Natural History
| Pythons are most often seen as evil killing machines. You hear the word python, and you think of the majestic Burmese Python ambushing people in the forest and constricting them to death. But, not all pythons can kill you. There is a species of python that never gets much bigger than 6 feet. And that is the Ball Python (Python Regius). They are also called Royal Pythons. Royal Pythons make the best pets. They get big enough to hold without losing, but they never get too big, and they can't kill you. They also live long if you take care of them correctly. On average, they live about 30 years, but they have been known to live well past 50. They are beautiful snakes that come in a wide variety of colors called morphs. And if you take care of them right, they can be a friend for life. | |
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For many years now, Ball Pythons have been imported under very cruel conditions. They were taken from the wild by the people who thought of them as food. Then they were stuffed into barrels and sent on ships to America. These snakes would sell for about $10 and were considered worthless. They could easily be replaced. But people in America who bought them in the many pet stores they were sold in, were not happy with their new pets. They were disease ridden and often refused to eat the mice. At first, Ball Pythons who were raised in Africa wouldn't register mice as edible food. Just think of moving to a foreign country and have something that doesn't look anything like the food you're used to put in front of you. Would you eat it? Probably not at first. Many snakes died from not eating alone, not to mention the fact that they had contracted diseases on the trip to America. This slaughter of snakes still goes on today, but less because of an innovation that would revolutionize the way people buy snakes forever. |
| A group of enthusiasts in Africa thought of a great idea. They started collecting ball python eggs. They could make a ton more money by selling better snakes for a higher price. Not only would the snakes live longer, they would have more of them. After hatching and raising them, they would sell them in America ready to eat mice and live in captivity healthfully. However, this still wasn't very good. They were torn from their parents and stuck in cages in America. So a few great Royal Python enthusiasts in America got a few and began to breed them. By breeding them, they knew nothing but eating the frozen mice and being handled. They would be nicer, healthier, and better looking. With the new innovation of breeding Ball Pythons, they could make new morphs like Albino or Axanthic. Soon, morphs that could never be found in nature existed, such as the illustrious Snow Ball Python. |
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