ROYAL OR BALL PYTHON ... Python regius

The Royal Python or Ball Python has a large range in West and Central Africa, where it can be found in scrub land and farm land. In Ghana, Togo, & Benin, ranching operation started in the 1990’s to supply baby Royal Python for the pet trade. Ghana has in our opinion the best method and attitude to ranching Royal Pythons and as importers we only import royal pythons from Ghana.

In Ghana a tax of $1.00 is collected for each egg collected and each Python exported. There is also a charge made by the Wildlife Department for collection and releasing the females after oviposition, some of the ranched babies are also released each year. All funds are then used for wildlife department projects. This makes baby Royal Pythons from Ghana $3-5usd more than those ranched in Togo & Benin but in our opinion buying Royals from Ghana has a positive affect on the local environment.

Babies are available from April to May each year and the numbers available are monitored and controlled by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna). The estimated wild population in Ghana is 6 to 18 million with 9 – 14 million hatching each year.

Royal Pythons are great snakes to start out with and do great in captivity. They have had a reputation as fussy feeders for years this is mainly due to the pre ranching days when adult snakes were imported in poor health. Wild collected Royal Pythons don’t do well in captivity and are very hard to get feeding, don’t buy adult or juvenile wild collected Royal Pythons.

Ranched royal pythons are normally exported a few day after being born, usually before their neonate shed. The babies are then offered food daily and feeders separated from non-feeders, after a few weeks around 90% will be strike feeding on small mice. The other 10% can then be teased & assist fed. Feeding ranched Royal python will adapt well to their new environment and make a great pet species.

Royal Python’s require a secure cage with thermostatically controlled heating. They are mainly terrestrial but young will climb on any available object. Young snakes housed in large cages are often more difficult to feed than ones kept in small hatchling tubs. For this reason we recommend starting with a cage no bigger than 24” x 15” x 15”. Hatchling tubs may be better when maintaining numbers of baby Royal Pythons. Keeping them singly in hatchling tubs will allow a more detailed feeding & sloughing records to be kept.   

Change the water in the tub/vivarium every other day, young Royal Pythons should have access to a damp area to help when sloughing. The easiest way to maintain a damp area is with a moss box, this can be a small plastic box, or a washed margarine tub with an access hold in the top. The moss should be kept moist, but not wet as this can cause scale rot. If a Royal has sloughed but has old skin remaining, especially over the head and tail this will need removing. Soak the snake in tepid water for up-to an hour in a suitable container remember there must be air holes in the container. For bad cases of retained slough try leaving the snake in a container with damp moss in a heated vivarium over night, remember the container must have air holes. The old skin should fall off in the water or be easy to remove with tweezers or fingers. The retained skin should always be pulled from the head back, with the scales, not against them. Skin left on any part of the body can build up over several sloughs causing a tourniquet effect. Slough left on the eyes ( “eye caps” ) must be removed using small tweezers and gently pulling from around the eye. Removing eye caps requires a great deal of experience, if in any doubt consult a vet experienced in herps. Retained skin is uncommon in royal pythons kept in the right environment. 

Newly imported farmed Royal Pythons have yet to slough for the first time or have just shed for the first time. Approximately one week after the first slough the snake will be ready to feed, some take food earlier and some later. We offer each snake a defrosted warm fuzzie mouse once a day until it takes a feed then we feed one a week for a few week, and move on to two fuzzies etc. We only offer defrosted food, and offer the food on tweezers simulating the movement of a live mouse. In our experience around 90% of our farmed Royals will take defrost mice using this method it may take up-to three weeks after the first slough.

A few tips for you, as with most snakes Royal Pythons like to be holding on to something with their tail when feeding, it makes them feel secure, indeed some that strike and wrap the mouse may then drop it if they can’t find something to wrap there tail around.  Some will feed if you hold them with there tail wrapped around your hand and offer the food on tweezers, this works well for those that randomly strike out at food, hands or anything that move! Young Pythons are shy, and if you are trying to get them to feed, having children screaming in the background and pushing to see what you are doing is a big no-no, it just won’t work! Be calm and patient, try each snake for a few minutes only, tongue flicking is a good sign, hiding there head is not! Try tapping the mouse on the side of the snake’s neck as this often stimulates a striking response in willing individuals. Try offering food at different times of the day/night this can have amazing effects on the feeding success rate.  Be patient, and if trying large numbers of Royal Pythons take a break periodically one day you might only get one feeding, the next day could be fifty!

Remember that Royal Pythons will not feed if they are kept too cold, or subjected to harsh light. Royal Pythons need an ambient back ground temperature of 80-85° F (26.7-29.4° C), and a basking temperature of 90-95° F (32.2-35° C) the night time temperatures can drop slightly.

Royal Pythons that refuse food for more than approximately three weeks after there first slough may need assist feeding. The following methods are used with great success, royal pythons are not like many other snakes, and with patience 99.9% will feed in the end.

Leaving food in over night: In our ten years or so of experience leaving defrosted food in with the snake over night has a limited success rate, but it’s worth a go.

Tease feeding: this is a very successful method for snakes that look interested in feeding, and may strike out or wrap and then drop food. This is done by holding the snake gently either side of the head supporting the body on a flat surface, and then rub the fuzzie on the front of the mouth. This stimulates the feeding response and the snake will bit down on the mouse and wrap it, sometime for a long period of time squeezing tightly, after a while it will release its grip and start feeding. Sometimes a royal will then follow-through with another mouse if offered on tweezers. The assist feeding method may have to be used several times on the animal, but within a few feeds it will start striking for food.

Assist feeding: this is used when the snake shows little or no interest in striking for anything.

Method 1: this is much the same as tease feeding, but involve opening the mouth gently with the mouse, and putting the mouse into the mouth this may stimulate the feeding response resulting in the snake biting down on the mouse and wrap it.

Method 2: holding the snake gently either side of the head supporting the body on a flat surface, pull gently on the skin of the lower jaw (middle of the bottom jaw) the snake will open its mouth, put the mouse in head first. This may stimulate the feeding response resulting in the snake biting down on the mouse and wrap it. You may need to try this a few times for it to work. If the snake shakes the mouse out, try again but this time push the top and bottom jaws together and hold for a while, let go and many times the snake will then wrap and eat the mouse. Holding the snake just above a desk etc by the tail end with its head hanging down will often help. Once the snake starts chewing its all good! Don’t let people walk past you, bang into you as this will often make the snake shake the mouse out, and means you have start again!

Method 3: holding the snake gently either side of the head supporting the body on a flat surface, pull gently on the skin of the lower jaw the snake will open it’s mouth, put the mouse in head first. With a suitable tool, rubber-tipped tweezers work well gently push the head of the mouse into the throat of the snake, this will make it more difficult for the snake to shake the mouse out. Holding the snake just above a desk etc by the tail end with its head hanging down will often help. Remember that small snakes have delicate vertebrae, and care must be taken when holding them around the neck/head. When assist feeding a snake be very gentle with them and be careful not to damage their teeth as this can cause infectious stomatitis - mouth-rot.

The above methods of starting difficult feeder may only have to be used on an individual once or twice, and provoking a strike feeding response by simulating the movement of a live mouse with tweezers should be tried at each feeding time. In our experience some will start feeding properly with a few feeds, however some can take a lot longer, but generally learn to wrap the mouse quickly using the tease feeding method. There are some exceptions to the rule and you occasionally get a really difficult feeder, in general these are aggressive snakes that just want to bite you. These snakes will continuously shake the mouse out and generally make feeding them very difficult, time and patience will work, and they will eventually feed.