Scientific name: Python Regius

Average size of adults: 3 1/2 to 5 feet, females always get larger than males.

Average life span: 20-30 years under the best conditions

Native to: Western and Central Africa

Lighting: Lighting is only required to provide a photo period, which is 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. UV lighting is not required since these creatures recieve the benefits usually provided by UV lighting through their diet.

Heating: The temperature of the tank should be 83-85f and the basking spot should be 90f and the cool spot should have the temperature of 80f. Night temperatures should be 76-80f.

To help raise/lower the temperatures heatpads/undertank heaters. These items sometimes get to high in temperatures that can burn your reptile. To help keep the temperatures at the temperature you want I would recommend using a thermostats, or rheostat. This controls the temperature of the under tank heater or heat pad that you are using for your reptile. You could also use red, black or blue light bulbs. These do not let out as much light as other bulbs, so they could be used at night as well.

Thermometers should always be used to monitor the temperature of the cage, and checked periodically.

Housing: Adult ball pythons needs 20 g or bigger depending on there size. 20 g long is the one you need since it has more floor space. Not always a tank is needed to house a reptile you could also use plastic Rubbermaid boxes, which you can get at Wal-Mart. (see-through Rubbermaid.)

Substrates for snakes could be news paper, paper towels you could feed on these. But with cypress and mulch I would recommend feeding in a different container or tank (Rubbermaid) because when the snake feeds it could swallow the cypress/mulch and become impacted. You would want to avoid that. (This also goes for bark/wood shavings/and other loose substrates that you may be using.)

Two to three hides should be available for these snakes. Hides are for when the snake is stressed, but also this species of snake has a nature to hide. So it's a must that you provide them with hides. They should be located one on each end, if you have three one could also be located in the middle.

A big water dish should always be provided for the snake to soak in when its time to shed. You do not need to mist your snakes if you have a big enough water dish for it to soak in.

Feeding: Ball Pythons eat rodents, primarily rats and mice. The size of the food item is dependant upon the girth of the snake. Don't feed your ball python anything bigger then the thickest part of its body. This is recommended for ALL snakes. If your snake is a hatchling it should be fed every 5-6 days but as it gets older its not really needed to feed as much, since there fat stores have build up during the year. 10-12 days is good feeding for an adult ball python.

Hint for a ball python that isn't feeding:

If your ball python isn't taking food, try looking at the temperatures of the enclosure, is his tank to big, are there enough hides? Did you try different colored mice? (If you where feeding white mice try feeding brown.) What time of day where you feeding them? Some ball pythons only take during the night, then some dont care.

Shedding: To help with the shedding of your snake always provide your snake with a big enough water dish for it to soak in. This is a normal thing, no worries of your snake being sick at this time. Snakes should shed in a single piece, if your snake is shedding in pieces you may want to mist it more or soak it in a warm bath to help with the shed.