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A coiled ball python with brown and tan markings on a white background.
Photo: HCA, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ball Python

Python regius

A small, calm African python that curls into a tight ball with its head tucked inside when frightened.

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About the Ball Python

Ball pythons, also called royal pythons, are 3 to 5 feet long and weigh 3 to 5 pounds. In the wild they are light brown with dark brown to black markings and an ivory belly. They live in savannas and open forests of West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Uganda. They have heat-sensing pits along the upper lip and eat mostly rats and other small mammals.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Python regius[1]
Size
3 to 5 feet long.[1]
Weight
3 to 5 pounds.[1]
Lifespan
About 10 years in the wild.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Mostly rats and other small mammals.[1]
Habitat
Savanna grasslands, open tropical forests and farmland.[1]
Where it lives
West and Central Africa, from Senegal to South Sudan and Uganda.[1]
Group life
Solitary. Nocturnal.[1]
Babies
1 to 11 eggs.[1]
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN Red List, assessed 2020).[2]

Fun facts

  • Ball pythons curl into a ball when they're scared.[1]
  • They can go months without eating.[1]
  • Ball pythons sense heat with pits on their lips.[1]

Vocabulary

constrictor
A snake that kills prey by wrapping around it and squeezing.
heat pit
A sense organ on some snakes that detects body heat of prey.
brood
To sit on or guard eggs.
counter-shading
Coloring that is dark on top and light underneath, which helps hide an animal.
near threatened
A conservation label meaning a species may soon be at risk of dying out if things don't improve.

See it in person

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

  1. [1] Oakland Zoo. “Royal (Ball) Python.” https://www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/royal-ball-python/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Python regius (Ball Python).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/177562/220378972 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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