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Ball Pythons - Basic Care Sheet
Housing: Ball Pythons do not need a large enclosure, they are not very active snakes. We recommend a 10-20 gallon tank (tub) for smaller juvenile snakes and a 30 gallon tank (tub) for adults. Ball Pythons are very good
escape artist so a secure lid is required.
Substrate: We recommend using newspaper, aspen, or cypress mulch. You can use/buy other bedding that will
work for Ball Pythons but we have found that these work best for us. Do not use cedar. Cedar oils are toxic to Ball Pythons
and can lead to deadly respiratory infections.
Furnishings: We recommend supplying some sort of hide box or secure area for your Ball Python to hide. You can buy plastic hide boxes online or use a small pot with an access hole. Ball Pythons also need a water dish, we recommend one that is big enough to fit their entire body into so they can soak during shed cycles. We change our water out with clean water weekly.
Temperature: 80 - 85 F (27 - 29 C) during the day, with a basking spot of around 90 F (32 C). Night time temperatures can fall to around 75 F (23 -24 C) as long as an area of 80 F is maintained. An under the tank heating pad designed for reptiles works well for providing the cage heat, with an incandescent bulb or ceramic heating element used to
provide the basking temperatures. Never use hot rocks, and the bulb or heat element should be placed or screened off
to prevent contact with the snake or burns may result.
Lighting: Ball Pythons are nocturnal, so have no special lighting requirements.
Feeding: Ball pythons can be fed exclusively mice or small to medium sized rats, and only need to be fed every week or two. Young snakes should be fed fuzzy mice every 5-7 days, older snakes should be fed increasingly larger prey
and can go a longer without food. Ball Pythons can be picky eaters, it is not uncommon for Ball Pythons to go "off feed" for
the winter time and refuse to eat. If this happens, don't panic and continue to try every week or so until they feed again.
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