Scientific Name: Python regius
Nick Name: Ball Python
Size: - - - -
Appearance: The ball python is typically light brown-green or black in color, with a tan-yellow underbelly. However, ball pythons come in many morphs, which are genetic mutations that alter the colors and patterns of the scales. Adults range in length from 1 to over 2 meters (3 to over 6 feet), with the average female reaching 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 feet) and the average male, 60 to 90 cm (2-3 feet). A mature female will commonly grow distinctly larger than the male.
Type: Non Venomous Snake
Nature: Generally non aggressive.
Distribution: Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia on the west coast, east to southwestern Sudan and northwestern Uganda
Habitat: savannahs and rain forests of western and central Africa
Feeds on:
Side Line:
Ball pythons reach sexual maturity between 18 months and 4 years
They live 20-40 years, with the oldest recorded royal python reaching 48 years of age in captivity
Tens of thousands of ball pythons are annually imported into the U.S., mostly originating from Togo, Benin, and Ghana.
The name ball derives from the animal's tendency, when stressed or frightened, to curl into a tight "ball" with its head hidden inside, often for long periods of time.
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The name royal (from the regius in the Latin name) comes, in part, from Cleopatra, who supposedly wore the snake around her wrist.
