Ball Python Morphs are Ball Python snakes that have undergone selective breeding in order to develop a specific color or pattern.
Specialized snake breeders focus on isolating mutations that occur spontaneously in the wild while breeding morphs. To develop particularly striking and intriguing color differences, they practice selective breeding.
Like humans, ball python morphs’ genes are handed on through heredity. Genes can therefore be codominant, dominant, or recessive. Breeders try to incorporate these genes were identified to create various morphs:
Overview of The Pink Ball Python
| Scientific name | Python regius |
| Size | 3 to 5 feet long as adults |
| Color | pink |
| Diet | Carnivores |
| Temperature | 75-80°F |
| Origin | West and Central Africa |
| Experience level | beginner |
| kingdom | Animalia |
| Other names | Royal python |
Where Do Pink Ball Pythons Originate From?
Royal pythons are another name for the pink ball pythons. Although they originated in western and central Africa, they are now common household pets in Western nations. According to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web, these snakes may grow to a length of 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters), making them enormous but not monstrous.
Habitat of The Pink Ball Pythons
Pythons reside in moderately warm, rainy areas throughout Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Australia. It is to be noted that although many species flourish in rainforests, pythons may also be found in meadows, woods, marshes, rocky outcrops, dunes, and shrubs.
Depending on the species, pythons find refuge in tree branches, hollows in rocks, abandoned animal burrows, and beneath boulders. Pythons have become used to hiding in farmland and urban waste as people have created python habitats.
One type of python has established itself in the American Continent while being native to the Old World.
The Burmese python, an invasive species, has been found to be reproducing effectively in the RainForest.
Conservation Status Of Pink Ball Python.
The Pink Ball pythons are still not currently endangered due to their wide range and big, steady population numbers. Pink Ball python populations may change due to a shift to highly automated farming and extensive usage of agrochemicals.
Pink Ball Pythons Appearance
If you look attentively, you can see the delicate, exquisite golden tones even though the hue of the ivory varies from piece to piece. Ivories frequently have an off-white color, and the spine typically has a strong yellow to the peach line.
There may be a ton of pretty intriguing-looking varieties produced when ivory snakes mate with other snakes. They are frequently employed by breeders to mask or muffle an eye-catching colour, resulting in a lighter version of the non-ivory parent.
Pink Ball Pythons Lifespan
The Pink Ball Python species can live for 25 years or more. The maximum lifetime is 35 years.
Behavior Of Pink Ball Python
Ball pythons are a more secretive kind of snake and often have a highly gentle disposition. The majority of their time will be spent relaxing in their hides.
Babies are often far more apprehensive and reserved around others, but with the right care, they may eventually start to feel more at ease.
Keepers should manage their ball python frequently, but do not hold it for more than once a week, and no longer than 10 minutes at a time. Excessive handling might make the snake feel stressed out and make it act more defensively.
Ball pythons are among the most manageable snakes, which is why they’re so well-liked as pets.
Pink Ball Python Breeding
Breeding Pink ball pythons successfully require more than just placing a male and a female in the same cage and assuming the best.
If you’re hoping to become a serious breeder, knowing the science of snake breeding will help increase your chances. Naturally, you should have a plan in place for the young after they hatch before learning how and where to breed ball pythons.
Due to the fact that this is when it generally occurs in nature, many ball python breeders view the fall as the beginning of the breeding season. This is due to how strongly temperature affects the breeding process.
Snakes in the wild will commonly reproduce during the cooler months, but this is all considered preparation. After the weather starts to warm up again in the spring, the copulations that truly matter take place.
Species differences affect when the python mating season begins. During courtship, the males massage the female with their huge spurs (vestigial limbs).
All pythons are oviparous egg layers. This distinguishes them from the world’s largest constricting snake family, the boss, who makes babies live young.
The majority of python species tend to their eggs as their parents do. “The females will dig old burrows or make nests out of soil and vegetation. The female coils around the eggs after they are placed to shield them and keep them warm. The female will tense her muscles to reheat the eggs if the temperatures in the nest start to drop. Shivering thermogenesis is the term for this.
Females may just leave their nest to bask at this period when they normally do not feed. The female doesn’t really care for the baby snakes once the eggs hatch.
Sexing The Snakes
Ascertaining the sexes of a snake isn’t an easy task, but it is necessary before you can start breeding ball pythons. If you’re not cautious, you could hurt the snake. Therefore, if you don’t feel at ease sexing the snake, let a pro handle it. A procedure known as probing must be carried out in order to identify the snake’s sex.
- A sterile probe that is the right size for your ball python is inserted into the snake’s cloaca, near the tail tip, to conduct a probing procedure.
