Cinnamon Ball Pythons-Breeding, Genetics and Temperament

Cinnamon Ball Pythons-Everything You Need to Know

It was in 2002 that the Cinnamon ball python was first proven genetic. Graziani Reptiles recorded this feat. Previously, the Cinnamon was commonly referred to as the Cinnamon Pastel. However, the Pastel component of the name was instigating some unnecessary mix-up. Hence, it had to be subtracted from the name, leaving us with just the Cinnamon we know now. Super Cinnamon is a super form of the Cinnamon. The former is, to a large extent, black and without patterns.

The Cinnamon ball python is a co-dominant ball python morph. The Cinnamon comes with a signature chocolate-colored background. The Cinnamon shares similar patterns with the Black Pastel. However, the differentiating factor between both is the Cinnamon’s keyholes. The said keyholes have a more vibrant red coloration when compared to that of the Black Pastel. The belly of the Cinnamon is pretty clear. Indeed, it is not that easy to pick normal from Cinnamons, given they share much in common. However, the belly and keyhole of the Cinnamon can help you identify it.

The beautiful Cinnamon ball python is one morph you should know about. Are you curious about the friendliness of the Cinnamon, precisely if it can make a great pet? Do you want to learn about this morph genetically and its breeding? Would you like to know how and when it sheds? Let us learn about all these in this definitive guide on cinnamon ball pythons.

Behavior and Temperament of Cinnamon Ball Pythons

Behaviorally, the Cinnamon is a fairly docile snake. It would go on a defensive when it feels threatened. In such scenarios, the Cinnamon would roll into a tight ball, fencing its head inside the walls it formed by coiling.

In this defensively coiled shape, it is pretty seamless to roll them around. Once in a while, the Cinnamon would enjoy some underground crevices and burrows where it can aestivate.

Captive cinnamon snakes, especially when raised from hatchlings, can bond with the owner, making them more welcoming to be being held by humans.

Are Cinnamon Ball Pythons Dangerous?

We wouldn’t say Cinnamons are dangerous. Left on its own, the Cinnamon will not strike if it doesn’t feel threatened. Unlike other irritable animals, the Cinnamon is practically harmless so long it is treated gently.

Of course, there are risks involved in raising or handling Cinnamons. But let us fundamentally establish the fact that a Cinnamon ball python will not kill you. Certainly, it can bite, but the bite is so feeble and extremely unlikely to cause severe injury.

Moreover, this snake is not venomous being a constrictor snake. It is relatively reserved compared to other pythons, and would readily shriek away from confrontation, coil it into a ball, and hide its head inside it when it perceives a threat.

With sustained socialization, you can extensively eradicate elements of aggression from your Cinnamon. This is why we always recommend getting (if possible) healthy yearlings from reputable breeders.

This way, you have a larger room to sculpt the behavior of your Cinnamon ball python as it matures. Make sure to gently and steadily handle your Cinnamon as it grows. Eventually, it would become a docile snake grown.   

Generally, success is not guaranteed when you remodel this python’s personality when it is already matured. This is as unpredictable as trying to change the behavior of a grown man, right?

Aside from the risk of aggression, you have to factor in that some health risks come with handling Cinnamons and a host of other bacterial infections. There is the possibility of contracting Salmonella (which is not only exclusive to handling Cinnamons).  

Good news is these diseases, to a reasonable extent, can be avoided if adequate sanitary levels are maintained, especially in the cage of the Cinnamon cage. After handling your snake or touching their cages, make sure to wash your hands properly.

How Much Do Cinnamon Ball Pythons Cost?

Cinnamon ball pythons are reasonably affordable. While the regular ones can be gotten for around $200 (or even as little as $100), you may have special designer morphs costing as much as $500.

How Big Does a Cinnamon Ball Python Get?

A Cinnamon hatchling may have a length of 10 inches averagely. Indeed, they mature into adults within 18-24 months. Adult female Cinnamon ball pythons average 3 to 5 feet long. Adult male ball pythons average 2 to 3 feet in approximately 18 months.

Are Cinnamon Ball Pythons Good Pets?

As we have previously established partially, you would be making an excellent choice getting a Cinnamon ball python for a pet. A cinnamon ball python is not hostile, and it is not as big as other pythons whose constrictive force (and length) can pose additional risks.

