royal python

Royal pythons - known as ball pythons in the USA because of their ability to curl up into a ball when threatened - come from grasslands and forest clearings in west and central Africa, where they spend much of their lives in underground burrows. Active mainly by night, these snakes eat 'jumping mice' (gerbils) in the wild, and can be fussy eaters in captivity.

They are a short, stocky python strongly marked in black and tan, with spots and stripes throughout the body. These snakes measure, on average, around 100 cm in length, although a large female may grow to more than double this size. They have short tails and powerful, muscular bodies which they use - like all pythons and boas - to constrict their prey. They have small, shiny, smooth scales which do not overlap.

Royal pythons have a very highly developed sense of smell, and have eyes with vertical pupils. Unlike many other pythons, the royal python is not a great climber. It spends much of its time on the ground (or even underground) and on hot days may be found bathing in shallow water.

Selecting A Royal Python

When you are sure that a royal python is the pet for you, do not rush in and immediately by the first one you see. You should have already set up a vivarium for it, before deciding to buy one, so you have a home for it if you take it back with you.

There are many places to get royal pythons from: pet shops (there are many specialist herptile shops around), herp shows or open days or from people who keep and breed reptiles. There are many of all those possibilities around. Do not buy any animal from a shop that looks untidy or dirty, or with overcrowded or unhealthy animals - many pet shop owners do not know how to properly care for exotic pets like reptiles. It is probably best to get your royal python from a specialist reptile shop around, rather than a general pet shop. Before purchasing a python, ask the pet shop owner or breeder many questions about it and see if they know what they are talking about. Also ask them if it is feeding on frozen mice (some will only take live animals, others may only eat gerbils or hamster), and ask them when it last fed and when it last shed. Make sure the snake looks healthy: it should have no obvious wounds, no external parasites such as ticks or mites, and it should not be inflamed around the mouth (this could indicate mouth rot). Specimens should be clear-eyed, alert and quite plump (rather than skinny - bones should not be visible) and not emaciated or lethargic. It should show signs of interest when handled (although it may not necessarily be tame; it is always best to get a tame one), and should always be flickering its tongue. It should not slump in a hand when handled. Make sure it has no genetic defects (i.e. a deformed eye, a spinal kink), and ensure it has no abscesses or lumps.

Many Python regius sold in pet shops are wild caught (or, at least, the eggs were taken from the wild then hatched in captivity). Animals like this tend to be less tame, less willing to feed on mice, and also more prone to parasites and infections. It is always advisable to purchase a captive bred specimen as the extra money (just a few pounds) will be worth it in the end, as you will ultimately end up with a better pet.

Snakes are best bought at a young age - although they should not be newly hatched as feeding will be uncertain and they are much more delicate - because they are then much easier to tame, and will get more used to you (the owner) and to their accommodation. Also, it is more satisfying to most raising a pet from a baby, rather than receiving a fully grown adult to care for that you can not watch grow.

Snakes can be transported in loosely-woven cloth bags, or in plastic containers, the former being the more popular normally. When you return with a new snake, it should be put in quarantine for several weeks - especially if you intend to introduce it to other snakes. A quarantine tank should be minimal in decoration so illness or injury will be easy to spot. It should contain just a water bowl and, possibly a hide box, and the substrate should be newspaper, which is easy to replace. Only paper with just black ink should be used, I have heard, as colourful ink can be dangerous (I am not sure how true this statement really is, but it is better to be safe than sorry with animals). If no disease symptoms appear during the quarantine period (which should be no less than 28 days), then the snake can be housed in more decorative accommodation. If, however, you notice anything unusual about the snake, take it to a reptile expert, or an experienced enthusiast, or a vet, preferably one who is a reptile specialist.

Setting Up A Vivarium

As they are so much smaller than huge pythons like Burmese and reticulated, royal pythons require considerably less space to function properly - a vivarium 180 (long) x 60 (deep) x 60 (high) cm would be ideal for a pair of adult royal pythons, although they would obviously prefer more space. A wooden vivarium would probably be better than a glass aquarium for several reasons: glass aquariums are a lot more expensive that wooden vivariums, snakes feel more secure in wooden vivarium (in glass tanks they are exposed on all sides), wooden vivariums can be made in a wood that matches the tables or cupboards in the room, and also, snakes prefer to bet picked up from the side, rather than above where they see a hand as a threat. Glass aquariums can have advantages, though. They look attractive, and are much better if you are creating a humid environment (although in the case of a royal python the environment should be relatively dry, with mist sprayings every couple of days).