- The snake will find this simpler and more pleasant if you use water-based lubrication.
- Move the probe out after stopping the probe when you encounter resistance, marking the depth with your finger.
- The snake is a male if the probe penetrated seven to ten subcaudal scales deep.
- With the probe, females will probe significantly more shallowly than males, typically only penetrating a depth of three to four subcaudal scales.
Confirm The Snakes Are Fit for Breeding
You must ensure that the two snakes are sexually mature prior to attempting to breed them. Age, as well as weight, should both be taken into account. Male ball pythons must weigh more than 500 grams and be older than 18 months to be considered breeding-ready. Females must weigh more than males (1400 to 1600 grams), and they often take two to three years to attain sexual maturity. Any sick snake shouldn’t be reproduced.
Cooler Temperatures Equal Fertile Females
In order for the female to become pregnant, her environment must be maintained at a lower temperature than typical for between one and three months.
- This is done to simulate the environment that the animal naturally inhabits.
- The ambient air temperature in the habitat should not rise over the mid-70s Fahrenheit range at any time of day.
- At night, the warm area in the habitat should be kept at a temperature of between 80 and 90 degrees.
- The temperature in the habitat can return to normal during the day, but at night, it has to be kept lower.
- Restore the habitat’s regular nighttime temperature once the chilly period has lasted one to three months. This will prepare the snake for mating and herald the return of spring.
Stimulate The Male
The other sex may not pique the curiosity of all male ball pythons. Placement in a setting with other male ball pythons is one way to boost a male python’s sex life.
In a group like this, male ball pythons will begin to notice one another and elevate their bodies to a position close to vertical.
The male snakes are greatly stimulated by this interaction and suddenly develop a strong interest in the female snake.
Male snakes typically stop eating during the coupling stage because they are so preoccupied with the ladies.
Introduce The Male to The Female
Introduce the male snake to the female after stimulating him. They may fight, although this is common, and accidents seldom result in injury. But it’s crucial to keep an eye on this procedure. Let nature take its course as the two snakes get to know one another. Usually, the two snakes will unite once they have calmed down.
Do Not Disturb The Snakes
Make every effort not to disrupt both males and females now that they are joined. They frequently stay attached for at least two days, but if they are startled or disrupted, they may break off. The breeding won’t work if this takes place. Breedings are often successful when they last at least four hours; shorter attempts nearly never succeed.
When Does Your Ball Python Lays Eggs?
- Heaviness in the female snake’s lower body is the first sign that she is pregnant. We refer to this state as gravid. She could also quit eating and look for warmer places.
- The female will often get restless and begin hunting for a location to lay her eggs as it begins to get near to the time of delivery.
- Laying might take a while.
- The snake will encircle the eggs after she has laid them.
- Set up an incubator beforehand so that you may move the eggs right away from the environment to the incubator.
- The incubator should be adjusted at 88 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 percent humidity.
- It’s crucial to move the eggs with the right side up.
Caring for Your Female Ball Python After Birth
You must bring your female snake back to her natural home while the eggs are in the incubator by getting rid of any signs of the delivery and the fragrance of the eggs. Before reintroducing the snake to the ecosystem, thoroughly clean and sterilize it as well as give it a good bath. She may miss her egg clutch if you don’t do this, and she’ll start trying to incubate her drip pan or a heap of bedding. In rare instances, she could even turn down food.
Think Before You Breed Your Pink Ball Pythons
Make sure you have had enough environment space to retain and take care of any offspring before you try to mate your pink ball pythons. Alternatively, make arrangements for homes for the prospective offspring. There is no purpose in breeding if you can’t guarantee that the pet snake you produce will have suitable homes.
Are Pink Ball Pythons Venomous?
In general, ball pythons are not aggressive and are not poisonous. When threatened, the majority of ball snakes prefer to flee. When they sense they are being surrounded, they will curl up into a ball shape with their head in the center.
Ball python bites can be uncomfortable even if they are not poisonous. With about 150 hooked-shaped teeth, a bite can result in discomfort, swelling, and redness surrounding the incision, as well as nausea, perspiration, and tingling in the limbs.
Everything You Need to Know While Keeping a Pink Ball Python As a Pet
Enclosure of The Pink ball python
It is strongly advised to maintain an Pink ball python in a smaller habitat of around 15 and 20 gallons if you decide to get one as a baby. The best reptile keepers advise doing this to help the animals feel safer and more secure in their surroundings. You may expand the enclosure’s size as your snake develops. Adults normally need an enclosure with 40 to 50 gallons or more.
