Ball Python
The ball python (Python regius) is a small African python that curls into a tight ball when frightened. It is among the most popular pet snakes, and wild populations are affected by the trade.
The ball python (Python regius) is a small African python that curls into a tight ball when frightened. It is among the most popular pet snakes, and wild populations are affected by the trade.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Ball Python in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Reptilia lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Heat-Sensing Pits
Pits along the lips contain sensors that detect infrared radiation from warm-blooded prey such as rodents, letting the snake strike accurately in darkness. It kills by constriction, wrapping coils around the prey.
A Brooding Mother
The female coils around her clutch of eggs for about two months and shivers to raise the temperature around them. She does not eat during this period.
Pet Trade and Ranching
Millions have been exported from West Africa, where harvest of wild snakes and eggs for "ranching" occurs. The species is classed as Near Threatened and trade is regulated by CITES. See Green Anaconda.
Ball Python at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Python regius |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Squamata |
| Family | Pythonidae |
| Field Guide group | Reptilia (Reptiles) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Heavy-bodied limbless constrictor with heat-sensing lip pits; curls into a tight ball when frightened. |
| IUCN Red List status | Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2022 |
| Defense | Rolls into a ball |