This means they spend more time on the ground, rather than in trees. According to the Italian Journal of Zoology, female ball pythons are more terrestrial than males. This might have something to do with gender. Some ball pythons just seem to enjoy burrowing in substrate. It’s not usually a sign that anything is wrong. However, a ball python trying to burrow in its bedding is a fairly common sight. Pythons opt to use their hide box instead of digging their own shelter. Is It Normal for My Ball Python to Burrow? But they can’t dig sturdy or complex tunnel systems. They can move it out of their way just as they’d manipulate leaf litter and sand in the wild. Snake bedding, such as Aspen shavings and coconut husk, is loose and lightweight.īall pythons have no trouble making rudimentary tunnels in bedding. Ball pythons have soft scales and fleshy snouts that are incapable of piercing solid ground.īut the substrate in a pet ball python’s vivarium isn’t the same as the ground outside. It’s easy to tell this by looking at them.
So, it won’t get hurt from encountering rocks or hard ground while digging.īall pythons, however, are not designed for burrowing.
#BALL PYTHON HIDES SKIN#
This allows it to push through the earth.Īccording to the Journal of Morphology, the Calabar python’s skin is also highly resistant to penetration. For example, the Calabar burrowing python has a blunt head covered in thick shield scales. Do Ball Pythons Dig Tunnels in the Wild?Ĭertain species of python are adapted for burrowing. Some pet ball pythons, however, will also burrow in their substrate. Hides take the place of the animal dens that they would use for shelter in the wild. Instead, they hide out under leaf piles, in or underneath logs, and in loose sand.Īs pets, ball pythons spend much of their time in hide boxes. However, ball pythons can’t tunnel in hard ground. If a wild ball python had nowhere to hide, it may try to create its own rudimentary shelter. However, ball pythons can also live in termite mounds, rock piles, and anywhere else cozy and dry. Usually, these dens are made by small mammals or tortoises. Instead of digging their own shelters, ball pythons usurp burrows that have been made by other creatures.
Being nocturnal, ball pythons spend the day hidden in burrows, whilethe sun is hottest.īut ball pythons are not burrowing snakes. They’re found in sparse woodlands, savannas and grassland habitats. 1.4 Why Is My Ball Python Not Burrowing? Can Ball Pythons Burrow?
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