PVC cages without gallons measurements are commonly used by snake keepers. You should plan on needing an enclosure that is at least 12 inches tall, 14 inches wide, and between 36 to 60 inches long according to the size of your mature ball python.
A minimum of two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cold side, should be accessible in the enclosure, both of which should be suitable for the snake’s size and age. Additionally, a water dish that is big enough for the snake to bathe in should be available. Fresh water that is clean should always be accessible.
The Substrate of The Pink Ball Python
You may utilize a variety of substrate types in your Pink ball python habitat. Paper towels or newspapers are two options some keepers opt for. Use fir bark, coconut fiber, aspen chips, or cypress mulch if you desire to use a substrate that looks more natural.
Never give a ball python a cedar or sand substrate. Sand may be particularly dangerous since it can be swallowed during nursing and cause major digestive system impaction, which can finally result in death. Owing to the oil and fumes, cedar is extremely hazardous to pythons and other reptiles.
Temperature and Humidity
Due to their frigid blood, ball pythons are unable to control their body temperature. Maintaining ideal temperatures and high humidity is crucial for your ball python’s general health.
It is optimal if the natural illumination in your room follows the natural cycle of day and night.
Your snake’s enclosure must have separate hot and cold sides with hides accessible on each. The best ways to heat a ball python’s enclosure are heating tape, heating mats, and radiant heat panels.
The hot side must never exceed 93°F and it should be maintained between 85° and 91°F. The cold side should never go below 75°F and should be maintained at around 80°F.
The enclosure’s average ambient temperature, or overall temperature, needs to stay about 82°F. Having a thermostat makes it simple to regulate these temperatures, and monitoring them
Ball pythons typically require a humidity level of 60% or higher in their habitat.Young ball pythons may occasionally require a little bit more humidity.
You may spritz the cage with new, clean water, wetting the substrate just a little, to maintain humidity levels. The water dish can be placed on the warm side of the cage, which will speed up water evaporation and release humidity.
For appropriate shedding, humidity is crucial. If your ball python is experiencing trouble, put some sphagnum moss to a cover and dampen it just a little. Investing in a hygrometer will allow you to keep tabs on the enclosure’s humidity levels.
Lighting for The Pink Ball Python
Ultimately, it is not essential to expose pink ball pythons to UVB light, and if you do so for whatever reason, you must make sure that your snake has access to shaded regions in the habitat.
Different from other kinds of enclosure illumination are heat lamps. Incandescent bulbs, which are used in heat lamps, create a lot of heat but only average light. However, ornamental lighting is frequently of the LED or fluorescent sort.
Diet of The Pink Ball Python
Rodents should make up the majority of the diet for Pink ball pythons, ideally captive-bred, size-appropriate rats or mice. It’s possible for ball pythons to be picky eaters that develop a preference for a specific food source.
Rats should be used as the primary source of food as soon as feasible because as they become older, their sizes will become more proportionate.
It is crucial that you feed your snake food that is not wider than the snake’s broadest region of its body. By doing so, any digestive problems will be avoided, as well as the regurgitation of large prey.
Offering frozen-thawed rats is strongly advised for your snake’s safety as well as ethical considerations. Since live prey may bite, scratch, and protect itself, it may be detrimental to your snake. This may result in injuries, possible infections, and unforeseen veterinary expenses.
Ball Pythons sometimes have issues consuming frozen-thawed prey, according to some keepers. To encourage your snake to eat the frozen-thawed prey, try delaying feedings by another week. If you must provide live prey, never let your snake be alone with them and take the prey away right away if it doesn’t seem like it wants to eat.
When it comes to feeding times, adult snakes could be fed once every two to four weeks, whereas juvenile snakes should normally be fed once each week to two weeks. Contact a professional exotic animal veterinarian for the finest dietary advice.
Skin Shedding and Grooming of The Pink Ball Python
Healthy Shedding
For the ball python shed skin serves two purposes: it gives him room to expand and acts as a stronger moisture barrier than the previous skin.
A juvenile, developing python will naturally shed more frequently than an adult would, and the season might have an impact on the shedding pattern.
A python that is well-fed and inhabits a warm climate sheds every four and six weeks on average. A python that hibernates or becomes less active during the winter months in the wild will only shed sporadically.
Signs of The Time
For the Pink ball python shed skin serves two purposes: it gives him room to expand and acts as a stronger moisture barrier than the previous skin.
A juvenile, developing python will naturally shed more frequently than an adult would, and the season might have an impact on the shedding pattern.
A python that is well-fed and inhabits a warm climate sheds every four and six weeks on average. A python that hibernates or becomes less active during the winter months in the wild will only shed sporadically.
