page_title: Ball python
section_title: Reproduction
hierarchical_section_title: Ball python / Behavior and ecology / Reproduction
caption_attribution_description: English: Ball python eggs being artificially incubated.
context_page_description: The Royal python, also called the ball python, is a python species native to West and Central Africa, where it lives in grasslands and shrublands. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution. It is threatened by hunting for its meat and for the international pet trade. This nonvenomous constrictor is the smallest of the African pythons, growing to a maximum length of 182 cm. The name "ball python" refers to its tendency to curl into a ball when stressed or frightened.
context_section_description: Females are oviparous and lay three to 11 rather large, leathery eggs. They incubate them under ground with a shivering motion. They 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 ability to breed; weight is the second factor. Males breed at 600 g (21 oz) or more, but in captivity are often not bred until they are 800 g (28 oz), although in captivity, some males have been known to begin breeding at 300–400 g (11–14 oz). Females breed in the wild at weights as low as 800 g (28 oz) though 1,200 g (42 oz) or more in weight is most common; in captivity, breeders generally wait until they are no less than 1,500 g (53 oz). Parental care of the eggs ends once they hatch, and the female leaves the offspring to fend for themselves.
caption: Ball python eggs incubating
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