I am curious as to what the temperature range is on average throughout the ball python's natural habitat. It can't possibly be 82 - 94 degrees 365. (366 on leap year.) Does anyone have this information? And if the temperature range does fluctuate outside of these norms, then why is it so imperative to keep them in this temperature range? Are these maybe the temps that breeders find to be most efficient when encouraging breeding? Are they healthy temps regardless of whether you breed?

I ask this because while most of Shahrazad's cage is within Adam's suggested temps, there is one part of the cage that routinely dips below 80 and I often see Sharazad sleeping there, especially now that it is winter time. And when I take him out and increase his body temperature in accordance with mine, he will immediately head back to that sub 80 spot. And he is as healthy as a snake can be from all that I have observed.

This leads me to believe that different ball pythons have different preferences for temperatures depending on factors such as weather, time of year and whether they have eaten recently.

Rachel