2- Put down substrate. As far as substrate goes, (the stuff you put at the bottom of the tank for your snake to do his business on) you have a lot of options; Paper towels, newsprint, aspen chips, and coconut fibers. The only thing you really can't use is cedar, as the phenol oils in the cedar are toxic to snakes.
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Other essential things that need to be in your snakes cage include: a heavy water bowl (to avoid it being tipped over.) heating elements, hides, and humidity and heat gauges.
Ball Pythons make great pets for first time snake owners. They're clean, docile, easy to care for, and relatively inexpensive.
Steps :
1- Set up your Ball Python's new home. Adults will need a 30 gallon (113.6 L) tank. Younger snakes can be kept in 10–20 gallons (37.9–75.7 L). Make sure you have a securely fitted top to the tank. All snakes are notorious escape artists, and you don't want to have to visit the 'how to find your lost snake' article.
3-Control the temperature. One of the most important factors to keeping your Ball Python healthy is temperature. Since snakes are cold blooded, they have to regulate their temperatures manually by going to one side of the tank when they're cold, and the other side when they're hot.
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The ideal temperatures for a Ball Python is around 80- 85 F during the day, with a basking spot of around 90 F. Nighttime temperatures can fall to around 75 F on the cool side, but the warm side needs to stay 80 F.
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There are several options here. An under the tank heating pad combined with an incandescent bulb or ceramic heating element seems to work well. The heating element should be screened off to prevent burns. Use thermometers specially designed for reptiles to monitor the temperature inside the tank.
1- Make sure they have reached maturity before breeding. It is important that the animals you intend to breed are old enough and large enough. A male typically needs to weigh over 700 grams and be at least one year old. Evidence of maturity can be determined by expressing a sperm plug. Gentle pressure on the cloaca (the vent at the back of the snake) will produce a little white, cheesy matter that will tell the male is ready. While females as small as 1200 grams have been successfully bred, most breeders recommend that females be at least 3 years old and 1700 grams in order to breed. The process is too demanding on smaller animals and represents a health risk.
5-Control the humidity. A ball Python's humidity level should be in the upper 50-65%, 60% is ideal. Monitor this with a humidity gauge. You may need to lightly spray your Ball Pythons tank with water before he sheds to keep the humidity up.
4- Know the snake's temperament. Because Ball Pythons are naturally so docile, they can also be nervous, finicky snakes, especially while young. It's essential to have at least 2 hides (one at the hot end of the tank, and one at the cool end) for your ball python's mental well being. These can be bought or made out of things like cereal boxes, a turned over plant pot, etc. Make sure nothing you use as a hide could be toxic.
6- Feed your snake a pre-killed rodent. Heat up the frozen mouse in a plastic bag submerged in warm water. The mouse should be around the same size as the fattest part of your Ball Python's body. Do this once a week. Increase food size as your snake grows.
7-Shedding. A healthy baby ball python will shed more frequently than adults. The shedding process: a week or so prior to shedding the colours of your snake will begin to fade. It's skin will take on a dull grey sheen and its eyes may become bluish. After that the snakes colours will begin to seem back to normal however in anywhere between 2 and 36 hours the snake will shed its skin. If the snake has difficulty shedding place it in some room temp water with a few drops of baby or mineral oil and help the snake by softly peeling the skin. Also make sure the eye caps and tail are properly shed.
8- Do your research. Perhaps the most important thing to remember when taking care of a Ball Python is to do your research, and stay updated on new information. Reading about it here is a good start. Consider joining forums, and read as much online about Ball Python Care as you can.
Video :
Tips :
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When you first bring your Ball Python home, he'll be stressed out. Give him time to adjust before trying to feed and handle him.
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Ball Pythons may go a month or so without eating and have no negative health effects, however there is usually a reason as to why they're fasting. Usually the cause of this is bad husbandry techniques, but you may want to find a vet to be sure your snake isn't ill.
Warnings :
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Do not use hot rocks. They can burn and seriously injure reptiles.
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Cedar is toxic to snakes. Never use it for substrate.
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NEVER buy wild caught Ball Pythons. They are usually infested with parasites, and will refuse to eat. Only buy from a reputable breeder.
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Too much handling after meals can make your Ball Python regurgitate. Snakes are not social creatures. Handling stresses them out.
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Do not feed live. Mice have been known to scratch/bite snakes to the point of death.
