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Appropriate Caging for Ball PythonsHerpetoculture (the captive husbandry and propagation of
amphibians and reptiles) is a relatively new field in which improved methods are
being developed, publicly discussed on Internet forums, and adopted at an
amazing rate. Only a few decades
ago zoos where hard pressed to keep their reptiles alive much less breed them as
many in the private sector are now doing successfully.
These improved methods of keeping reptiles not only result in better care
for the animals they also allow captive propagation on a scale that can start to
displace the traditional source of reptiles for the pet industry – wild
collection. Africa exports as many as 150,000 ball pythons a year from
eggs and gravid females dug up in the wild. One of the central questions in the keeping and breeding of
ball pythons is what sort of cage is best.
When considering this question it’s important to consider the vast
differences between this species and other longer established captive animals.
One of the most noticeable differences is the long thin shape of a snake.
When comparing a three foot long ball python to say a 3 foot long dog you
should note that the dog might well weigh at least 100 X more.
However, even comparing weights directly between species isn’t
appropriate because of differences in metabolism, activity levels, and psyche. As mammals who have traditionally kept other mammals we are
used to the high energy often active and feeding type animal.
Mammals consume lots of food to keep their body temperatures up and
provide them the energy to keep searching for more food.
Reptiles have a different approach.
They rely on their environment for body heat and this food savings allows
most to be ambush predators waiting for food to come to them.
Mammal predators are designed to maintain a high and sustained level of
activity looking for food, reptiles are not. It shouldn’t be too surprising that along with the
different approaches to feeding them selves in the wild that there are also
differences in preferred habitats for ball pythons when compared to cats and
dogs. Being a relatively small
snake, wild ball pythons must be careful to avoid becoming the prey of a bigger
predator, perhaps one of those hungry mammals that are always cruising around
for food. Ball pythons are a
particularly shy and reserved snake species.
Their common name comes from their tendency to curl into a ball with
their head protected at the center when they feel threatened. They would much rather avoid large predators all together by
remaining underground in tight fitting rodent burrows (near their food source).
Wide-open spaces can intimidate them.
Often young ball pythons will not feel secure enough to eat after being
moved to a larger cage. To some
extent this can be compensated for by placing a tight fitting and secure hide
spot into their cage but often they must be moved back into a smaller cage until
they grow bigger. Even with an
individual that is easy going enough to tolerate a large cage it will inevitably
spend the vast majority of it’s time in a small secure hide spot only
venturing out briefly under cover of darkness. Other important requirements for this shy tropical species
are high heat and humidity. These
are particularly hard to maintain in the most common novice ball python cage - a
glass aquarium with a screen top. Heat
from under-tank heaters and overhead lamps tends to rise out through the screen
top along with any extra humidity. The
screen tops are also notorious for allowing escapes. Even if most of the screen top is covered to prevent heat
loss you still have four glass walls, which are an excellent conductor of heat.
The cool walls will also tend to promote condensation, which is pumping
humidity out of the cage air. Couple
this with the very un-burrow like high ceiling and the high visibility (i.e.
exposure from the shy ball python’s standpoint) glass sides and you can see
why glass aquariums are a very poor choice for housing ball pythons.
Unfortunately they are still very attractive to inexperienced keepers who
haven’t yet learned enough about their pets to know better. The current consensus in the ball python community is that
plastic sweater boxes are the best cage for the snake.
The opaque sides and relatively low profile provide the security that a
hole dwelling snake wants. The
plastic is a much better insulator than glass and with a moderate number of vent
holes and proper heating they come rather close to simulating the warm and humid
rodent burrows of Africa. The
durability of the plastic cages allows for frequent and thorough cleanings.
Just because they are space efficient and inexpensive for the keeper
doesn’t mean they aren’t also the best choice for the snake.
However this efficiency does have the added bonus of allowing captive
propagation on a scale that can begin to displace wild harvesting and provides a
healthier, better adjusted, and less traveled hatchling for the pet trade. Picking the appropriate size sweater box is a subject that
comes up frequently on the Internet forums.
As mentioned before, too large of a cage can tend to stress a small
python out. The general consensus
of experienced breeders currently is that while hatchlings require smaller
boxes, young adults up to 1,500 grams should be housed in about a 30 quart box
(approximately 6”T X 16”W X 24”L) and that larger animals such as mature
adult females up to perhaps 3,000 grams require a longer cage about 10 gallon
(approximately 6”T X 16”W X 34”L). A
few older females may eventually get bigger than 3,000 grams and require a
custom reptile cage such as made for larger snake species. I think what makes these boxes seem small at first sight is
the low ceiling height (each actually a little over 6”).
When comparing actual floor space you see that they are very comparable
to large aquariums that hardly anyone would object too.
However remember that one of the reasons that the plastic sweater box is
actually better for the snake is the low ceiling, which provides the security
that would be found in a burrow with no room for predators to attack from above. Still, some choose to knock it up a little and go with a
slightly taller class of sweater boxes not designed for under bed storage.
These are often 9 or 10 inches tall and are acceptable for larger less
timid individuals or used in conjunction with a good lower profile hide spot
where they can feel the security of a ceiling close above them. In conclusion, the keeping and breeding of ball pythons is
a relatively new field where we are learning better ways to care for our animals
all the time. Public discussion of
experienced keepers has resulted in today’s standards which take into
consideration the unique properties of the ball python and might at first seem
odd to people not well acquainted with this animal or reptiles in general. Thanks, Randy Remington SnakeMorphs.com
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