#dwarf burmese python

Here we have a pair of pythons! Ball pythons (Python regius) are also known as royal pythons, and they are hugely popular in the reptile pet trade! Their native habitat is Sub Saharan Africa, from the west in Senegal and Cote D'Ivoire and eastward into Chad, Sudan, and Uganda, but in captivity they can be found all across the world. Reptile keepers love ball pythons for their generally calm, gentle, and inquisitive personalities. When threatened, as their name implies ball pythons will curl themselves up into a ball to try and keep themselves small and safe. One often heard complaint about ball pythons is that they can be picky eaters, sometimes going months at a time without accepting a meal. Dwarf Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus progschai) are a subspecies of Burmese pythons, and can be found on the Indonesian islands of Java, Bali, Sumbawa, and Sulawesi. Dwarf Burmese pythons are a great example of insular dwarfism! Insular dwarfism is when a species evolves to be smaller due to their range being limited to a small environment, and is particularly seen on islands. Dwarf Burmese pythons tend to grow up to around 8 feet in length (tiny compared to mainland Burmese python's length of up to 18 feet!), and while they are still rare in the reptile pet trade they are becoming more popular. Unfortunately, some breeders will sell mainland Burmese pythons as Dwarf Burmese pythons, often leading to the pythons being rehomed or abandoned in the wild when they become much larger than their keeper was expecting.