Let's Discuss Dietary Requirements for Ball Pythons

[Eric Alan]

I haven't looked at exact denning temperatures, but I would think that they would be close to the incubation temperatures we advise. The idea is that - with the exception of night drops - the den IS the incubator. Ball pythons are maternal brooders and the tightly coiled ministrations of the female keep the temp as constant as possible when the sun goes down.

I found the following piece of information regarding den temperatures. Per Ball Pythons by the Barkers (p 8):

• Greer (1994) measured temperature and humidity in three nest sites that were excavated in his presence. The burrows were in unshaded open ground, and the temperature of the ground surface over the burrows varied from 107 degrees to 111 degrees F (42 degrees to 44 degrees C); ambient relative humidity was 66 percent to 68 percent. The measured air temperatures inside the nesting chambers where females were brooding clutches of eggs varied from 92 degrees to 96 degrees F (33 degrees to 35.5 degrees C), and the ambient relative humidity of the air in the dry earthen chambers ranged from 83 percent to 88 percent.

On the surface, this seems to be contrary to their recommendation that "our snakes want to be cool, but they occasionally they warm up" (p 173). It's likely, IMO, that these elevated den temperatures were found because the search groups were specifically seeking nesting sites, in which they'd expect to find gravid females and/or clutches of eggs, and not necessarily regular use burrows. The Barker's do note later on that "gravid ball pythons will usually pick the warmer as the place to lay their eggs" (p 223) when offering gravid females a choice of a warmer vs a cooler part of the cage.

Their temperature recommendations are "ambient temperatures of 78 to 80 degrees F (26 to 27 degrees C) with a basking spot of 86 degrees F (30 degrees C)" (p 170-171). They then clarify this in regards to providing temperature gradients: "Even though the warm area of the cage may be 88 degrees F (31 degrees C) and the cool area 78 degrees F (26 degrees C), the ball python living in the cage can easily and purposely achieve a core body temperature of, say, 84 degrees F (29 degrees C). This the snake accomplishes behaviorally by selectively placing only part of its body in the warm area, and physiologically by deferentially shunting blood flow through the capillary beds in its skin," (p 171).

This follows my earlier thought process that the snakes knows better than I do its needs at any given time, which is why I provide a warm spot in addition to a consistent ambient temperature.