Ball python: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:32, 9 May 2025

Revision as of 06:03, 9 May 2025

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===Reproduction===

[[File:Ball Python Eggs Incubating.jpg|thumb|Ball python eggs incubating]]

Females are [[oviparous]] and lay 3three to 11 rather large, leathery eggs.<ref name="Bar06"/> The eggs hatch after 55 to 60 days. Young male pythons reach sexual maturity at 11–18 months, and females at 20–36 months. Age is only one factor in determining sexual maturity and the ability to breed; weight is the second factor. Males breed at {{convert|600|g|abbr=on}} or more, but in captivity are often not bred until they are {{convert|800|g|abbr=on}}, although in captivity, some males have been known to begin breeding at {{convert|300-400|g|abbr=on}}. Females breed in the wild at weights as low as {{convert|800|g|abbr=on}} though {{convert|1200|g|abbr=on}} or more in weight is most common; in captivity, breeders generally wait until they are no less than {{convert|1500|g|abbr=on}}. Parental care of the eggs ends once they hatch, and the female leaves the offspring to fend for themselves.<ref name="McCurley" />

[[parthenogenesis|Parthenogenetic reproduction]] was demonstrated in a pet ball python.<ref name = DiIanni2023>{{cite journal |vauthors=Di Ianni F, Albarella S, Vetere A, Torcello M, Ablondi M, Pugliano M, Di Mauro S, Parma P, Ciotola F |title=Demonstration of Parthenogenetic Reproduction in a Pet Ball Python (Python regius) through Analysis of Early-Stage Embryos |journal=Genes (Basel) |volume=14 |issue=9 |date=August 2023 |page=1744 |pmid=37761884 |pmc=10531270 |doi=10.3390/genes14091744 |doi-access=free |url=}}</ref> A genetic comparison of a mother and her early-stage embryos demonstrated the parthenogenetic origin of the latter.<ref name = DiIanni2023/>