Mary Allen
The ball python is beautiful to look at with its brown base color, yellow eye-patterned spots on its flanks, and white belly. Breeding shows color deviations like the albino, piebald, or ghost ball pythons.
The non-venomous constrictor is generally not aggressive.
Since the snake, which is less than 2 m long, spends the day in narrow caves, a relatively small terrarium is sufficient.
The ball python is protected by the Washington Convention on the Protection of Endangered Species, a certificate of origin is required and there is no obligation to register.
Acquisition and Maintenance
Wild-caught are illegal. Farm breeding comes from captured pregnant females and should be rejected for reasons of nature conservation.
Animals from local breeders, pet shops, or reptile sanctuaries come with reliable proof of origin, are less likely to bring diseases and parasites with them, and are less prone to refusing food. Farm breeds, on the other hand, are often shipped before the first meal and do not recognize dead rats and mice as food.
Requirements for the Terrarium
The ball python spends the day curled up in rodent burrows, termite burrows, or hollow tree trunks. In addition, when hunting at night, adults prefer the flat ground, young animals also climb branches. Such conditions can easily be imitated in the terrarium.
Terrarium
The correct minimum size for the terrarium is calculated based on the body size of the snake:
Length x 1.0 , width x 0.5 and height x 0.75 of the snake.
130 x 70 x 70 cm should not be undercut.
Facility
Hiding possibilities that imitate a hidden, dim, and narrow cave with physical contact are indispensable for keeping the ball python in a species-appropriate manner. An upside-down piece of bark, a plastic box with a loophole, an upside-down flowerpot, for example. A wet box is important for molting. There are also a few climbing opportunities in the form of stable branches and elevated berths, e.g. B. under a heat spot. A sufficiently large but shallow bowl serves as a bathing opportunity.
Solid loam, coconut bark, hemp or pine bark, or dry leaves are suitable as a substrate. The material must be soft enough not to cause damage if swallowed. There is also a water bowl.
The terrarium itself should be low and hidden from view on three sides.
The rack housing in America, in stacked, drawer-like plastic terrariums, does not correspond to German guidelines.
Temperature
During the day the temperature should be between 26 and 32 °C, in summer nights 23-24 °C, in autumn it can be reduced to 20-22 °C at night, imitating the beginning of the dry season.
The ball python needs different temperature zones. It is warmest directly under the heat source, next to it there are hiding places and berths in cooler corners away from the heat source.
An external heating mat, a heat spot, or a ceramic radiator are used as the heat source, the latter with a protective basket to prevent burns.
Humidity
During the day the value should be between 60 and 80%, at night around 90%, at midday it is a little drier. A spray bottle is used in the morning and evening. A wet box offers extra humidity, real plants support the climate.
Lighting
A 12-hour day-night rhythm using LED full-spectrum strips or T5 tubes is sufficient for the nocturnal ball python, while metal vapor lamps provide heat and UV light.
Cleaning
Feces and any skin and food residues are removed daily. The bathing facility is always cleaned and freshly filled.
Disinfection and overall cleaning with replacement of the substrate take place two to three times a year exclusively with products from specialist shops.