Feeding :

In the wild, their diet consists mostly of small mammals, such as African soft-furred rats, shrews and striped mice. Younger individuals have also been known to feed on birds. Pythons imported from the wild tend to be picky eaters and may not respond to food as well as captive-bred pythons, which usually do well on domestic rats and mice, either live, killed, or frozen-thawed.[5] Live feeding a snake can be dangerous for the snake involved and should never be attempted by inexperienced keepers. The size of the prey item given to a python should be equivalent to or slightly larger than the width of the largest part of its body. This python is known for being a picky eater and may not eat for months, particularly during the winter breeding season. While this is not odd, care should be taken to watch that the snake does not experience significant weight loss. Although captive ball pythons may only need to be fed once a week, many owners will feed their python two times a week, or more than one serving at a time. This is done to increase the weight and length of the snake. Most ball pythons will not eat when they are preparing to shed; there are some that will, however. Parasites can also cause the snake to not eat. Other causes of not eating are stress caused by overhandling, temperatures that are too hot or too cold, humidity being too high or low,[10] and not enough areas to hide within the vivarium.[11]

Reproduction:

Females are oviparous, with anywhere from 3 to 11 rather large, leathery eggs being laid (4-6 most common).[5] These are incubated by the female under the ground (via a shivering motion), and hatch after 55 to 60 days. Sexual maturity is reached at 11–18 months for males, and 20–36 months for females. Age is only one factor in determining sexual maturity and ability to breed – weight is the second factor. Males will breed at 600 grams or more, but in captivity are often not bred until they are 800 grams (1.7lb), although in captivity some males have been known to begin breeding at 300-400 grams. Females will breed in the wild at weights as low as 800 grams, though 1200 grams or more is most common; in captivity, breeders generally wait until they are no less than 1500 g (3.3 lb). Parental care of the eggs ends once they hatch, and the female leaves the offspring to fend for themselves.[8]

Captivity  :

These snakes are bred in captivity and are popular as pets, because of their small size (compared to other pythons) and their docile temperament.[12] Wild-caught specimens have greater difficulty adapting to a captive environment, which can result in refusal to feed, and they generally carry internal or external parasites which must be eliminated by administering antiparasitic drugs. Specimens have survived for over 40 years in captivity, with the oldest recorded ball python being kept in captivity 47 years and 6 months until its death in 1992 at the Philadelphia Zoo.[13] To live this long, captive ball pythons require proper care. This care includes proper feeding, a clean tank, handling, and overall quality of life.[5][14] In captivity, most adult ball pythons should be kept in a minimum of a 40 US gallons (150 L), long glass tank, as these pythons are ground dwellers and are highly secretive and largely sedentary. Some large females may require cages up to the 50 US gallons (190 L) long tank. Also, at least two hiding places should be provided at different ends of the tank, with one having a thermostat-controlled heating pad under it to allow the animal to regulate its temperature. Since most snakes are adept at escaping captivity, the tank should have a locking lid. Juveniles in particular may be stressed by overly large cages that do not have sufficient small hiding spaces. For this reason, baby ball pythons do well in a 10 US gallons (38 L) or 15 US gallons (57 L) cage at first. Controlled temperatures of 80 °F (27 °C) with a 90 °F (32 °C) basking area on one end of the cage are necessary for proper health. Humidity should be maintained at 50% to 60% with dry substrate.[8]

There are hundreds of different color patterns that can be made while in captivity. Some of the most common Morphs found are Spider, Pastel, Albino, Mojave and Lesser. The single-gene ball python traits can be bred together to produce more complicated double gene traits. Examples include using a Pastel and a Black Pastel, creating a Black Pewter, which when bred will show both genes in its offspring. Breeders are continuously creating new designer morphs, and over 3,800 different morphs currently exist.[15]