---
title: "What the sources say about the Ball Python | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "63 claims from the Ball Python profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Ball Python (*Python regius*)

> 63 claims from the Ball Python profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Ball Python](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/ball-python/)

## Python regius. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Python_regius/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| wraps itself into a tight ball when threatened | Ball pythons are known for the protective mechanism of “balling,” where they form a tight ball with the head at the center in response to threats |
| Savanna grasslands and open forests | They inhabit savanna grasslands or open forests and are found in areas that have been cleared for farming. |
| Can detect heat given off by other animals | This animal has a special ability to detect heat from other organisms in its environment. |
| heavy-bodied | Their heads are larger than their relatively slender necks and they are considered heavy-bodied. |
| It lives in savanna grasslands and open forests, and also in areas cleared for farming | They inhabit savanna grasslands or open forests and are found in areas that have been cleared for farming. |
| They are most active at dawn and dusk | They are most active at dawn and dusk. |
| Their best-known defense | Ball pythons are best known for “balling,” in which they form a tight ball with the head at the center. |
| It has other defenses too, including camouflage, escape attempts, bluffing displays and biting | Defenses include camouflage, escape attempts, bluffing displays, and biting. |
| They hunt using smell and sight | They use chemical and visual cues to hunt for their prey. (note: 'Chemical cues' given as smell for the 11-14 audience.) |
| they can also detect heat given off by other animals | This animal has a special ability to detect heat from other organisms in its environment. |
| Research suggests they may follow the scent trails of their prey, because those trails reflect ultraviolet light | Other research suggests that ball pythons may follow the scent trails of their mammalian prey because those trails reflect ultraviolet light. |
| A ball python pulls back its head and neck and strikes fast. It then swallows its prey alive or first holds it still by constriction | The feeding strategy is to retract the head and neck and strike rapidly. After the rapid strike, they swallow prey alive or immobilize by constriction. |
| Breeding runs mostly from mid-September through mid-November | The breeding season is primarily from mid-September through mid-November, correlating with the minor rainy season. |
| A female lays a clutch of 1 to 11 eggs | A clutch is from 1 to 11 eggs. |
| coils around them until they hatch, about two months later | After laying their clutch of eggs, female ball pythons coil around their clutches until hatched (after approximately 2 months). |
| staying close to protect them from predators | Ball pythons also stay in close proximity to eggs to protect them from predators. |
| It hunts using smell and sight | They use chemical and visual cues to hunt for their prey. |
| it can also detect heat given off by other animals | This animal has a special ability to detect heat from other organisms in its environment. |
| Research suggests it may even follow the scent trails of its prey, because those trails reflect ultraviolet light | Other research suggests that ball pythons may follow the scent trails of their mammalian prey because those trails reflect ultraviolet light. |
| After laying a clutch of 1 to 11 eggs, a female coils around them until they hatch, about two months later | After laying their clutch of eggs, female ball pythons coil around their clutches until hatched (after approximately 2 months). Hatchlings are immediately independent, but remain in the vicinity for months after. Mating System polygynandrous (promiscuous) polygynandrous (promiscuous) Ball pythons have long reproductive lives that last from about 27 months to 30 years. The breeding season is primarily from mid-September through mid-November, correlating with the minor rainy season. A clutch is from 1 to 11 eggs. |
| stays close to protect them from predators | Ball pythons also stay in close proximity to eggs to protect them from predators. |
| Two Months on Guard | After laying their clutch of eggs, female ball pythons coil around their clutches until hatched (after approximately 2 months). (note: Heading: 'on guard' is the source's 'stay in close proximity to eggs to protect them from predators'.) |
| tags: infrared-vision | This animal has a special ability to detect heat from other organisms in its environment. (note: settle #450: kept. Oakland Zoo: 'a line of pit organs around their upper lip'; Gracheva et al. 2010 (10.1038/nature08943): TRPA1 in the pit organs of 'pit-bearing snakes (vipers, pythons and boas)') |

## Royal (Ball) Python. Oakland Zoo.

https://www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/royal-ball-python

