Lots of snakes make good pets so I think it’s easy to not give the Ball Python it’s due as a perfect pet snake.
They share many of the obvious attributes with other recommendable species of snakes. I.e. small size, temperature requirements, color variety, reluctance to bite, etc.
A criticism is their inclination to go off food. I believe that this is in fact a huge positive(assuming the owner knows not to leave uneaten food in the cage). Most snake species will eat more than what’s healthy for them if given the opportunity which can cause permanent health problems. This is very rarely a problem for a Ball Python. They do well in feast or famine and are self regulating in a way that is very rare among captive snakes.
I owned a retail reptile shop for a few years, where I regularly sold families their first pet snakes. I kept and sold a variety of species but over the years I found that Ball Pythons were usually a better fit for most people. The wigglyness of a Corn Snake, the musk of a King Snake, the tendency for a Rosy Boa to bite after you’ve been holding it for a few minutes, maybe uncommon individual experiences but with a large enough sample size, people rarely had a bad experience with a Ball Python.
I would recommend a more challenging species for anyone willing to accommodate, but Ball Pythons have earned their place at the top.
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That’s really interesting. I never looked at the fact they go off food as a positive. But I can see your point, it would make it much easier if you’re prepared in knowing they do so. You’d save money on feeders, and like you said overall you’re left with a healthy animal who regulates their body weight well.
They do almost never bite in my experiences as well, and they definitely don’t musk or wiggle like some colubrid species do.
But the over feeding aspect I believe is more related to the general public not knowing how to appropriately feed their snakes.
Cool, thank you @kylefrost! Those are really good topics on this discussion, especially the fact that ball pythons go on food strikes at times can be a positive. Awesome way to look at it sir.
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Morphs: More than any other snake.
Supply: Higher than any snake
Availability: Yes
Temperament: Least bitey snake, slow moving, easy and non-intimidating to handle
Size: Probably the most mass appealing sized snake, its smaller & easy to manage, yet just big enough that someone who is not into snakes might say “Woah thats a big snake!”
Looks: They’re cute, they have puppydog faces that are more likely to elicit a positive emotional response than most other snakes.
I personally don’t care for ball pythons, and would never recommend one as a first snake, but I know the hype is justifiable.
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