Ball Python research paper..need help

[Nate]

I'm doing a paper on Ball Pythons. Of course, i havn't done much research cuz all the info i need is in my brain or on this web site in someone else's brain. It's more of a debate paper....i am going to make a presentation stating facts why a ball-python is one of the best pets a person can have. And i turn to you guys here at ball-pythons.net for more help.

I'm just pretending i'm talking to someone who is completely clueless about snakes...which most ppl in my class are. so help me out with some more facts that an idiot could understand..mk? mk!!

facts i already have:
They only grow to about 4-5 feet
they only eat once a week
Food costs only $1-$4 per meal
they are very clean animals
they are very eazy to take care of
they don't require a lot of attention (in comparison to dogs/cats)
they can stay in a small cage
they require a small set up (Warmth, Hide, water dish)


I need some myths too...the whole point of this paper is to convice ppl they're good pets

BIG myth #1: they will wrap around your neck and kill you

NOOO THEY WON'T....Ball pythons strike and coil up around what they intend on killing, such as a mouse or rat.

what's another myth or 2?


I do have to also write about the downsides of snakes...and i can only think of one downside. After a while, a snake can get expensive. if you're big into the looks of your cage, you can spend hundreds of dollars on the tank/cage alone. Then you have heat pads, food (which is cheap in comparison to dog/cat food), hides, temp/humidity guages, something for them to crawl on, etc etc.

I just feel like i'm leaving a few things out and need someone to fill in some blanks for me. feel free to reply with any thoughts you have.

[tman]

You can talk about the exportasion of the ball ( royal ) python, where they come from, how they are shiped, the using of ball pythons for food and leather clothing. How about the pro's and con's of pet stores VS breeders. How they can go off feeding for months at a time....ect...ect..

[kavmon]

in addition to everything mentioned already, maybe a little talk on imports vs captive bred, forest destruction of habitat, and impacts on wild populations for the future. i think it is important to mention these things to everyone hope this may help!

thanks

vaughn

[Freakie_frog]

Just to add to what these guys have stated. They are very very calm and normaly put up with alot of stuff before defending themselves. The first defence of a Ball is to ball up hince its name, then if that want work they hiss and move away, last resort biting and thats only after much agervation. Faily cheap to keep up with. You will pay between 50 and 200 dollars for a normal and they go up from there depending on the breader and morph. Like you said they are fairly small 4 to 5 feet for a male and up to 6 for a big female. They have personality that will vary depending on the animal from nice and courious to shy and alittle short tempered. This is why it is important to handle and observe the animal that you are thinking of adding to your family before buying it. And above all ask questions.

[kontron]

i only know one myth about snakes, and it's not about bp's. i am pretty sure it is a myth too. there is a story that in el cajon, a sub-city of san diego, there were some people who owned a giant anaconda. one night while drugged up they thought it would be cool to fool their friend and feed him to the snake. the story says they were on lsd when they came up with the ideal. so they tricked their friend into the backyard housing the green anaconda knowing it was hungry, and let the anaconda eat the guy. like i said i am pretty sure it is just a myth, cause if all these kids talk about it, then the cops would have known, and something like that would have been on the news for sure.
but that leads me to a myth. a lot of poeple think ball pythons only need eat once a month or even once a year. however this is not true, they need to eat at reguler intervals. most poeple see my bp, and ask about food, thinking they only have to be fed every 6 months or so... WRONG!
hope it helps some..

[Royal-y__Great]

to add to what was just said, some people think the opposite

ive had someone ask me if i feed it once a day, or twice?


i was completely in awe, since the most common (or so i thought) thing that people actually know is that they dont eat every day

[Freakie_frog]

you should never feed that much feeding more than once a day stresses out the digestionsystem.. Its better to feed one big meal and let them be for a day or two to let it process.. Never ever feed more than once a day

[UberAlice]

Downsides:
It can be difficult to get optimal humidity and warmth for these guys if you're not experienced with it.
It requires a LOT of patience....remember how we all felt the first time our critters went on feed strike? For such a lazy animal, mine sure have stressed me out something awful.
They are succeptible to mites and infections that most other animals are not, and are also MUCH more expensive to treat.
Vets specializing in herps are few and far between, and are generally much more expensive than non-exotics vets.
Their cages must be cleaned on the regular, because their fecal matter can contain germs that can harm humans. It is possible to pass zoonotic diseases between the snake and humans, in particular salmonella, if the cage is not properly cleaned.
They are a naturally feared animal and you may have trouble getting an apartment or travelling with it for that reason, something you don't come up against with a cat or a dog.
You for the most part can't go away on a weekend and leave the animal be; even with a timer on your heat source, you should always have someone there who knows the sign of illness and to check the heat/humidity gauges. No exceptions.

In my opinion, while BPs and other herps are amazing animals, they are NOT by any means for everyone, and they're not a perfect pet for the vast majority of people.

In your myth #1, you might do well to add that the size of a human is far too large for even an overgrown female to eat as prey, and that the only reason a BP will strike at a human is because a) fear or b) the human was being dumb and handling prey items before putting them in the tank. It just doesn't make sense for a BP to strike and try to kill an animal that's so much larger than it, and isn't feasable as a prey item, unless it's absolutely life-or-death and the BP has nowhere to run (err....slither). Not likely to happen in a pet setting.
Good luck on your paper!