How to Care for Your Ball Python

by | Aug 22, 2024 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Enclosure
It is a common misconception about ball pythons that large enclosures stress them out and they prefer to be crammed in a tiny, dark plastic boxes or undersized enclosure. This is completely false and smaller enclosures can lead to overweight snakes with poor muscle tone and no mental stimulation/enrichment. Hatchlings up to 300 grams can be housed in a 10 gallon enclosure, 20″ length x 11″ width x 13″ height. Juveniles under 3′ long can be housed in a 36″ length x 18″ width x 18″ height enclosure. For adult ball pythons, a 4′ length x 2′ width x 2′ height enclosure or larger works best.

There are many options for enclosures for ball pythons – PVC/HDPE type cages or glass terrariums or tanks. Glass enclosures are one of the best materials at dissipating heating and makes it easier to create a temperature gradient. Glass can also encourage a natural cycle of drying in the enclosure which discourages mold growth in a humid environment, and they are very easy to clean. PCV/DHPE enclosures can be easy to clean, attractive, hold humidity well, lightweight and more durable than glass. They are also opaque on all sides but the front of the enclosure and do come as front opening enclosures. The best PCV/DHPE have a mesh top for easier and safer lamp fixture placement as well as improved ventilation.

The best glass enclosures are:

The best PCV/DHPE:

It’s best to choose a front-opening enclosure, as it makes accessing the snake much easier (and less startling for the snake). Front-opening enclosures are also more secure and more difficult for a snake to escape from.

If for some reason you must use a glass enclosure with a screen top, be sure to get lid locks; like many snakes, ball pythons can be expert escape artists, and it can be very difficult to find a small snake hiding in your house. DO NOT SECURE YOUR LID WITH TAPE! Many snakes have been severely injured through accidental contact with the sticky side of tape.

Recommended substrates for your ball python’s enclosure include the following:

  • The Bio Dude Terra Firma: A bioactive natural substrate that retains humidity well and nourishes any live plants. Can be expensive but lasts a long time.
  • Reptichip: Branded coconut husk substrate which absorbs moisture and odors very well.
  • Zoo Med ReptiSoil: Potting soil made specifically for reptile enclosures.
  • Lugarti Nautral Reptile Bedding: Hold humidity well, not dusty and absorbs odors. Can be expensive.
  • DIY Substrate Mixture: 40% organic topsoil, 40% Zoo Med ReptiSoil, 20% play sand. For a 4’x2’x2′ enclosure it would be 1 bag of topsoil + 1 24qt bag of ReptiSoil + 1 bag of play sand. For best results layer with sphagnum moss. 
  • Paper Towels: Cheap, easy to replace but does not hold humidity well.

Avoid using the following for substrates in your ball python’s enclosure: reptile carpet, carefresh, aspen, pine or cedar shavings/chips. Wood chips can mold quickly in the presence of moisture and the oils from pine and cedar can cause neurological damage to reptiles. 

Remember the more items you put in the enclosure, the more items that need to be cleaned regularly. Hide boxes at least one should be included in the enclosure at each end of your python’s enclosure (i.e. warm end and cooler end). Commercial hide boxes made out of rock or ceramic, and clay flowerpots all work well for hide boxes.  Additional substrate can be placed in the hide box such as coconut coir or cypress mulch to help maintain humidity. 

Remove feces and urates as need and spot clean the enclosure. Clean the enclosure completely every 90 days. This means removing all of the substrate and accessories in the enclosure and using a 5%-10% bleach solution to disinfect the area. Allow for 15 minutes contact time with the 5%-10% bleach solution then rinse thoroughly with water and allow everything to completely dry before adding in new substrate and putting back in the accessories. Reptiles are sensitive to fumes from caustic chemicals such as bleach – keep your reptile away and in a separate room while cleaning their enclosure.

Do not house ball pythons together in the same enclosure, they are solitary reptiles.

Temperature

The hottest end of the enclosure should be 80-90’F and the basking spot should be 96-100’F. The cooler end of the enclosure should be around 78-80’F. The ambient temperature should not fall below 73’F. General air temperatures should never reach above 95’F.

Monitor temperature with a thermometer, one at each end of the enclosure to ensure correct temperatures for both the cooler and hotter sides. 

