Sources and credits

How we rank them

Product labels and veterinary references first. An EPA label is a legal document; the Merck Veterinary Manual, LafeberVet and VCA are written and reviewed by veterinarians. Published studies next, cited with the journal and a DOI. Experienced keepers and breeders (ReptiFiles, Wilbanks, breeder forums) fill in the practical detail that vets don't write down. Where any of these disagree, the chapter says so. Anything marked "our practice" is ours and nobody else's.

Every chapter ends with its own numbered list. This page collects the whole set. Links were checked on October 27, 2026.

Veterinary references

• Merck Veterinary Manual: Management and husbandry of reptiles; Nutrition in snakes; Bacterial diseases of reptiles; Parasitic diseases of reptiles; Parasiticides used in reptiles; Disorders and diseases of reptiles
• LafeberVet: Basic information sheet: boas and pythons; Respiratory disease in snakes; Feeding snakes (PDF); Retained spectacles in reptiles; Stahl, S. J., Respiratory disease in snakes: 2024 outline (PDF)
• VCA Animal Hospitals: Snakes: housing; Snakes: constrictor; Common diseases of pet snakes
• PetMD: Ball python care sheet; Dysecdysis in reptiles; Respiratory infections in reptiles
• WikiVet: Snake dysecdysis; Snake retained spectacles; Snake mite infestation; Lizard quarantine
• Reptiles Magazine (veterinarian authors): Kevin Wright, DVM, Causes, prevention and treatment of snake mites; Roger Klingenberg, DVM, Using ivermectin for external parasites
• American College of Veterinary Dermatology, Dermatologic disorders of reptiles (2022) (PDF)
• Wildlife Health Australia, Snake mite fact sheet (PDF)
• Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians: Find a vet; Salmonella and reptiles
• CDC, Reptiles and amphibians: healthy pets, healthy people
• AVMA, Extralabel drug use and AMDUCA FAQ

Published studies

• Hollandt, T., Baur, M. and Wöhr, A.-C. (2021), housing systems for ball pythons, PLOS ONE 16(5): e0247082, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247082
• Luiselli, L. and Angelici, F. M. (1998), diet of royal pythons in Nigeria, Italian Journal of Zoology 65(2): 183–185, doi:10.1080/11250009809386744
• Gamble, T. et al. (2017), XY sex chromosomes in a boa and a python, Current Biology 27(14), doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.010
• D'Cruze, N. et al. (2022), IUCN Red List assessment for Python regius
• Rose, M. P. and Williams, D. L. (2014), neurological dysfunction in a ball python colour morph, Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 23(3): 234–239, doi:10.1053/j.jepm.2014.06.002
• Starck, J. M. et al. (2022), inner-ear malformations in spider morph pythons, PLOS ONE 17: e0262788, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262788
• Orlova, M. V. et al. (2024), review of the snake mite Ophionyssus natricis, Acarologia, doi:10.24349/gmr0-8m9o
• Parasites & Vectors (2023), afoxolaner against snake mites, doi:10.1186/s13071-022-05611-1
• Schilliger, L. et al. (2013), Cheyletus eruditus against the snake mite in ball pythons, Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 44(3), PubMed 24063093
• Camin, J. H. (1948), mite transmission of a hemorrhagic septicemia in snakes, Journal of Parasitology 34(4): 345–354, doi:10.2307/3273698
• Mendoza-Roldan, J. A. et al. (2021), snake mites as potential vectors of Hepatozoon, Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 12: 101585, doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101585
• Fipronil case series, VIN proceedings

Keepers and breeders

• QB's Tails & Scales (YouTube), Ball Python Care | Treating For Mites! Prevention & Quarantine (2023): the source of our mite method
• ReptiFiles (Mariah Healey): Ball python care guide and its chapters on terrarium size, decorations, temperatures and humidity and substrate; Ball python not eating; Ball python shedding; Ball python mites; Ball python respiratory infection; Ball python handling tips; Ball python sexing; How to quarantine reptiles; What to feed a ball python; and Francis Cosquieri's Busting royal python myths (PDF, archived copy; the live file returned 403 on October 27, 2026)
• Wilbanks Reptiles: Creating a safe and comfortable environment; Dealing with feeding problems in ball pythons
• Zen Habitats: Ball python care guide; Quarantine enclosure setup
• CB Reptile, Handling ball pythons
• Lizards101, Ball python shedding
• Melissa Kaplan, Mites, Anapsid.org
• ball-pythons.net breeder threads: first sheds and first meals, starting hatchlings, popping vs probing, mites with a large collection
• MorphMarket Community, Learning to pop and/or probe

Breeding chapter

• Bertocchi, M. et al. (2018), reproductive ultrasound in 129 ball pythons, PLOS ONE 13(6): e0199377, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0199377
• Morrill, B. H. et al. (2011), Herpetological Review 42: 226–231, summary at Conservation Evidence; van Mierop, L. H. S. and Bessette, S. M. (1981), summary
• Ellis, T. M. and Chappell, M. A. (1987), Journal of Comparative Physiology B 157: 393–402, PDF; Aubret, F. et al. (2005), egg coiling, summary
• Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery 26(3–4) (2016), follicular cycle in ball pythons; University of Pisa veterinary thesis (2024), abstract
• Morel, M. et al. (2025), dystocia in reptiles, Veterinary Sciences 13(1): 30, PMC12846459; Merck Veterinary Manual, Reproductive diseases of reptiles
• Egg turning in Natrix maura, PMC4543940; Schrenk, F. et al. (2022), Journal of Comparative Pathology 196: 26–40, LMU repository; Bielby, J. et al. (2026), Royal Society Open Science 13: 251216, doi:10.1098/rsos.251216
• The Vet Desk (Luqman Javed, DVM), breeding age; ReptiFiles, Responsible reptile breeding; MorphMarket, Understanding genetics, Morphpedia and RGI DNA testing
• Breeders: AME Exotics (South African breeder; article linked in the Breeding chapter); ball-pythons.net, ovulation and laying dates

Species, shipping, products and labels

• The Reptile Database, Python regius; US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ball python (CITES Appendix II); Wikipedia: Ball python; Saint Louis Zoo's 62-year-old ball python as reported by IFLScience and Mental Floss
• MorphMarket Support, Shipping temperatures; USARK, Shipping temperature table; Reptiles Express, Packing guidelines; Outback Reptiles, How to ship live reptiles safely; FedEx, How to ship live animals
• Spyder Robotics, Herpstat 6 manual (PDF); Reptile Basics, Heat tape FAQ and Ultratherm FAQ
• US EPA: Provent-a-Mite label, Reg. No. 73617-1 (PDF); Black Knight label, Reg. No. 901-82 (PDF)
• Natural Chemistry / Miracle Care, Reptile Spray; Taurrus predatory mites
• National Pesticide Information Center, Permethrin general fact sheet; Boehringer Ingelheim, Ivomec 1% injection label via Drugs.com; Washington State University, Program in Individualized Medicine (MDR1 testing)

Photo credits

All photos in the guide that aren't ours come from Wikimedia Commons under licenses that allow reuse with credit. Licenses checked October 27, 2026.

• Snake mite close-up: Dack9, CC BY 4.0 (file), resized
• Ball python head: Holger Krisp, CC BY 3.0 (file), resized
• Python soaking: Scarlet23, CC BY-SA 3.0 (file), resized

Photos of our own animals and room are ours.