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| can go weeks to months between meals | They eat large, infrequent meals, often going weeks to months without feeding. |
| Savanna grasslands and open forests of West and Central Africa, from Senegal to South Sudan and Uganda | Wild ball pythons are found in West and Central Africa just north of the equator. They are found from Senegal to South Sudan and Uganda. |
| including land cleared for farming | They are also found in more developed areas that have been cleared for farming. |
| Almost only small mammals, usually rats, caught from ambush and swallowed whole | They are formidable ambush predators and spend most of their time sitting in wait. When they are ready to strike, they retract their heads to strike rapidly. They then continue to immobilize the prey by constricting with their bodies before swallowing the prey whole. They almost exclusively prey on small mammals, usually rats. (note: 'Almost only' is a plain-English rendering of the source's 'almost exclusively'.) |
| a small, heavy-bodied python | These small pythons reach a full 3-5 feet in length |
| from West and Central Africa, found from Senegal to South Sudan and Uganda | Wild ball pythons are found in West and Central Africa just north of the equator. They are found from Senegal to South Sudan and Uganda. |
| Adults reach 3 to 5 feet long and weigh 3 to 5 pounds, and females tend to be larger than males | These small pythons reach a full 3-5 feet in length, with females tending to be larger than males. Ball pythons, also known as royal pythons, have relatively bulky heads compared to their slender necks. The rest of their body is thick and heavy, weighing between 3-5 pounds. |
| A hatchling is only about a foot long and weighs about a fifth of a pound | Baby ball pythons are about a fifth of a pound upon hatching and only about a foot long. |
| In the wild a ball python lives an estimated 10 years; in protected care, 20 to 30 | Estimated Lifespan Wild: 10 years; Protected Care: 20-30 years |
| Oakland Zoo in California reports one that has lived 35 years and counting | the Oakland Zoo has one ball python that has lived 35 years (and counting!) (note: The zoo's page footer gives its address as Oakland, CA.) |
| Ball pythons live alone and are usually found in or near burrows | Ball pythons are solitary and can typically be found in or near burrows. |
| Their best-known defense gives them their name: when threatened, a ball python wraps itself into a tight ball with its head protected in the center | When scared, they assume a defensive “ball” posture that gives them their name. They wrap their body up in a tight ball with their head protected in the center. |
| Ball pythons are ambush predators that spend most of their time sitting in wait | They are formidable ambush predators and spend most of their time sitting in wait. |
| It feeds almost only on small mammals, usually rats, and eats large, infrequent meals, often going weeks to months without feeding | They almost exclusively prey on small mammals, usually rats. They eat large, infrequent meals, often going weeks to months without feeding. (note: 'Almost only' is a plain-English rendering of the source's 'almost exclusively'.) |
| Selective breeding in captivity has produced a wide variety of color morphs | Ball pythons can come in a variety of different color morphs, which have been amplified by selective breeding among captive populations. |
| Oakland Zoo reports that more than 3.5 million ball pythons have been taken from the wild since 1997 | Since 1997, over 3.5 million ball pythons have been taken from the wild. |
| which Oakland Zoo puts down to habitat loss for urban development and to capture for the pet trade | they are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red list. This is due to habitat loss for urban development as well as being taken for the pet trade. |
| That defensive ball posture is what gives the species its name | When scared, they assume a defensive “ball” posture that gives them their name. |
| When it is scared, a ball python wraps its body into a tight ball with its head protected in the center | They wrap their body up in a tight ball with their head protected in the center. |
| spends most of its time sitting in wait | They are formidable ambush predators and spend most of their time sitting in wait. (note: vibe.reason, settle #450) |

## D'Cruze et al. (2022). Python regius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T177562A220378972.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-2.rlts.t177562a220378972.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Near Threatened | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). |
| The IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). |

## D'Cruze et al. (2020). Searching for snakes: ball python hunting in southern Togo, West Africa. Nature Conservation.

https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.38.47864

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 2020 study called the ball python the single most exported live species from Africa among those listed under CITES | The ball python (Python regius) is the single most exported live CITES-listed species from Africa (note: 2020 is the paper's publication year (Nature Conservation 38, 2020); dated to the paper because a trade ranking is a current state. 'the international treaty that controls wildlife trade' is a definition of CITES and states nothing about the ball python.) |