Undertank heating pads can be used and typically cover 1/3 of the glass enclosure’s floor space. Do not use hot rocks as they can burn your reptile and can overheat easily. Heating pads only produce infrared C radiant heat. Don’t let your snake come in direct contact with the heating pads if it is not an understank one. Bury the mat at least 1″ below the substrate under the warm hide. Connect your heat meat to a good thermostat as heating pads can sometimes overheat. A recommended brand is the Herpstat 1. Make certain to place the thermostat probe on the snake’s level, do not place it on the heat pad itself, you want to control the temperatures that your snake is feeling. You can place the thermostat’s probe inside your ball python’s warm hide or resting on top of the substrate. 

Heat lamps are controversial for use in ball pythons. Some argue it goes against their nature as heat comes from above and reptiles burrow or go closer to the ground to escape the heat. Halogen heating provide the largest quanitity of the the highest-quality form of heating for reptiles via infrared A and infrared B radiation. These wavelengths penetrate deeply into animal tissues, heating them up faster and helping them stay warmer longer, which means less time your reptile spends basking.  Ball pythons can see color – please only buy white or clear light bulbs as colored bulbs will negatively affect your reptile. Best halogen flood bulbs for reptiles:  Arcadia Halogen Heat Lamp or Zoo Med ReptiTuff Waterproof Halogen Lamp. When installing the halogen bulbs, handle them with gloves to help preserve the bulb’s lifespan as skin oils can affect it. If your ball python’s enclosure is more than 36″ long, you will need a cluster of at least two halogen bulbs placed close together to create a basking area large enough to evenly heat most of your snake’s body when in a coiled position. If using a glass enclosure with a mesh top, the easiest way to accomplish this is to use a dome-style heat lamp fixture with a ceramic socket like the Zoo Med Combo Deep Dome dual lamp fixture. That way the mesh will create a barrier between the bulb and the snake, preventing burns. Do not install the heat bulbs inside the enclosure, if you have no choice but to install inside the enclosure, use bulb cages like the Arcadia Heat Lamp Cage to keep your pet from getting burned! The wattage of bulb you will need to use depends on the room temperature, enclosure height and other factors. If your room temperature tends to fluctuate by the season, consider purchasing a proportional thermostat like the Herpstat 1, proportional thermostats simply dim the heat source instead. For best results place a large flat slab of rock directly under the heat lamp along with the warm hide box. 

Humidity

Keep an eye on the humidity within the enclosure.  Enclosures with a screen top can be difficult to keep humidity because it will dry the air quickly. Humidity needs to be kept at 70-80% in your python’s enclosure. Maintaining proper humidity will allow your ball python to shed properly and to maintain proper respiratory health. 

You can monitor both temperature and the humidity level with a digital thermometer/hygrometer. The humidity probe should be placed in the middle of the enclosure to monitor average humidity, although it is helpful to have another humidity probe in the humid hide to make sure it stays moist.

Of course, even when you use the right substrate, maintaining high levels of humidity can be tricky, especially if you live in a dry climate or if the enclosure is well ventilated. Here are some tips:

  • Use a thick layer of moisture-retentive substrate — at least 4″. The more substrate you have, the more moisture it can hold. 
  • Daily misting every evening and then morning if needed
  • Install a humid hideout somewhere in the middle to cool end of the enclosure. This makes sure your snake always has somewhere humid to go when needed. Simply line a reptile hide or cave with moistened sphagnum moss to encourage high humidity, and replace the moss frequently to prevent mold from developing.

Lighting

Choose a UV-B light that offers a zone range of 0.7-1.0 with a maximum UVI of 2.0-3.0 in the basking zone. For a 4′ x 2′ x 2′  enclosure a 22″ long, low-intensity T5 HO fluorescent tube from the Zoo Med or Arcadia brands.  UV-B light helps reptiles absorb vitamin D3 and are important for a snake mental and physical health. 

To achieve the recommended UVI, you will need a specific distance between the UV-B light and the snake’s back when basking.

For light mounted above the mesh (recommended for safety):   

For light without an obstruction such as the mesh: 

Use a Solameter 6.5 to determine the best placement of your light if you are using a different one than listed above. Do not have your UV-B light pass through glass or plastic as it can render the light useless, i.e. make sure your UV-B bulbs are naked.

Lighting should run on a 12 hour on and 12 hour off cycle. Continuous bright overhead lighting can be stressful to nocturnal species such as the ball python. Ball pythons are most active at night, but can be active also at dusk and dawn. 

Change your lighting every 6 months or more depending upon the brand of lighting. Even if your UV-B is producing visible light , the UV-B output decreases over time. 

