Jafar, the ball python snake joined Cornerstone Classical Academy on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. He is on loan to us from my daughter and her husband, my son-in-love. A huge thank you to Brittany & Jeremiah for letting Jafar hang out with us at CCA!
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| Hanging out with a friend |
Jafar is two years old and will probably reach maturity at around three years old. He is a ball python. We assume he is a male but to be honest we are not sure about this fact! If he is a male he will be about 2-3 ft long as an adult. Females are generally larger and can be up to 5 ft long. He has been handled often and appears to be comfortable around humans.
Ball pythons are native to the grasslands and forests of Central and West Africa. They like to burrow in the ground and are most active in the morning and evening. They get their name because when they are startled, they tend to curl into a ball and hide their head. They are constrictors which means after biting their prey, they wrap their body around the prey to rapidly kill it by suffocation and/or heart attack. The prey is then swallowed whole.
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| Checking out CCA |
Jafar eats large, dead mice once a week. We plan to feed Jafar on Mondays. This involves thawing out the frozen mouse so that it is at room temperature. Using a large pair of tongs, the mouse is placed in the terrarium. We discovered this past Monday that sometimes Jafar just takes a little time before eating his dinner! Videos are posted on another page if you'd like to watch.
Ball Pythons have a jaw that is held by very flexible ligaments which allow the jaw to expand and swallow his prey. While they are digesting, ball pythons should not be handled.
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