CapeFearConstrict
Wilmington, NC
Male, 32
I've been working with ball pythons for over ten years now. Two years ago I decided to breed them as a business. I run a small operation. Currently I have approximately 100 snakes in my breeding program and hope to produce over 200 babies in the 2013 breeding season. I've always been fascinated by reptiles, snakes in particular, and being able to work with them every day is very satisfying.
It is possible for a large constrictor, like a fully grown burmese or a fully grown reticulated python, to constrict the neck of a human to the point where the person couldn't breathe. That's why it's important to be responsible when handling these large snakes. Never let them get into the position where they can wrap around your neck or other vital areas of your body, and always have someone on hand that can assist you if things get out of hand. I, personally, have never felt in danger with any of my ball pythons. Of course, ball pythons rarely get over 10 pounds and 6 foot long, so they cannot overpower an adult. I also have no qualms about allowing my children interact with them.
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That depends on your definition of "living." If I were to cut you in half, you would live for a period of time, but it wouldn't be very long. In other words, it's not instant death. That being said, reptiles have much slower metabolisms than we do. You cut a human's head off, and the brain will remain conscious for a few seconds. You cut a snake's head off, and its brain will remain conscious for a good bit longer. We're talking in terms of minutes, not seconds. Cutting a snake in half wouldn't result in two separate entities that could survive independently. It's the same as cutting any other animal in half, with the exception that the snake would be in agony much longer.
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There is still some debate on this. The reptilian brain is very primitive. They have very little cognitive ability and no real show of emotion. My personal opinion is that even if the snake recognizes one person from another, they don't treat that person any differently. A snake's behavior is mainly based on interactions from their environment. When handling a snake, they can tell if you're nervous or calm, and their behavior stems from that. If you're nervous, they are more inclined to be nervous, and similarly, if you are calm, they are more likely to be calm. They are certainly not companion pets, but I see them as fascinating, beautiful living works of art.
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I have seen that movie and it's 100% pure fiction. Hollywood rarely portrays snakes in an accurate (or even positive, for that matter) way. It's a shame that the only time you see a snake in a movie is when they want to scare you.
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Ball pythons have an average of 6-7 eggs per clutch, and one clutch per year at most. In the carefully monitored environment that we breeders keep the snakes and the eggs in during breeding and incubation, the vast majority of eggs survive and hatch, and the vast majority of babies that hatch survive into adulthood. I'm certain this is much better than they see in the wild. I have personally not hatched a large number of eggs, but I've seen statistics from a large breeder. He has approximately 90% of his eggs go full term. There are no stats on hatchling survival rate, but I'd guess it's probably 98% or higher. There are occasional development deformities and incubation issues that result in some babies not making it, but these are few and far between. As for other python species, I know they tend to lay far more eggs (20 or more), but as far as egg and hatchling survival rate, I cannot comment because I have not done enough research on those species to know the numbers.
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If a mutation is genetic, there's always a chance that it will be passed onto offspring. DNA comes in pairs. Each part of the DNA contributes something to the oganism. When a baby is created, half the DNA comes from the mom, half from the dad. Some mutations are only on half of the DNA pair, others are on both. When it's on half, there's a 50% chance it passes onto each offspring, when it's on both, there's 100% chance it passes on (but the resulting offspring may only end up with half the mutation, unless both parents pass on the mutation).
This is a very simplified explanation, but hopefully it gets the idea across. Any genetic mutation is passable. When the mutation is caused by environmental causes (usually due to temperature issues during development in the case of ball pythons), those mutations are not passed onto offspring.
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I feel ball pythons are a great starter snake. They are very docile, reluctant to bite and they don't get too big. Some snakes are very active when being handled, they will be going this way and that, and for a child this might pose problematic if the snake gets away from them. Ball pythons will explore a little bit while being handled, but they aren't usually quick moving and they are easy to control. Ball pythons aren't perfect though. They are notoriously picky eaters. I have some snakes that haven't eaten in over seven months. This is frustrating when you're trying to raise up a snake for breeding, but as a pet owner, it's not such a big deal. Corn snakes are another species that come highly recommended. I have no personal experience with them, so I can't comment much. Definitely research any species you decide to go with before bringing your pet home.
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