| Ball Pythons Caresheet |
| This ball python is certainly not all inclusive and is just a basic explanation of the care that these animals require. Caging. As a general rule I like to put the adult ball pythons in as large a cage as I can acquire for them. at least a cage that is 36 x 18 x 24 . The babies feel more secure in a smaller enclosure something along the lines of a 10 gallon tank with a hide box inside will work well for them. The cage can be decorated in many different ways to include live or artificial plants. I like to include a large water bowl as this will serve 2 main purposes. First it will provide water for drinking and second it will provide an adequate amount of ambient humidity that the snake will require for it's general well being and for shedding it's skin. Feeding. Ball pythons can be picky when it comes to feeding .I find that these snakes like to hunt from their hides.I feed my picky ones live but try to switch them over as soon as possible. Ball pythons will take mice,rats,gerbils and hamsters .Find out what your snake has been eating from the person whom you acquired it from and keep feeding it the same .They can be stubborn if not fed what they are used to eating .I feed my younger balls every week a meal that is about as wide around as they are and they seem to do well on that schedule. Substrate. I use aspen and newspapers. That being said feel free to use whatever works for you .But stay away from cedar it has some toxic properties that are harmful to snakes. Size and Lifespan I have read that the record ball python lived to be 47 years old .I think the average with good care is more likely to be in the 12 to 15 year range. These snakes seldom reach a length over 5 feet and in those cases most of those are females .Which tend to be larger than the males. Temps and humidity. I keep mine during the day in the mid to upper 80's in the hot spot. The cool side of the cage should be in the upper to 70's to low 80's at night I let the temp drop to mid to upper 60's with the snakes showing no ill effects. The large water bowl that was used in the cages as described above keeps the humidity in the ideal 60 to 70 percent range. This care sheet courtesy of www.barcreptile.com Ray |
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