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Publication #WEC296

 

PossibleFlorida Invader: Ball Python1

Steve Johnson and Monica McGarrity2

This fact sheet is best viewed as a pdf, available here:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW34100.pdf

Figure 1. 

Ball Python (Python regius) Credits: John White, 2006


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Report Ball Python sightings immediately:

www.ivegot1.org (provide photos if possible)

The Ball Python (Python regius) is native to sub-Saharan Africa. This species is not established in Florida but is very common in the pet trade, and escaped or released pets are occasionally encountered in the wild. This nocturnal predator is the smallest of the pythons likely to be encountered in Florida and is usually only three to four feet long. In its native range, it preys almost exclusively on rodents and kills its prey by constriction. If the Ball Python were introduced in Florida, the impacts of this small species would likely be minimal, although it could prey on threatened and endangered rodent species. In their native range, Ball Pythons inhabit grasslands and open forests. Ball Pythons do not breed every year and lay only 4–10 eggs during cooler months. Ball Pythons are known to harbor many bacteria and parasites that could potentially infect native reptiles.

Figure 2. 

The Ball Python's head is dark brown and marked with broad, tan eye stripes from the snout through the eyes to the back of the head, creating a dark arrowhead shape on top of the head. Credits: Photo by Patrick Lynch, SFWMD, 2009; Illustration by Monica E. McGarrity, University of Florida, 2010


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Figure 3. 

The Ball Python's body is dark brown with rounded yellowish tan blotches. The blotches often have darker brown spots inside, making them look a bit like ghost or alien faces. Credits: Photo by Patrick Lynch, SFWMD, 2009; Illustration by Monica E. McGarrity, University of Florida, 2010


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Figure 4. 

When threatened, Ball Pythons curl into a defensive ball posture, coiling their bodies around their heads for protection. Credits: Patrick Lynch, SFWMD, 2009


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Acknowledgments

This project was made possible in part by a grant from the South Florida National Parks Trust and the Ferris Greeney Family Foundation, and by the USDA-RREA. This document was created as additional reference material for the Introduced Reptile Early Detection and Documentation training program, also known as REDDy. For more information, visit http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/reddy.shtml.

Footnotes

1.

This document is WEC296, one of a series of the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date February 2011. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Steve A. Johnson, associate professor and Extension specialist, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida/IFAS–Plant City Center, 1200 North Park Road, Plant City, FL 33563; Monica McGarrity, biological scientist, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida/IFAS–Plant City Center, 1200 North Park Road, Plant City, FL 33563

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.