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Beware that dangling food in front of your snake by hand may teach your snake to associate your hands with food: you may get nipped at when you try to hold the snake later. Use tongs, or place the snake into a separate enclosure with food already there, in order to prevent this.
How to Breed Ball Pythons :
courtesy to : www.wikihow.com/Breed-Ball-Pythons
Ball pythons are very popular as pets. Much of this popularity is due to the amazing number of color mutations. There are now over 3000 different, distinctive color and pattern combinations that have been created by selective breeding most commonly known as "morphs". Ball pythons tend to be curious and friendly.
PART ONE : Preparing to Breed
2- Determine the sex. It is best to be sure of the sex of the animals you intend to breed. This can be determined by probing. There are video tutorials available that teach the process. This can be dangerous to the animal, so do not probe a snake without first having received proper instruction; or call in an expert. Female snakes will probe to a depth of only 3 or 4 scales. Males will generally probe to 7-9 scales. It is possible to get a false positive for a female if the snake is constricting itself sufficiently to prevent the probe from achieving full penetration.
4- Warm it up again. After the cool spell, the temperatures can be returned to normal. Good temperatures for ball pythons produces perspiration on most humans.
PART TWO : Breeding
6- Look for signs that the female is becoming gravid, meaning you can see the outline of the eggs inside of her. Once you see that, no need to keep introducing them to each other.
PART THREE : Taking Care of the Female
1- Produce male excitement. Many male ball pythons also require some extra stimulus stimulation to put them in the mood. The simplest way to do this is to put a number of males together. They will start to notice each other, and raise themselves up in to a nearly vertical stance. Somewhere there is a photograph of six or eight male ball pythons that look like they are dancing. This process really gets them interested in connecting with the opposite sex. Ten to twenty minutes of this activity greatly increases the males' interest in females.
2-Introduce the female to the male. After introducing them, the best thing is to leave them alone and let nature take its course. Occasionally they may scrap a little, but actual injuries seem to be very rare. Normally they will settle down in a few minutes and the two animals will connect.
3- Leave them alone. Ball pythons can stay connected for up to two days. It's all right to peek at them, but try not to disturb them. They are in no hurry. They can take a long time to complete this important step. Anything short of a three or four hour coupling is likely to prove ineffective.
4- Wait. A male ball python needs about a week to recover his potency. If you have more than one female to breed him to, give him a week or so to recover.
5- Wait some more. The sperm that the male deposits in the female can remain viable for up to 2 years.
1- Prepare the lay box. Get the female a lay box, for example, a Rubbermaid box with damp moss. She will lay eggs and coil around them.
2- Remove the eggs. Remove the female from the eggs, gently, and place them in incubation substrate inside a container (Rubbermaid box with a lid).
5- Eggs should hatch in about 55 days after laying.
3-Ensure temperature is good. Set the incubator to 90 °F (32 °C), 32 C. Check the eggs once a week to make sure they good. At this time when you lift the lid to check eggs, they will get air so you don't have to put air holes in the incubation container.
4-Feed the female. If the female does not eat, try washing her to remove the scent of the eggs. It is important she starts to eat again since laying takes a lot out of her.
PART FOUR : Taking Care of the Babies
1- Put the babies in their own cage. Babies after hatching should be put in their own separate cages lined with damp paper towel until they shed the first shed. Then you can use newspaper or other substrate.
2-Feed pinkie mice. Babies start eating pinkie mice within the first week or two and should be fed every five to seven days.
3- Babies should also have a water bowl and a hide just like adults.
Tips :
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If your male does not seem interested in the female, putting him in the presence of another male will typically get him going.
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Peace. Leave them alone while they are engaged in this private matter.
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Don't fail to do create the cool spell. Your chances of success without approach 100. (There is mounting evidence as the years go by that this is not true)
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If you do not see the out line of the eggs don't get upset, just wait another week and give it another try again.
Warnings :
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Never feed during the time they are together. They could end up fighting over the food item, and it is far too distracting.
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Use extreme care when performing sex determination probes. Serious damage can be done by the untrained. A veterinarian would much rather perform the procedure than try to repair a poorly done one.
Ball Pythons .. Part 1 : Introduction fro wikipedia and How to care Basics & books links
.. Part 2 : Wikihow guides on care and breeding
.. Part 3 : Information for experts in genetics and rack systems set ups
Ball Pythons .. Part 1 : Introduction fro wikipedia and How to care Basics & books links
.. Part 2 : Wikihow guides on care and breeding
.. Part 3 : Information for experts in genetics and rack systems set ups
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