The temperature should be maintained at 24 - 31 degrees centigrade (75 - 88 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, with a hot end and a cold end. Drops should occur at night and in the colder seasons (i.e. autumn and winter). The vivarium must be well ventilated to regularly remove air and replace it with fresh air. Air vents can be situated at the back and sides of a wooden vivarium, or in the top of a glass one. Ventilation prevents stagnant air, and stops promoting the growth of fungi. The vivarium can be heated using a bulb to create a basking area and/or a heat mat (connected to a thermostat to control the temperature). Full spectrum lighting tubes can be used with royal pythons (there is some evidence to suggest it improves breeding and health of snakes) but it is not necessary, and royal pythons are secretive, and nocturnal, anyway. There should be a photoperiod (the time the lights are on for) of about 14 hours in summer and 8 - 10 hours in winter.

The substrate can be shingle (changed and washed at regular intervals), paper towels or newspapers (not pretty, but effective, cheap and easy to clean out), astroturf (the type designed for animals - sometimes called 'reptile carpet' or similar), leaf litter (frozen first to kill germs and bacteria) or bark chips (aspen or pine).

Many hiding place should be used as the royal python is a shy animal. It likes to hides in hollow logs or in rock caves. It will use climbing branches, but the royal python is not the best of climbers. Silk plants can be used for decoration and for young pythons to hide in and behind. Rocks and rough bark should be included for the snake to rub against when shedding, as should a wet box of damp vermiculite or moss for egg-laying and to aid shedding by softening the snake's old skin. If rocks are used they must be positioned securely so the can not fall and injure the snake - they could be glued to the bottom or side of the tank. A large, sturdy water bath is also required for the python to bathe in (especially when shedding). It should be too heavy for the snake to easily knock over.

The tank needs general maintenance work most days, i.e. droppings and shed skin removed, water bowl changed and a misting every few days. The enclosure should be cleaned out every three or four months - with all objects inside the tank put in bleach, then thoroughly rinsed off, make sure there is no trace of bleach still on, a returned to the tank after it has been scrubbed with bleach and rinsed. Old substrate must be removed and new substrate added (although if the python is housed on paper, this should be changed every day or two, or when it gets wet). While cleaning is taken place, the royal python can be held by an observer, or temporarily housed in a cloth bag used when transporting snakes or in a large plastic or glass tank.

Feeding

Generally, royal pythons are usually willing, even quite aggressive feeders, but they also have a well documented tendency to fast for several months in captivity. Captive bred snakes eat much better than wild caught ones, which may only eat gerbils or hamsters in captivity. New specimens may not eat for a few weeks while they are getting acclimatised to there new surroundings, other reasons for these snakes not eating could be time of day (they are nocturnal, so may feed better in the evening), that they are stressed because of temperature, humidity or the fact that they do not have enough places to hide in. Other reasons for snakes fasting could be that they are a gravid female, or that they are in brumation (almost hibernation - when they are inactive and eat very little, if anything).

If your royal pythons is not eating pinkies, there are several options you could use in trying to get him to eat again. You could offer a gerbil, hamster or a brown mouse (sometimes even the colour of the prey affects whether they will eat it), or you could heat up an item of prey before offering it to the python - so it thinks the mouse or rat etc. is still alive. Another method is to split the brain of a mouse so the snake can smell it better (not very nice, but can be effective), or to rub the frozen mouse against a live gerbil or hamster so it picks up the scent of the gerbil. You could encourage the snake to eat by wiggling the prey around in front of it using tweezers (not hands as they have a painful bite, which they rarely use) so the snake thinks the mouse is alive. Sometimes even a piece of raw chicken will restart a python feeding.

If your royal python stops eating for several weeks, do not worry. This seems to be perfectly normal behaviour, and the snake should start eating again when it is hungry. It is only after several months that you should become worried, and at a last resort, after trying all of the above tactics, force feeding is an option. You should consult a vetenarian before force-feeding your snake, as this can be dangerous and it may not be necessary. There are two ways to force-feed a royal python. The first is to take a dead mouse or rat (depending on the size and preferred food of your snake), take the snake by the neck and open its mouth by pulling gently but firmly at the loose skin under the jaw. When the mouth is open, put the head of the prey into the mouth and push it into the gullet. Normally, the snake will start swallowing on its own at this stage. If not use something firm, but not too hard, to push the prey down towards the python's stomach. Once it is past the neck, the foot item can be gently massaged down by hand into the stomach. The second method of force-feeding is to use a large syringe to put liquidised food into the reptile's stomach. The stomach tube that the syringe is attached to should have a smooth end which is lubricated with mineral oil. The tube is put slowly down into the python's gullet and the mouse is pushed down the tube by a plunger.

When eating properly, an adult royal python may eat two or more mice per week. Young royal pythons should be fed on fuzzies (young mice that have just started to grow fur), they should be eating two a week for the first three or four months, then three every fortnight. When a royal python reaches just over 60 cm (24 inches) in length - probably at around eight months - it can be fed one adult mouse or baby rat per week. Larger, adult, pythons will eat large rats and chickens.

