Ball Pythons and Kids

Okay, So I got a question from a couple I know not that long ago, and I've decided to answer it here, Their Son wants a Ball python, and so they came to me for help, They asked the normal questions, "How often do they eat" "How big do they get" "Are they aggressive" Etc. And then they asked me something that made me laugh. "If He forgets to handle it will it get sick" and my response was simple, No, these creatures are not Puppies, They can actually get stressed out if they are handled too much. So I'm going to answer their questions.

Q: How Big do they get
A: Ball Pythons Only get to be around 4 or 5 ft, and that's actually large, the Largest recorded ball python reached 6 1/2 Feet in length.

Q: How Often do they eat
A: That depends on size really, My four foot male refuses to eat more than once every three weeks. My Three Foot and One foot females both eat twice a week Wednesdays and Saturdays. You can feed a young ball python once a week and it will do fine, Infact (And im not supporting missing feeding times) You can forget to feed your snake for a week and it will do fine, Youll still have a healthy snake, it will just be a bit hungry.

Q:Are they aggressive:
A: Most Certainly not, sure you get the occasional 'Black Sheep' that will be a bit nippy, or anti-social But Ball Pythons are the Wussies of the snake world, most of them only bite as a last resort, They prefer to coil in a Ball around their heads (Hence the name Ball Python) and wait until theyre left alone. And Besides Most Ball pythons have rather small teeth and it doesnt hurt very much to be bitten, Kokoro has bitten me twice, (Shes one of the "Black Sheep" I was talking about) She bit my Pinkie finger once, and she managed to bite my face once. It honestly doesnt hurt as badly as you would think. If you get bitten what ever you do, never ever ever pull away from your snake if it latches onto you, You can rip out its teeth and cause severe injury, and even death to your snake

Q:How long do they live?
A: Well, if you get a Ball-y You better be ready for long term commitment, Ball Pythons can live 20 - 30 years, In fact the oldest recorded snake in captivity was a Ball python, it was over 48 years old when it passed away.

More Info: Ball Pythons are Native to Africa, Which means they (Like most reptiles) Like Warm climates, try to keep their enclosures around 80 degrees, and their Humidity at 60- 75 % Make sure its not too dry, or too humid because it can cause health problems for your snake, such as Respiratory infections, Belly rot, Scale rot, and more.

If you have any questions use the "Contact" box at the bottom of the page, I check my E-mail every day, and you will either get a personal reply, or ill post the answer to your question on the blog.