Ideally, captive-bred animals should be purchased as pets. Wild caught snakes are less tolerant of stress, more likely to refuse to feed, and often harbor internal and external parasites. Hatchling ball pythons are about a foot long and grow to about 3 feet by 3 years of age. Depending upon their care, ball pythons can live 10-20 years. The lung extends most of the snake's entire body length.
Snakes have a cloaca, a common opening for the urinary, digestive, and genital tracts.
By inserting a special probe in the cloacal area, a veterinarian can tell the sex of your snake. Snakes have numerous pairs of ribs. Respiratory infections in reptiles are always more serious than similar infections in mammals. Males have two reproductive organs called hemipenes. Snakes have spectacles instead of eyelids.