Can ball pythons drowned?

[JLC]

I think the answer is in the question...... Can they breathe under water?

That would be a "no". However, they CAN stay under water for a relatively long time without it doing any harm. Not that I would ever force the issue, but I also wouldn't freak out if my BP dunked its head under the water for a little while. They don't have the same sorts of oxygen exchange that mammals have and have a much slower respiration when at rest or at least calm. So yeah...they can hang out under the water for several minutes. The key is to make sure they can't ever get trapped in the water.

[FatBoy]

how long can they breath under water

[Slim]

how long can they breath under water

Well, they can breath out for as long as they have air in their lung.....it the breathing in when the trouble starts.

Anything with lungs (including fish, by the way) can drown.

[TimmyG]

Um..Fish don't have lungs...they have gills

[Slim]

Um..Fish don't have lungs...they have gills

Yes they have gills, that's how they pull the Oxygen from the water, but If you've ever gutted shark, you'd clearly see that they have lungs as part of their swim bladers. While it's not mentioned in many high school texts, there are actually many modern species of fish (not mammals, but real fish) which have lungs as well as gills. For instance, among the so-called ‘higher’ bony fish (the teleosts) many species of electric fish have them. Of the chondrostei, the so-called ‘primitive’ bony fish, the Polypterus is so dependent on its paired lungs that this fish can drown if prevented from surfacing.

[Melicious]

I think that any animal CAN DROWN. The possibility of it happening with the proper husbandry, though, is another matter.

[simplechamp]

Um..Fish don't have lungs...they have gills

From Wikipedia:

Many fish can breathe air. The mechanisms for doing so are varied. The skin of anguillid eels may be used to absorb oxygen. The buccal cavity of the electric eel may be used to breathe air. Catfishes of the families Loricariidae, Callichthyidae, and Scoloplacidae are able to absorb air through their digestive tracts.[14] Lungfish and bichirs have paired lungs similar to those of tetrapods and must rise to the surface of the water to gulp fresh air in through the mouth and pass spent air out through the gills. Gar and bowfin have a vascularised swim bladder that is used in the same way. Loaches, trahiras, and many catfish breathe by passing air through the gut. Mudskippers breathe by absorbing oxygen across the skin (similar to what frogs do). A number of fishes have evolved so-called accessory breathing organs that are used to extract oxygen from the air. Labyrinth fish (such as gouramis and bettas) have a labyrinth organ above the gills that performs this function. A few other fish have structures more or less resembling labyrinth organs in form and function, most notably snakeheads, pikeheads, and the Clariidae family of catfish.

[fattielumpkin]

That would be a "no". However, they CAN stay under water for a relatively long time without it doing any harm. Not that I would ever force the issue, but I also wouldn't freak out if my BP dunked its head under the water for a little while. They don't have the same sorts of oxygen exchange that mammals have and have a much slower respiration when at rest or at least calm. So yeah...they can hang out under the water for several minutes. The key is to make sure they can't ever get trapped in the water.

yes well aware. It is hard to convey sarcasm via internet forum.

[TimmyG]

I stand corrected

[Slim]

I stand corrected

It's all good Bro. That's the best part of these Forums...I know I learn something new at least once a day here.