Ball Python

Hot side: 88°–92°F. Cool side: 80°–83°F. Evening: 78°–82°F. Thermometer on the ground, not the wall. In colder months you can cover the top of a screen enclosure with aluminum foil to trap heat, or consider a closed-top enclosure.

Keep thermometers on both the hot and cool side of the enclosure at all times.

If cool-side or evening temperatures drop below these, your snake may start to refuse food.

Your ball python should have a water dish large enough to curl up in and submerge its entire body.

Keep a hide on both the hot and cool side of the enclosure, ideally tight-fitting. Make the hides humid by occasionally misting the substrate inside them; that keeps your snake hydrated and its sheds complete. Always check the tail tip and eyes, the most problematic shed areas.

Baby/juvenile: floor space of 24 by 12 inches.

Adult: 36 by 24 inches minimum.

Adults especially do best with a solid top, which holds heat and humidity.

Screen tops should be lockable; make the enclosure escape-proof with clips or a lock.

The most popular substrate is Forest Floor, a cypress mulch mix; it can be mixed with Eco Earth. Our Bioactive Supply Grassland mix is also preferred for the humidity it holds.

Feed a rodent roughly the same girth as your snake at its widest point. Transition your snake to thawed frozen rodents; a live rodent can injure or kill a snake.

Feeding schedule.

Baby/juvenile: hopper or adult mouse, or rat pup, every 5 to 7 days.

Juvenile to sub-adult: rats every 7 to 10 days.

Adults: rats every 10 to 14 days.

If enclosure temperatures drop below our listed lows, your snake may go off feed. Sexually mature males often go off feed for months in breeding mode; that's not a concern as long as the snake isn't visibly losing weight or muscle tone.

For daytime lighting: 12 hours on, 12 hours off. UVB optional; if used, 5.0 or lower.