Shedding The Old Skin
The Pink ball python starts rubbing back the old skin on his nose when it’s ready to molt. To aid in the shedding process, he will lean against any cage accessories.
He usually slithers out of things once his old skin catches on to something, leaving his previous self behind.
After he’s done, you may throw away his old skin. After he has lost all of his old skin, check him to make sure it has all been gone, giving particular attention to the tip of his tail and the caps of his eyes. A remnant of old skin might harbor an infection.
Helping The Pink Ball Python Along
You can help if your Pink Ball python has leftover skin or is having issues with the shedding procedure. Your snake should be placed in a moist pouch or pillowcase that has been tied tight. The bag should be left in a tub with a heat source for at least two hours. The remaining skin ought to be gone when he comes out. A second option is to keep him in his habitat overnight at a temperature range of 82 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit in order to assist in relaxing his old skin for shedding. Consult a veterinarian if you are unable to assist him in losing his skin.
Does The Pink Ball Python Need a Friend in Its Enclosure?
Even if it is conceivable, it is not advised to have two ball pythons in the same tank. Simply said, there are just too many potential problems, and ball pythons are quite antisocial. When two snakes are kept together in a cage, it might result in illnesses, stress, problems eating, and even cannibalism.
For optimal results, it is important to provide every one of your ball pythons with the room they require to develop and develop in a tank that is exclusively theirs. You own ball pythons as pets since you enjoy them, therefore you wouldn’t want to do anything to harm them.
Health Issues of Pink Ball Python
West to central Africa, slightly north of the equator, is where pink ball pythons may be found. They may be found in open woodlands, meadows, and places with moderate shelter.
They are generally located close to open water where they may cool themselves in the summer. Although they can climb, they spend most of their life on the ground or in underground burrows. They are most active at night and throughout the rainy season. Ball Pythons might suffer from bushfires as well. Additionally, because of fear, farmers could kill ball pythons.
Ticks are the main parasite, and males often have a somewhat larger tick load than females. This could be as a result of the females’ extended periods of immobility during the two months they spend raising their clutch. Tick exposure may rise when males roam about to take advantage of interactions with females.
Cleaning After The Pink Ball Python
You should make sure to thoroughly clean their cages since ball pythons need specific care. Maintaining your pet’s cage on a regular basis can keep them happy and healthy while also ensuring that it smells well and looks nice.
Ball pythons are prone to bacterial illnesses and skin diseases, which can be brought on by an unhygienic environment. The fecal matter contains germs that can be dangerous to you; thus, it is important to regularly clean and disinfect the cage to prevent illness in both you and your pet.
If you own any animal, you are aware of how crucial it is to maintain their health and give them a clean, safe place to live in. Ball Pythons have a thick layer of bacteria on them, and they urinate and defecate within the enclosure, which transmits bacteria and germs. Due to the warmth and wetness in the enclosure, microorganisms may develop and provide a ball python’s necessary humidity requirements.
The cage may smell and appear unclean if it is neglected and not kept clean. Even worse, it may make your pet sick, including lung infection and scale rot.
You should carry out daily area cleaning and quarterly deep cleaning in order to maintain the cleanliness of your tank and the health of your pet. Spot cleaning only takes a few minutes and includes giving your pet fresh, clean water while getting rid of any excrement and urine you detect.
Every month, you should empty the enclosure, give it a thorough cleaning, and disinfect it before bringing your pet back inside.
Daily Cleaning
Daily spot cleaning of the enclosure is recommended in order to remove any urine and feces. Feces are brown and simple to detect, whereas urates are white and chalky.
As soon as you spot them, you should scoop them out of the container together with the substrate that is covering them. Replace with the new substrate after disposal.
It might be challenging to eliminate the smell of urine, unfortunately. When you use a loose substrate, like coconut husk, it’s difficult to tell wherever your python has urinated. It is difficult to identify where the pee is because the substrate is already wet from sprinkling.
Since your pet will typically urinate when the urates are released, you can clean the area around the urates well to try and lessen the stink.
Wherever your pet might well have urinated, condensation may often be seen. The black light, which may be bought online, is what actually functions well. Because urine contains phosphorus, these lights can detect it fast and readily.
Although it won’t always work, this method can help you quickly get rid of pee in the cage. The UV Flashlight Pet Pee Detector aids in locating undetectable stains, including urine. It can detect urine that is hidden from view.
Monthly Cleaning
You should remove your pet and everything else from the cage once a month to give your ball python’s enclosure a complete cleaning.
