ROYAL PYTHON

• OVERVIEW

  Royal Pythons are found in Africa, particulary Ghana and Togo. They come from a variety of habitats including savannas, sparsely wooded plains, and dry bushland habitats.

  They are also know as Ball Pythons as when frightened they curl up into a ball. This nonvenomous constrictor is the smallest of the African pythons, growing to a maximum length of 182 cm.

  They make great first snakes due to their docile nature, ease of care and are also very low maintenance. Royals come in a HUGE array of colours including very dark almost black looking snakes to pure white snakes with blue eyes so there is a morph out there for everyone!

  • Care level: Easy

  • Average lifespan: 40+ years

  • General nature: Gentle, Slow, Docile

  • Suitable for children? Yes

• ENCLOSURE ENVIRONMENT

  Recommended readings:

  • Hot spot: 30⁰C-32⁰C

  • Background temp: 23⁰C-28⁰C

  • Night-time temp: 23⁰C-26⁰C

  • Humidity: 40%-50%

  • UVI: 0.7 – 1.0 (Maximum UVI: 1.1 – 3.0 in basking zone)

• SHOPPING LIST ESSENTIALS

  • Suitable housing (wooden vivarium)

  • Clamp lamp with ceramic holder

  • UV basking spot bulb

  • Heater guard

  • Dimming Thermostat

  • Bark chips (or other substrate)

  • Large water bowl

  • Hides

  • Decor of choice

• HOUSING

  • • The Royal Python should be housed in a vivarium (4 x 1.5 x 1.5 ft minimum)

    • Wooden Vivariums tend to work best for Royals over glass terrariums or PVC plastic enclosures, as wood is a better insulator, and works better to maintain the temperatures and humidity required for a Royal.

• HEATING

  • Royal Pythons are a nocturnal species and require a suitable light and heat gradient in the enclosure to simulate a complete 24-hour period

  • Overhead heating is our recommendation for snakes, this could be a glass, ceramic heat emitter, halogen or a deep heat projector (heater guard required)

  • Heat mats are not required for Royals due to risks of burns!

• LIGHTING

  • No additional light source required.

• DIET & SUPPLEMENTS

  • Royal Pythons should be offered an appropriate sized frozen thawed rodent.

  • As babies they should be offered once every 5 days and as an adult once every 7 days.

  • The rodent should be no bigger than the thickest part of the snakes body, this is a rough guide that we tend to stick to.

  • When defrosting rodent make sure food item is warm and thoroughly defrosted before offering. Any uneaten rodents CANNOT be refrozen and fed back, this can be fatal for your beloved pet snakes!