A ball python from Leinwand’s lab. CREDIT: Yuxiao Tan. Compared with the hearts of pythons who hadn’t eaten, the fed pythons increased their own mass by close to 25 percent after eating.

The ball python is non-venomous and native to central and West Africa, not Georgia. The couple fears it won’t fare well in this environment as the temperatures drop.

Do ball pythons like to be cuddled? Once a ball python becomes comfortable in its environment, it may bond with its human companion.

The 8-foot snake was a ball python, not one of the invasive Burmese pythons that are ravaging the Everglades.

No, ball pythons are not likely to survive and breed in St. Augustine. The snakes currently being found in St. Augustine were not a product of breeding in the wild.

Residents of St. Augustine's Prairie Lakes neighborhood found more than 20 ball pythons roaming their neighborhood in July alone, including under car hoods.

COURTESY HDOA Police found a live ball python in a deceased man’s home in Waipahu. Snakes are illegal to transport and possess in Hawaii.

Residents of St. Augustine's Prairie Lakes neighborhood found more than 20 ball pythons roaming their neighborhood in July alone, including under car hoods.