Freeway Ball Python

Freeway ball pythons are nonvenomous constrictors that are captive-bred as pets.

Ball pythons are native to Africa and became popular pets in the 1970s. Since 1975, over 3 million ball pythons have been exported. Over the years, breeders have been able to create a vast array of colors and patterns, making them one of the most beautiful pet snakes.

Incredible Freeway Ball Python FactsThe yellow

• This morph is caused by two alleles – different versions of the same gene.
• More than 3 million ball pythons have been exported from Africa since the 1970s.
• Some of the fancy ball python patterns were natural mutations found in Africa.

Freeway Ball Python Scientific Name and Classification

Ball pythons are nonvenomous constrictors in the family Pythonidae. Pythons are considered Old World snakes because they are native to areas of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceana. There are about 40 species in the Pythonidae family and 10 in the Python genus, to which the ball python belongs. Their scientific name is Python regius, which means royal python.

Ball pythons were believed to be worn as jewelry, and Cleopatra of Egypt is one that’s regularly mentioned as possibly wearing them. Their common name of ball python comes from their habit of rolling into a ball when they feel threatened.

Freeway Ball Python Appearance and Behavior

Ball pythons are nonvenomous stout, muscular snakes, and the freeway morph is no exception to that. They generally reach 4-6 feet in length and the females are the larger snakes. Freeway ball pythons have a strong dorsal stripe and generally little pattern on the side. It often looks similar to the texture of an asphalt road. This is where the morph gets its name. Sometimes the stripe is wide and solid, other times it is broken. Their patterns vary widely and some have typical ball pythons markings in addition to the dorsal stripe, while others have gravelly patterns with colors ranging from black to yellow or red.

Freeway Ball pythons are just like their wild cousins, except because they’re born in captivity, they’re more docile than those wild-caught snakes. As a general rule, ball pythons are calm snakes that don’t get upset about much.

They are nocturnal, and during the day they’re more likely to coil up in a warm place until the sun goes down. These ambush predators sit, waiting for their prey to stumble too close. When they strike, they grab the animal with a mouth full of rear-pointed teeth. Then, the snake coils around it and squeezes until its heart stops beating. The snake then can swallow its food whole without difficulty.

Freeway Ball Python Morph Characteristics

The freeway morph is created when you breed an asphalt ball python to a yellow belly ball python. They’re part of the yellow belly complex, along with specter, spark, gravel, and flare.

Freeway ball pythons are highly variable and get their name from the dorsal stripe they exhibit. This ball python morph isn’t caused by two separate genes, but by two alleles. According to Britannica.com, an allele isn’t a different gene, but a mutation of the same gene.

The way that alleles work is interesting. It’s like saying that you prefer black jeans over blue jeans. They’re all jeans, just different colors. With animals, when you mix alleles together, sometimes you get really unique patterns. Such is the case with ball pythons. In fact, no other pet reptile has as many color patterns.

Freeway Ball Python Habitat and Diet

Ball pythons originate in central and western Africa, in the countries of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, DR Congo, and South Sudan. Of the 17 countries where they occur, Benin, Togo, and Ghana are exporting the most.

These snakes prefer grasslands and woodlands with enough vegetation to feel safe. They inhabit areas with lots of vegetation for cover, which can sometimes include agricultural areas. Wild ball pythons’ natural markings make them almost invisible as they move through the dense underbrush.

Despite their wide distribution across Subsaharan Africa, little is known about them outside of the main export countries of Benin, Ghana, and Togo. However, ball pythons are often found hiding inside of termite mounds, hollow tree trunks, and abandoned termite mounds.

Among pet snake owners, they’re known as clutter-loving snakes. The more clutter in their environment, the happier they get.

These snakes are obligate carnivores, and only eat small rodents like rats and mice, nestling birds, and juveniles in the wild will sometimes eat lizards.

Freeway Ball Python Predators, Threats, Conservation, and Population

Freeway ball pythons, because they’re captive-bred, and a fancy morph on top of that, aren’t in danger of going extinct. Wild ball pythons, on the other hand, are “Near Threatened,” according to the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species. The population of wild ball pythons has decreased over the last couple of decades. Scientists believe that it’s because these snakes are heavily exploited for food, leather, and medicine.

That’s in addition to the heavy pet trade export, which often targets gravid females. When ball pythons were first becoming popular, traders would sell any ball python they could. It was a new source of income for their families and often helped them eat regularly. However, those adults that they exported often didn’t live very long. The simple stress of capture and being shipped across the world killed some, and others weren’t healthy. They were infested with mites and intestinal worms, and some had old injuries that didn’t heal correctly.

For export, traders now target pregnant females because when the babies hatch, most of them are exported. These snakes are healthier, less stressed, and generally do much better. Unfortunately, focusing on females in this way may be damaging the genetic diversity of those in the wild. There’s a lot that scientists don’t yet know, but the demand for ball pythons in captivity isn’t going away, so hopefully, more research will be done.

Freeway Ball Python Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

Freeway ball pythons can live up to 30 years in captivity, and like other ball pythons, are easy to keep happy. They’re low maintenance, and yet pretty cool to handle as a pet.

These snakes mature at 2-4 years of age in captivity. In the wild, that may take a little longer if prey is scarce when they’re growing. Like other pythons, the females lay eggs and coil around them for protection until they hatch. Female ball pythons can lay up to 15 eggs, but seeing 5-10 is more common.

The babies hatch looking much like mom and dad and are ready to fend for themselves soon afterward.

Similar Animals

• Lavender albino ball python
• Spider ball python
• Pied ball python