<P> This terrestrial species is known for its defense strategy that involves coiling into a tight ball when threatened, with its head and neck tucked away in the middle . In this state, it can literally be rolled around . Favored retreats include mammal burrows and other underground hiding places, where they also aestivate . In captivity, they are considered good pets, with their relatively small size and placid nature making them easy to handle . </P> <P> In the wild, their diet consists mostly of small mammals, such as African soft - furred rats, shrews, and striped mice and birds . Younger pythons, under 70 cm total length, and males prey almost exclusively on small birds (nestlings and immature young) whilst pythons greater than 70 cm total length, and females prey almost exclusively on small mammals . </P> <P> Females are oviparous, with 3 to 11 rather large, leathery eggs being laid (four to six are most common). These are incubated by the female under the ground (via a shivering motion), and hatch after 55 to 60 days . Sexual maturity is reached at 11--18 months for males, and 20--36 months for females . Age is only one factor in determining sexual maturity and ability to breed; weight is the second factor . Males breed at 600 g or more, but in captivity are often not bred until they are 800 g (1.7 lb), although in captivity, some males have been known to begin breeding at 300--400 g . Females breed in the wild at weights as low as 800 g though 1200 g or more in weight is most common; in captivity, breeders generally wait until they are no less than 1500 g (3.3 lb). Parental care of the eggs ends once they hatch, and the female leaves the offspring to fend for themselves . </P> <P> Wild - caught specimens have greater difficulty adapting to a captive environment, which can result in refusal to feed, and they generally carry internal or external parasites . Specimens have survived for over 40 years in captivity, with the oldest recorded ball python being kept in captivity 47 years and 6 months until its death in 1992 at the Philadelphia Zoo . </P>

How old is a full grown ball python