Ball Python

scientific name

Python regius

size/weight/height

Length: 3 - 4' smallest of African pythons

adaptations/coloration

Color: blotches on a brown or bluish-brown background " almost always include some yellow " color varies greatly " yellow color morphs frequently occur
Body: stocky

behavior

Defense: coils in tight ball (hence name) with head tucked between coils - this is an avoidance technique (protects the head)
Dry Months: may aestivate in mammal burrows or other underground areas

reproduction/life span

Breeding: rare in captivity
Incubation: females coil around for ~3 mos. (until hatching)
Eggs: 6 - 7 (unusually large eggs; clutches small) " often laid in abandoned burrow

diet

Wild: small mammals
Zoo: mice & rats

habitat/range

grasslands " West Africa, Sierra Leone, Togo & Senegal

status

CITES App II " habitat loss, pet & skin trade " pet trade has high mortality due to sudden change in diet & environment

oregon zoo exhibit

Education Programs