The Low Down On Ball Pythons!
Care and Setup
- Enclosure - These guys can be awesome additions with the proper set up. Whether you use tub or tank, hides are a must to keep these guys happy in there environment. Hides should be on both the warm and cool side to let them thermoregulate in comfort with their surroundings. Clutter in-between is a must in making them feel secure in their enclosure. An Insecure animal may not eat and will bring them stress. Screen top tanks should have lid locks to prevent escaping. If you decide a tub is more to your liking, a lock lid tub is best. Snakes can be nose pushers on any lid.
- Substrate - Substrate can be diverse. Aspen can be safely used for beginners. with low dust and easy to clean, it can be a great substrate for balls. However it can't be dampened to help humidity. If aspen is your choice, a humidity box should be offered with damp stagnate moss. For an humid substrate, coco fiber or coco block is prefect. Just be careful about over damping. To wet of substrate can cause scale rot. Bio active can also be done with ball pythons! Check out our Isopod page for more on Bio active!
- Temps and Humidity - Temps and Humidity are important in ball pythons environment. Temps on the warm end should be in the 95F range. Cool side should be no lower than 80F degrees. Like many reptiles, ball pythons cant thermoregulate their own bodies and use the surrounding temps to do so. Humidity is a bad factor in shedding and healthy in general, but to much can also be bad! Humidity should be around 60%-65% for proper shed and a happy snake.
- Diet - Super easy! Rodents! Ball pythons can be picky at times. it could be due to environment being off or the food itself. In the wild, they dine on a rage of birds and small mammals. African soft furs happen to be becoming more popular in the food market for reptiles and happen to be in the ball's wild diet. However, not popular enough for everyone to easily get their hands on ASF. Rats makes a great alternative for theses guys. live or frozen thawed can be offered.
