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My co-worker brought to my attention that his kids were watching the Animal Planet that aired something about dwarf pythons. Has anyone seen it? Are they referring to Ball Pythons? Supposedly, the snake's first line of defense is to curl up into a ball with it's head protected. Is there another species out there that mimicks the ball python? Does anyone have any pics of these dwarf pythons?
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Paul aka "PuppyChulo"

The Calabar burrowing 'python' balls up too. There's some debate about whether or not it is a python. It shares this trait with the rubber boa, which may or may not be closely related to it.
I don't know offhand about any other balling pythons. However, if there is a snake called a dwarf python, it probably lives in Australia.

While the type locality for Python anchietae is in Angola, about 99% of the specimens and the sightings of specimens are from Namibia. For that reason many people now question the correctness of Angolan python as the common name and refer to P. anchietae as the dwarf python.

Is it a "dwarf?' No, not exactly. The species is small in the wild, adults rarely weigh more than a couple of pounds. But in captivity females can be seven feet long. So P. anchietae has a longer maximum length than P. regius, but they are more slender than ball pythons when in good weight and not obese. They certainly are smaller than the lesser African pythons with which they are sympatric in parts of their distribution.

I've heard and seen pics of the Angolan Python. I just didn't know that they're more common in Namibia. I've never heard of the Calabar python but it's interesting to note that it's not just the ball pythons that 'ball' up. Are the other 'balling' pythons and boas available in the pet trade and are they easy to care for?
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Paul aka "PuppyChulo"