How to Care for a Ball Python

Before deciding to buy a ball python, make sure that you can accommodate a snake that grows over five feet in length and feeds on live food. Here's what else you need to care for this challenging pet.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. House your ball python in a 20-gallon tank or larger. Line the aquarium with aspen shavings, mulch or soil.

2. Provide your pet with a place to hide so that he is not stressed by stimulation. Supply a space just large enough for your snake to fit in side of it. Offer a habitat that can expand as the python grows.

3. Keep the temperature in the aquarium between 78 to 95 degrees F. Use a ceramic heater or incandescent light as the primary source of heat.

4. Feed a baby snake twice a week and the adult every two weeks. Furnish him with a separate aquarium so that he does not associate the cage being opened or your hand with feeding. A ball python eats live rodents or frozen rodents thawed to room temperature.

5. Give your python a bowl of chlorine-free water. Make sure the bowl is large enough for the python to soak.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the ball python in a secure area.
• Make sure that the rodent you feed your snake is not too big. Never leave the python unattended if you are feeding him live rodents. The rodents can injure or even kill your snake.