Feeding

Feed your adult python a rodent once to twice a week with appropriately sized rodents. Pick prey that are no bigger in circumference than the ball python at its largest circumference.  Younger pythons will need to be fed once a week. Do not handle your ball python for at least 24 hours after feeding, as this can stress out your snake and lead to regurgitation of their food. 

Ball pythons can be fed frozen then thawed, pre-killed rodents, or live rodents. Never leave a live rodent unattended with any snake as they can injure the snake. Don’t stun live prey as this is an inhumane practice to the prey. Whole prey is the most nutritional for your ball python. You can buy frozen rodents online such as from Perfect Prey and Layne Labs, at reptile expos, and from a local breeder. Be cautious buying frozen rodents from Petco/Petsmart as the rodents tend to be low quality and have occasional salmonella outbreaks. If uncertain what size of prey to buy online, look for feeders that are 10-15% of your ball python’s body weight. So for a 400 gram python, you would buy feeders that weigh between 40-60 grams.

You can offer your ball python a variety of prey items, which is a good way to ensure your ball python is getting a spectrum of nutrition. Rats, mice, African soft-furred rats, gerbils, hamsters, young rabbits, young guinea pigs, chicks and quail chicks. Some snakes may not be on board with constantly changing prey so find what works for your snake.

Prepare the frozen prey by thawing it out in the fridge the night before feeding day. By thawing in the fridge discourages bacterial growth. Then about 15-30 minutes prior to feeding, stick the prey in a BPA-free plastic bag and submerge in warm water. You want the prey to be at body temperature, i.e. 98-100’F, before offering it to your snake. 

There is a risk of developing nutrient deficiency over time even when you buy your prey items from the best breeders. So it helps to occasionally lightly dust prey items with an all-in-one calcium and vitamin supplement to help fill in the gaps in your ball python’s diet. Use a calcium supplement that contains vitamin D if you are not using UVB lighting.

Here are the best supplements we’ve found that you can use for your ball python:

Ball pythons are well-known for not eating at certain times throughout the year, especially in the winter months or when it is drier and cooler. If you ball python is healthy, continue your husbandry routine as usual and keep the amount of handling to a minimum. Continue to offer your ball python food every 10-14 days until it is interested in eating again. Majority of the time, the snake will resume feeding normally. If your python begins to lose more than 10% of their weight and refuses to eat, bring your snake into the vet as it may be a sign of disease. Please note that snake generally don’t eat while they are in a shed cycle. Weigh your snake weekly to monitor for signs of weight loss.

Always feed your snake inside the enclosure. Removing a ball python from its enclosure for feedings only stresses the snake out and often results in refusing to eat even when they’re hungry. 

Water

Always have fresh, clean water available for your ball python and check their water daily. You can have the water dish large enough for your ball python to slither into and soak. Ensure the water dish is not too deep when using with juvenile snakes, no more than 1 inch deep. Sometimes reptiles will defecate in their water bowls. Clean and disinfect the water bowl once a week. 

Regular tap water is acceptable to use for drinking water for your reptile. Avoid using tap water for misting as it could lead to hard water stains on your enclosure. 

Ball Python Handling

Initially your ball python may see you as a threat, so the goal is to establish trust between you and your snake. Always support your ball python’s body and avoid fast movements. Once trust has been established, most ball pythons enjoy being handled. 

When scared, ball pythons will try to hide and may bite. If your snake looks like they are going to strike, don’t handle them. Give them a chance to settle before attempting to handle your snake.

Sexually Dimorphic

Ball pythons are sexually dimorphic, meaning there is a visible difference in size between the males and females. Males typically grow to 3.6-4.3′ long while the females grow to 3.8-4.5′ long. 

They reach sexual maturity at 3-5 years old and can live to be 15-30 years old. 

Morphs

This species is well known for its incredible genetic diversity, i.e. morphs, which cause variations in colors and patterns. Certain genetic conditions can be associated with specific types of morphs so do your research before buying any morph from a breeder. Always ask the breeder if the snake is a good eater before buying.

Resources:

Bio Dude Terra Firma Substrate: https://www.thebiodude.com/products/terra-firma-36-qt-bag

Reptichip Coconut Fiber Substrate: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0157O1CM8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0157O1CM8&linkCode=as2&tag=reptifiles-20&linkId=de91e6380ae04420175fd015ea9d4bd2&th=1 

Zoo Med ReptiSoil Substrate: https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptisoil-reptile-bedding/dp/344835?utm_source=partnerize&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=1011l297354&utm_content=0&clickref=1011lyE7o58C&utm_term=1011lyE7o58C 

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