Royal python

The ball python (Python regius), also known as the royal python, is a python species found in sub-Saharan Africa. Like all other pythons, it is a nonvenomous constrictor. This is the smallest of the African pythons and is popular in the pet trade, largely due to its small size and typically docile temperament. No subspecies are currently recognized. The name 'ball python' refers to the animal's tendency to curl into a ball when stressed or frightened. A common belief is that the name 'royal python' (from the Latin regius) comes from the legend that rulers in Africa, especially Cleopatra, would wear the python as jewelry. Maximum adult length of this species is 182 cm (6.0 ft). Females tend to be slightly bigger than males, maturing around 122–137 cm (4.0–4.5 ft). Males typically grow to around 90–107 cm (3.0–3.5 ft). Their build is stocky, while the head is relatively small. The scales are smooth and both sexes have anal spurs on either side of the vent. Although males tend to have larger spurs, this is not definitive, and sex is best determined by manual eversion of the male hemipenes or inserting a probe into the cloaca to check the presence of an inverted hemipenis (if male). When probing to determine sex, males typically measure eight to ten subcaudal scales, and females typically measure two to four subcaudal scales. The color pattern is typically black or dark brown with light brown or gold sides and dorsal blotches. The belly is a white or cream that may include scattered black markings. However, those in the pet industries have, through selective breeding, developed many morphs (genetic mutations) with altered colors and patterns. They are found in west Sub Saharan Africa from Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria through Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic to Sudan and Uganda. No type locality was given in the original description. The ball python bears a strong physical resemblance to the Burmese python, whose adaptive abilities have caused it to become classified as an invasive species in places such as the Florida Everglades. The ball python, however, has not been known to reproduce in the wild outside of its native range and no reproducing wild populations are known in Florida. Ball pythons prefer grasslands, savannas, and sparsely wooded areas, but have been shown to adapt to all types of environments. Males tend to display more semi-arboreal behaviours, whilst females tend towards terrestrial behaviours. This terrestrial species is known for its defense strategy that involves coiling into a tight ball when threatened, with its head and neck tucked away in the middle. In this state, it can literally be rolled around. Favored retreats include mammal burrows and other underground hiding places, where they also aestivate. In captivity, they are considered good pets, with their relatively small size and placid nature making them easy to handle. In the wild, their diet consists mostly of small mammals, such as African soft-furred rats, shrews, gerbils, and striped mice and birds. Younger pythons, under 70 cm total length, and males prey almost exclusively on small birds (nestlings and immature young) whilst pythons greater than 70 cm total length, and females prey almost exclusively on small mammals. In captivity most ball pythons will accept common rats and mice, and some will eat chicks.