## McCue (2007). Snakes survive starvation by employing supply- and demand-side economic strategies. Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2007.02.004

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| survived 168 days without food in a lab study | the present study examined physiological, compositional, and morphological responses to 168 days of starvation among three distantly related snake species (i.e., ball python, Python regius; ratsnake, Elaphe obsoleta; and western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox). Results revealed that each of these species was able to successfully tolerate starvation |
| In a lab study, ball pythons, ratsnakes and western diamondback rattlesnakes all got through 168 days without food | the present study examined physiological, compositional, and morphological responses to 168 days of starvation among three distantly related snake species (i.e., ball python, Python regius; ratsnake, Elaphe obsoleta; and western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox). Results revealed that each of these species was able to successfully tolerate starvation |
| The snakes cut their resting energy needs by up to 72 percent | Effective demand-side strategies included the ability of snakes to depress their resting metabolic demands by up to 72%. (note: Stated for the snakes as a group, as the abstract does, not for the ball python alone.) |
| they saved their body protein while burning fat | supply-side regulation of resources was evidenced by the ability of snakes to spare their structurally critical protein stores at the expense of lipid catabolism |

## Starck et al. (2022). Malformations of the sacculus and the semicircular canals in spider morph pythons. PLOS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262788

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In one study, all four spider morph pythons showed "wobble syndrome": twisting movements of the head, impaired movement, and trouble striking or constricting prey | All spider morph snakes showed the wobble condition (i.e., twisting movements of the head, impaired locomotion, difficulty striking or constricting prey items). |
| all four spider morph pythons | We studied Python regius (Shaw, 1802) wildtype (N = 5) and spider morphs (N = 4). (note: 'All spider morph snakes showed the wobble condition' plus the study's sample of four spider morphs (N = 4).) |
| The researchers concluded that the wobble in those four snakes is caused by a malformed inner ear | The conclusion is straightforward that the observed wobble syndrome in those four snakes is caused by the deviant morphology of their inner ear. |
| the malformations suggest their sense of balance does not work properly | suggest that the sense of equilibrium does not function properly in individuals with such deviant inner ear morphology |
| One of them, the spider morph, comes at a cost | All spider morph snakes showed the wobble condition (note: 'Cost' is the wobble condition described in the next sentence; the spider morph as a colour-pattern morph is the paper's 'striking alterations of the skin color pattern'.) |

## Di Ianni et al. (2023). Demonstration of Parthenogenetic Reproduction in a Pet Ball Python (Python regius) through Analysis of Early-Stage Embryos. Genes.

https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14091744

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A generally calm python | Their generally calm temperament enhances their appeal as a sought-after pet choice. (note: A background line in the paper's discussion, citing a husbandry survey.) |
| A female can sometimes manage without a male | This study can be considered the fourth report of facultative parthenogenesis (FP) in a captive-bred female ball python |
| A 10-year-old pet ball python with no prior contact with a male laid four eggs | A 10-year-old, wild-caught female ball python ( Python regius ) laid four eggs without any prior contact with a male. (note: 'Pet' from the paper's title: 'Parthenogenetic Reproduction in a Pet Ball Python'.) |
| genetic tests showed that the three embryos inside came from her alone, a process called parthenogenesis | The captive history data, together with the genetic microsatellite analysis approach, demonstrated the parthenogenetic origin of all three embryos. |
| The researchers counted it as the fourth such report in a captive female ball python | This study can be considered the fourth report of facultative parthenogenesis (FP) in a captive-bred female ball python |
| Yes, it has been recorded | This study can be considered the fourth report of facultative parthenogenesis (FP) in a captive-bred female ball python |
| A 10-year-old pet female with no prior contact with a male laid four eggs, and genetic tests showed that the three embryos inside came from her alone, a process called parthenogenesis | A 10-year-old, wild-caught female ball python ( Python regius ) laid four eggs without any prior contact with a male. |
| The researchers counted it as the fourth report of this in a captive female ball python | This study can be considered the fourth report of facultative parthenogenesis (FP) in a captive-bred female ball python |