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African Ball Python
Common name: Ball Python, Royal Python
Order: Squamata
Family: Boidae
Genus: Python
Species: regius
Range & Habitat
Lives in the savannah grasslands and open forests of Africa.
Reproduction & Growth
Females lay four to 10 eggs, which she coils her body around to regulate their temperature. They hatch in three months. Sexual maturity is reached in three to four years and they can live up to 20 years. Fully grown adults range from three to six feet.
Diet
In the Wild: Almost exclusively small to medium sized rodents
In the Zoo: Thawed mice
General Information
The female python generates heat through a series of contractions of her muscles. She also can expose the eggs to the air if they become to warm. Ball Pythons have vision suited for dim lighting due to their nocturnal nature. To help them see at night, they have a series of heat pits above their mouth that allow them to see body heat. This makes them excellent night hunters. As a defense adaptation, they will coil into a tight ball, concealing their head deep within the ball. This is how they earned their common name in the United States. They are one of, if not the most traded reptile in the pet trade.
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