Scientific Classification
- Common Name
- royal python, ball python
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Boidae
- Genus Species
- Python (serpent slain by Apollo) regius (of royalty)
Fast Facts
- Description
- Small-sized, heavy-bodied python with beige blotches on a dark brown background
- Size
- Adults 1-2 m (3-6 ft.) in length; hatchlings 30 cm (12 in.)
- Weight
- No data
- Diet
- Variety of warm-blooded vertebrates
- Incubation
- Approximately 90 days
- Sexual Maturity
- 3-4 years
- Life Span
- Heavy-bodied snakes can exceed 40 years, even longer in captivity; longest lived recorded is 47 yr. 6 mos.
- Range
- West-Central Africa
- Habitat
- Found in open areas of dry tropical forests and open savannahs; often found in burrows
- Population
- Global: No data
- Status
- IUCN: No data
CITES: Appendix II
USFWS: No data
Fun Facts
- These snakes are called ball pythons because of their defensive posture of coiling into a tight ball with their heads protected in the center of the coil.
- The name royal python is believed to be derived from the fact that many African rulers were known to have worn live pythons as jewelry.
- Ball pythons are believed to live the longest of snakes species in managed situations, with some individuals living into their forties.
- Ball pythons are believed to live the longest of snakes species in managed situations, with some individuals living into their forties.
- Ball pythons are believed to live the longest of snakes species in managed situations, with some individuals living into their forties.
Ecology and Conservation
Ball pythons are often over-collected for the pet trade. This impact, as well as the collection for food by indigenous people, is beginning to have a negative effect on their populations. These snakes play a very important role in the control of many small mammals, especially rodents, which, when in excess, can have a serious effect on the environment. Also, these small snakes are frequent prey animals for larger predators such as cats and birds of prey.
Bibliography
Bauchot, Roland (ed.). Snakes: A Natural History. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1994.
Ernst, Carl H., and Zug, George R. Snakes in Question. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996.
Mattison, Chris. Snakes of the World. New York: Factions on File Publications, Inc., 1986.
Mehrtens, John M. Living Snakes of the World. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.
Stafford, Peter J. Pythons and Boas. New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1986.