Handling

If you want your royal python to become a tame pet, it is necessary to handle it frequently and regularly - for an hour or two a day if possible. Although royal pythons are generally docile, and very rarely make an attempt to bite, even when not tame, they are initially quite nervous and curl up into a defensive ball to avoid being handled. But very quickly, there eagerness to curl up will disappear, when they realise you pose no threat to them. The younger a snake is, the easier it will be to tame, and they are best handled from a couple of weeks old, when they are eating properly. Royal pythons will remain relatively calm when they have been tamed - and even seem to enjoy being handled, possibly because of the heat of human hands. They are solid, stouts snakes, so their body weight should be supported at all times, and it is probably best not to drape them round your neck, as accidental injury can occasionally occur from this act, especially in children.

Breeding

At the moment there are considerably few captive bred royal pythons about (compared with wild caught or farmed specimens).

Royal pythons do not become sexually mature necessarily by age, more by size. Males are ready to breed when about 60 cm (24 inches), and females at about 90 cm (36 inches). These sizes are usually reached at an age of three or four years. In the wild, humidity and lowering of temperature both have an influence on the sex drive of royal pythons, and mating takes place in the early summer months - the wet season. There is a short dry season before summer, when it is relatively cooler, and eggs are laid at the beginning of summer so they will hatch when it is warm and moist, with an abundant supply of prey. So, in captivity the temperature should be dropped slowly by 7 - 8 degrees centigrade, the photoperiod reduced gradually from 14 hours in the summer, to only 8 - 10 hours in winter, and the humidity decreased prior to breeding. Also, there is evidence to suggest that these snakes breed better if the sexes are kept apart before mating season, and if the female is introduced just after she has shed, when her pheromones smell much more intense to the male. It is best to introduce the sexes at the end of the temperature drop, just before the temperatures start to rise - the female will have been affected by the environmental changes and will have began to produce vitellogin pheromones (scents that attract the males) to arouse the male.

Males and females can be told apart by two claws visible on either side of the vent - these are the remains of rear legs from distant ancestors, as snakes are the last group of reptiles to evolve. In males the claws are larger, and are now used to stimulate females during courtship. Another difference in royal pythons is that males are generally shorter - 120 cm (48 inches) maximum - and more slender, while females are longer - up to around 180 cm (72 inches) - and more robust. In adult snakes, it is fairly easy to tell the sexes apart but in juveniles (under 45 cm - 18 inches) it is very hard. The only real way to sex a snake of this age is by probing it using a sexing probe. It is a lubricated metal probe that should be inserted into either side of the vent and pushed slowly and gently towards the tail tip. In females, the probe can only be pushed a maximum of three sub caudal scales, while in males it will reach down about ten sub caudal scales. Make sure you do not damage the delicate internal tissues if you are doing this, and you should get help from someone experienced, or watch them do it.

The male will begin the mating process by approaching the female and slithering along her back, jerking his body and massaging the female with his cloacal claws. His tongue will be rapidly flickering in and out as he smells the female's pheromones. In the end, he gets into a position where he can push the rear part of his body under the female's so he can get his cloaca level with hers. If the female is receptive, she will let the male insert one of his hemipenes into her cloaca. The copulation will take anything from a few minutes to a few hours. After breeding the male and female can be left together for a week, still at the lowered temperature, so they can continue mating in case the first one was unsuccessful. After that period, the male should be returned to his vivarium and the temperatures can be increased.

The gravid female will keep her fertilised eggs in her body for 60 to 70 days, possibly more or less - after around 30 days the females abdomen will look swollen, and a few days later the outline off eggs is visible along her body. The female royal python will probably stop feeding after about 20 days of being gravid, and will not feed again until after the eggs have hatched. A gravid female should not be handled. The female will normally lay five to eight white, leathery-shelled eggs, which are between 6 and 9 cm (2 and 4 inches) long. They are pushed into a pile by the female who will incubate them herself until they hatch around 100 days later. If possible, let the female incubate the eggs herself, rather than removing them for artificial incubation - but if this is necessary (if the female shows no interest in the eggs), they should be incubated in moist vermiculite (equal weights of vermiculite and water, or slightly less water) at around 30 - 32 degrees centigrade (86 - 90 degrees Fahrenheit). If the female is incubating the eggs herself, keep the temperature in the tank at 30 - 32 degrees centigrade (86 - 90 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, with a drop to 25 - 27 degrees centigrade (77 - 79 degrees Fahrenheit). Maintain a high humidity (80 - 90%) in the snake enclosure or in the incubator (wherever the eggs are).

The young will not start eating until after their first shed (7 - 9 days after hatching). They are normally eager feeders, and they have a pretty golden hue that will stay with them only for a few months.