Python Regius
Ball pythons are nonvenomous constrictor snakes. They have large black or brown markings with lighter brown patches. Each Ball python has a unique pattern of markings. Their underside is generally white. Adult female Ball pythons are larger than males.
Python Regius
Ball pythons are nonvenomous constrictor snakes. They have large black or brown markings with lighter brown patches. Each Ball python has a unique pattern of markings. Their underside is generally white. Adult female Ball pythons are larger than males.
Ball pythons live in Western and Central Africa in tropical grasslands and savannas (flat, dry grasslands). They often live in burrows.
20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in zoos.
Ball pythons are carnivores (eat meat). They eat small mammals such as gerbils, rats, mice, shrews and occasionally birds.
The closest relatives of the Ball python are other members of the Python genus including the Burmese python and the Indian python.
Reptilia
Squamata
Ball pythons got their name because African rulers used to wear living pythons as jewellery.
Ball pythons get their names because they curl themselves into a ball when they feel threatened. This keeps the head protected in the centre of the coil.
Ball pythons have a series of ‘heat pits’ on each side of their mouth. This allows them to locate their prey by sensing the heat the prey gives out.
Ball pythons are solitary (mostly live alone). Females wrap around their eggs to protect them and incubate them using a shivering motion. Hatchlings are immediately able to look after themselves.
Hatchling
Eggs usually hatch after 55-60 days
1-11 eggs
30-70g on average
In the wild, the female matures between 20-36 months. The male reaches sexual maturity between 11-18 months.
90-180cm
The Ball python is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Unknown
The main threat to Ball pythons is capture for the pet trade. They are also hunted for their meat and skin.
Dublin Zoo educates our visitors about the natural world with the aim of inspiring in them a love of nature and enabling them to act positively for conservation.
20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in zoos.
Ball pythons have a nonvenomous bite that they use when threatened.
They are nonvenomous constrictors.
Ball pythons have sharp teeth that face backwards to help them hold onto prey.
When it gets very hot, Ball pythons go underground and reduce their metabolic rate. They do this to keep cool. This is called aestivation.
90-180cm
A Ball python can survive months without eating. It can do this by reducing its metabolic rate.
1-11 eggs
Western and Central Africa.
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