of the most common known pet snakes. This animal is great pet for many reasons. The snake has a very docile nature which makes it a favorite for collectors I'm talking about the Royal Python from Africa. Most people call this snake the ball python. .Above you can see a photograph of a normal ball python. Most people have no idea, but actually over 100 ball python morphs exist. New morphs come out every years, so its always interesting to see what’s new. Below are just some of my personal favorites. I feel like there are so many good things about the ball python. I am always amazed to see what new pattern/color mutations will appear next. They are very easy to take care and breed. Another good thing about this python is it stays pretty small. Big females will usually stay under six feet long.

Favorite morphs

•  Bumblebee
• Killer bee
• Albino

You can also go to the link below and search for "ball python morphs" to see a slideshow of the various types of ball python morphs.

• Click link below
• In the search bar
• Type ball python A-Z
• http://www.youtube.com/

Breeding

The average female will lay 4-8 eggs. These eggs must be incubated at a perfect 88 degrees. They will die if you flux too much with the temp. The key to breeding is to make sure your female is healthy and up to weight. You will want to make sure she has proper heating as well. After eggs are laid you will need to get them into an incubator. Set the temp at 88 degrees and wait 55-60 days. If your eggs starts growing mold after a week you need to throw it away. This egg has gone bad for some reason, and will spread mold to the other eggs. If you really want to see if you have a good egg you should use the "candle" method. Turn off all lights and place the egg over a flashlight. You will be able to see red blood vessels if the egg is fertile. Learn how to incubate ball pythons on the web. Here are the results of one breeder’s hard work. It looks like a baby killer bee or Queen Bee. When it comes to ball pythons: the queen bee is the ultimate goal for me. I love this morph, because it’s so much different that the normal.

• Males must weigh at least 400 grams to breed.
• Females must weigh at least 1200 grams to breed.
• You will need a good incubator to hatch eggs.

Breeding Tip: 

The female ball python is very protective of her eggs. Keep in mind that your normally friendly pet will defend her newly laid eggs. Be very careful at this point, because the female will actually hurt the eggs trying to bite you. Be as gentle as possible when removing the eggs. Just be careful when removing the eggs. I personally have only ever been bit once. I got bit trying to take a female ball pythons eggs.

Ball pythons are one of my favorite snakes. Their small size makes them really easy to handle. They are picky eaters in the juvenile stage, but quickly learn to eat frozen/thawed mice. They will rarely strike at a human. Some of the ball python morphs really blow my mind. I really enjoy the ball python morphs. Each different paintjob is like a natural work of art.

Thanks for taking the time to learn a little about ball pythons.

Good luck,
Michael Walker