Here are some simple instructions you may use to make sure you clean and disinfect the enclosure as quickly and easily as possible.
- Get your cleaning supplies ready (reptile disinfectant, paper towels, etc)
- Your python should be placed in a temporary storage container. Make sure the lid has air openings and locks into place.
- Remove all items from the enclosure, including any attachments. Put the accessories in a sink or bucket so you can clean them later.
- Disconnect all of the electrical appliances, including the heater and lights.
- Delete the previous substrate. You should make fresh preparations if you’re utilizing loose substrate. It is easier and quicker to use paper towels or newspapers.
- Clean the cage entirely with reptile disinfectant.
- To lessen the chance that the enclosure will fracture, remember to wait until the glass has cooled before beginning to clean.
- Keep a tight eye on the water bowl, don’t forget.
- Avoid using scouring pads on plastic goods as this can result in scratches and abrasions, which will make them more difficult to clean in the future and serve as excellent hiding spots for germs.
- Include fresh substrate when the enclosure has dried.
- Change the accessories
- Fill the water dish with new water.
- Activate electrical appliances
- Change out your ball python.
- Make sure all the locks are tight
Cost of Getting Pink Ball Pythons
A common ball python will often cost between $100 and $200. Depending on the snake’s morph, color, and potential genetic makeup, the precise price may be significantly more. Snakes with many genes that are useful for breeding initiatives are much more expensive. A typical ball python may be purchased for under $80.
Legality
The only state where owning a ball python is prohibited is in that state. All snakes kept as pets are prohibited in Hawaii. Otherwise, all other states allow the possession of ball pythons, albeit some, like Delaware, have license requirements.
Conclusion
Pink ball pythons are an enchanting species of ball python that is rarely found. The Pink ball pythons are seen in West and Central African grasslands and open woods. They may be found in the Ivory Coast, Southern Sudan, the Bahr El Ghazal and Nuba Mountains Region, the Sudanese Subprovince West of the Nile, Senegal to Sierra Leone in West Africa, and a few locations in Central Africa. Most of their time is spent underground or in clay burrows.
Pink ball python snakes carefully await their prey before striking.
Juvenile ball pythons eat pinkies and fuzzies until they become bigger, whereas smaller and younger snakes may devour enormous insects. Adult mice and rats are devoured by ball pythons after they reach adulthood.
A ball python may live in modest or opulent accommodations. The most crucial thing is to adhere to all regulations and frequently check on your pet to make sure it seems to be in good health.
Ball pythons are excellent pets because of their sociability, manageability, and low maintenance needs. Because they make such wonderful pets, many people believe these medium-sized snakes are among the greatest ones for beginners
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you Keep Pink Ball Pythons Together?The pink ball pythons shouldn’t be kept together, in other words. Housing a lot of ball pythons in one location is not a smart idea. However, it is possible to keep them together, and some individuals have successfully cohabitated ball pythons. The concept is completely unhealthy since they could experience stress or despair as a result of being together. An injury might also be a result of the intolerance effect. Keeping them together is therefore not recommended unless it’s for breeding purposes.
Why do the pink ball pythons have holes in their face?The pink ball pythons have little pit organs, which are what are commonly referred to as holes on their faces. These tiny pits may be seen above the ball pythons’ mouths. These small holes served as infrared sensors, aiding in the detection of the thermal temperature of their prey.
Due to their diminished eye vision and hearing abilities, these holes may be involved in scent detection. Because pit organs are present, they can readily hunt at night. In addition to these holes, we advise you to take your snake to the vet if there are small holes in any other areas of its body.
You can tell when the pink ball python is unhappy or under pressure because they often ball themselves up tightly. Ball pythons can get stressed for several reasons, such as when they are not given access to pure and clean water, when they are handled for an extended period, or when they lack a secure place to hide when they are upset.
When agitated, they will occasionally refuse to eat. As long as they can control their appetite, you shouldn’t be in a panic. Ball Pythons would experience stress as a result of environmental changes, such as those in temperature and humidity.
No, ball pythons don’t have fangs. However, they feature tiny, razor-sharp fangs that resemble barbs. They might be between 25 and 35 years old on average, and they have several teeth. They are pointed rearward, in the direction of the ball python’s body. When hunting, the shape aids in catching its prey.
The way the teeth are positioned will also aid in digesting and swallowing. Its jaw features two rows of teeth on the bottom and four rows of teeth on the top of its mouth.
About The Author
Azwa Imran is a Nutritionist by profession, a reptile lover and a researcher. Azwa has joined our team as a diligent writer who reassesses all the facts through professional help to curate a perfect care guide for you and your pet.
Azwa Imran
