Ron's Ball Python Blog

Unlike humans, mammals and birds, ball pythons and snakes in general are unable to produce their own body heat. We have the luxury of having a biological system that produces heat and attempts to keep our body heat at a constant temperature. Our bodies generate heat in cooler temperatures and cools itself off during hotter temperatures through perspiration. We’re able to convert food into energy that we use to heat our bodies and as such, we require a large amount of food in comparison to ball pythons in order to maintain a constant body temperature. We’re considered warm-blooded because of our bodies ability to produce heat on its own. Most of the food we consume is converted into heat energy whereas ball pythons convert most of their food into body mass.

Thermal image of a boy surrounded by cold air.

Ball pythons are cold-blooded animals because they’re unable to generate heat in and of themselves. They take on the temperature of their surroundings and are cold when their environment is cold and hot when their environment is hot. Cold-blooded animals tend to be more active in warm environments and slower or sluggish in colder environments. Ball pythons are lethargic in cold environments and won’t move around much at all. In fact, if they’re very cold, when they flick their tongues to smell the air molecules around them, the tongue will move very slowly, sort of like it’s in slow motion.

In the wild, ball pythons bask in the sun to warm up and increase their metabolism. We have to provide a heat source for ball pythons in a captive environment so they can warm themselves when needed. They also use the heated area in their cage or tank to help with digesting their food. Ball pythons will thermo regulate their body temperatures by lying at the hot section of a cage or tank when it needs to warm up and moving away to a cooler area if it becomes too hot.

Cold-blooded snake being held.

Ball pythons and other cold-blooded animals can go a long time without the need for food because they don’t rely on food to produce body heat. That’s why ball pythons can eat a meal once a week and we have to eat a meal just about every day. I have a female ball python here at my facility that hasn’t eaten a meal in over one year. Her last feeding was recorded on October 9, 2005 and of this writing, it’s been 377 days since she last had a meal!

Think about that the next time your stomach starts growling near dinner time and remember that most of the food you’re eating is used to keep your body warm. :)