A few questions....

[Heis]

My little brother is doing a project on Ball Pythons and has a few questions he needs answered that I am unable to answer. If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated.

What is the average number of offspring for a ball python?

Do the parents care for their young after birth?

How long is the gestation period?

Anyone know an estimate of the wild population, and or if they're endangered?

Any misinformation about ball pythons that should be cleared up?

How many different types or morphs are there?

 

[Junkyard]

I think you and your brother should do some searching online, instead of wanting answers from us. I will start you off on two excellent website:

http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBall.html
http://www.ralphdavisreptiles.com

One misinformation about ball pythons: They are not good at climbing branches, I have many do otherwise.

good luck.

 

[hhmoore]

I was gonna suggest that they look for themselves...but realized that I have been a bit short of tact lately. Thanks for picking up my slack, Michael

 

[Junkyard]

No problem Harold, you constantly post what I am thinking when it comes to helping out on these threads anyways. So the only difference is I beat you this time

 

[Clay Davenport]

What is the average number of offspring for a ball python?

Only slightly less than the average number of eggs although the occasional birth of twins does skew the average at around the 6th decimel place.

Do the parents care for their young after birth?

Despite the fact that snakes are often regarded as being of low intelligence, they were smart enough to develop the ability to give birth to young fully capable of caring for themselves, unlike humans who are the unfortunate victims of a cruel cosmic joke of being saddled with an 18 year childhood which happens to coincide with the best years of the parents life.

How long is the gestation period?

Just long enough for the eggs to be laid. Ironically incubation period is also just long enough for the eggs to hatch. The acute foresight of mother nature is never ceases to amaze.

Anyone know an estimate of the wild population, and or if they're endangered?

I estimate 8,673,439. Oh wait, I sense a disturbance in the force. It seems a juvenile was just taken by a bird of prey, make that 8,673,438.

Any misinformation about ball pythons that should be cleared up?

Contrary to the apparent belief of some there is no het for pastel, and ball pythons don't really enjoy watching television with their owners they much prefer a good book.

How many different types or morphs are there?

Not nearly as many as there are names for.


In closing I would like to thank you for this opportunity of releasing all my pent up sarcasm, it was beginning to give me a headache.

 

[LadyOhh]

Tisk tisk, you boys. Be nice...

 

[hhmoore]

 

[CornNut]

"What is the average number of offspring for a ball python?"

I assume you are talking about captive bred females here. A large portion of the cb breeding population is young so the average for those that produce each year might be around 6 +/-2. But remember that not every adult female produces for every breeder every year. Rates of production might be as low as 50% in some cases with a few good/lucky breeders having higher rates.


"Do the parents care for their young after birth?"

Almost everyone takes the eggs away so we wouldn't know but probably not. I did try maternal incubation once and the female seemed very interested and attentive as I removed each baby after it came out of the egg but I don't know if you could really call it care. If they do even stay together for a while in the wild it probably isn't very long.


"How long is the gestation period?"

The breeding process is really a year around cycle including preparation but generally breeding occurs about 6 months before hatching but varies.


"Anyone know an estimate of the wild population, and or if they're endangered?"

6.4 - 18 million in 1997. See http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/cites/studies/study_royal_python_ghana.pdf


"Any misinformation about ball pythons that should be cleared up?"

That "heterozygous" always means normal looking.


"How many different types or morphs are there?"

There are plenty of less well-known morphs and probably even some well known ones I missed but here is a list of individual mutations (not combinations) I recently compiled:

Albino
Axanthic (Jolliff)
Axanthic (TSK)
Axanthic (VPI)
Banana
Butter
Calico (aka Sugar)
Caramel (aka Xanthic)
Cinnamon
Clown
Coral Glow
Desert Ghost
Fire
Granite
Hypomelanistic (aka Ghost)
Lavender
Lesser
Mojave
Normal
Pastel
Phantom
Piebald
Pinstripe
Red Axanthic
Vin Russo High Yellow Lemon
Sable
Spider
Spot Nose
Stripe
Woma/Pearl
YB/Ivory

 

[Junkyard]

Randy, you're no fun.

The gestation period is different than the breeding period.

"How long is the gestation period?"

The breeding process is really a year around cycle including preparation but generally breeding occurs about 6 months before hatching but varies

 

[CornNut]

I wasn't sure if "gestation" even applied to snakes or if it did how to determine when it starts so I went with an assumption that he wanted to know how long after breeding does he see babies. Basically, a heck of a lot longer than most people think before they start breeding boids.

 

[Skunky]

Clay, is that really necessary? Her questions are the very reason why she and others join the fora.

Be cool.

 

[hhmoore]

With all due respect, there IS something to be said for taking a bit of responsibility, and putting some effort into projects. Asking your big brother, who then posts a bunch of questions on an on-line forum isn't nearly as beneficial as actually trying to find some of the information. Clays response was not anything that many (if not most) of us haven't thought about periodically. And, quite honestly, wasn't nearly as sarcastic as some I have seen. Just right, I would say.

 

[Clay Davenport]

I don't mind answering questions and offering help in forums when I can. I've been doing so for about 8 years now.
However, the existance of a forum which pertains to your topic of interest does not excuse you from putting forth effort to research a question on your own.
You'll notice that I very rarely post any question in the forums, not just about herps but about anything. For me a forum is a last resort to be utilized after I have exhausted my own efforts. The majority of the time answers to basic fact questions are a google search away.

The initial post was made for the purpose of gathering information for a project which I assume is school related. How is merely listing facts in a forum beneficial to education? Does simply quizzing someone over the internet serve as a reasonable replacement to actual research? For me the answer is no. When I was in school we had encyclopedias and the library. When you needed facts for a paper you had to use more than your fingertips on a keyboard. Knowledge earned through effort outlasts knowledge picked up from playing 20 questions in a forum post (ever had someone tell you as a child to "look it up" instead of giving you a definition?). I don't want the knowledge gained from the project on ball pythons to be forgotten before the paper is handed in, I would prefer the child work a little for it so it is appreciated and hopefully retained.

When my son has a paper to write he has the benefit of the internet which I didn't have. However, when he needs facts or information even though he doesn't have to dig through the library I still make him earn the knowledge by putting forth the effort of finding it rather than letting him use me like many use a forum.
Compared to some computer forums I have visited my response was downright benign and made merely in fun. Ask a basic question considered common knowledge there and you get heaped with ridicule and verbal abuse for not attempting to find answers before posting.
I enjoy helping when my help is needed, but the fact is the questions asked in the initial post didn't require our help, just a search engine.