Given this, it is easy to handle the Cinnamon. Bonding is one core component of your relationship with your Cinnamon. You should consistently interact with your Cinnamon without stressing it out.

As typical of handling snakes, you must be gentle with it when you touch it. The lovely innocent snake could mistakenly interpret speedy and sudden movements from you as an attack, prompting it to go on the defensive.   

When you handle the Cinnamon ball python, you should hold it with both hands for extra stability. How should you do this? Use one of your hands in supporting the back half of the Cinnamon and use your other hand in holding the front half.

This gives you steady handling of the snake, preventing an unfortunate drop or dangling of the snake that could stress it. At times, your Cinnamon would cordially wrap itself around your arm.

When you are done interacting with it, you can gently unwind the Cinnamon from your arm. It is dangerous to start unwrapping it by moving its head. Instead, you should slowly and gently unwind it from your arm, starting with the tail region, preferably.

Cinnamon Ball Python Cool Facts

There are some cool facts that you could be excited to learn about the Cinnamon ball python. Here are some:

A Cinnamon ball python consumes its prey whole by constriction.

Your Cinnamon is fine eating only once in 2 weeks, and if it is above 3 years old, you can even feed it only once in a month.

The female Cinnamon is usually bigger than the male, which is atypical of the general animal tradition of animals where the male is bigger than the female.

A Cinnamon ball python will struggle to shed properly if its environment lacks adequate humidity.

Cinnamon Ball Python Genetics

The Cinnamon ball python is co-dominant. This mirrors an incomplete dominance, meaning it would produce a blended effect when bred. The co-dominant gene would understandably produce differing features (in appearance) in heterozygous and homozygous forms.

How Rare are Cinnamon Ball Pythons?

The Cinnamon Ball is relatively rare. It is not as popular as the Champagne or Butter morphs in the breeding community. Breeders don’t cherish the Cinnamon enough to breed it for designer morphs massively.

Breeding Cinnamon Ball Pythons

A Cinnamon could averagely produce 6 eggs in one clutch. In some cases, the Cinnamon could go as far as 10 eggs in one litter. You may see just one clutch from your female Cinnamon in one year.

The eggs tend to be leathery. How about the duration of hatching? The egg of the Cinnamon could take as long as 60 days to hatch or as early as 55 days.

However, you may choose to incubate the egg artificially. To achieve this, you should be aiming for a temperature of around 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some breeders resort to ultra-sounding technology in ascertaining how well reproductive development is progressing. Indeed, ultra-sound is valuable in determining when it is most optimal to introduce male cinnamons to the female when it is mating season. Agreeably, this raises the possibility of successful fertilization.

Typically, you may see your male Cinnamon reaching sexual maturity as early as 11 months or the latest by 18 months. For your females, they can get sexually mature anywhere from 20-35 months.

The Cinnamon ball python is not rampantly interbred despite its co-dominant genes. Nonetheless, there is a Super Cinnamon morph, which is the offspring of breeding the Black Pastel with the Cinnamon. This Super Cinnamon is without distinct patterns and almost black all through.

Cinnamon Ball Python Shedding

Just as you would see from the general python family, Cinnamons shed their skin. This skin shedding is majorly to create more avenue for growth, put on new weight, or drop weight.

In perfect conditions (that is if your Cinnamon is healthy), it should be shedding once in averagely 5 weeks. Your Cinnamon ball python would exhibit some signs to show that shedding is very near. Predominantly, you would see the eyes of your Cinnamon go opaque blue.

You will also notice the color of their scales getting significantly duller. Your Cinnamon could lose appetite and could see its skin getting more wrinkled as if it is suffering from acute dehydration.

In other scenarios, the symptoms of shedding may come in the form of your Cinnamon getting lethargic and easily getting irritated (in terms of quickly curling up in a ball upon handling).

You shouldn’t worry about these signals as everything will get back to normal after it is through with the shedding exercise. Certainly, you could aid the shedding process. For example, you can furnish your Cinnamon with a big bowl of water. This could provide an outlet for it to soak when it wishes.

As stated, don’t try to soak your Cinnamon manually, even if you see it is struggling to shed properly. Submerging your Cinnamon yourself can turn catastrophic as this could exponentially stress your Cinnamon. Unfortunately, there have been several cases where owners innocently soak their snakes to facilitate shedding only for the snake to drown.

What you should instead do is make sure that the humidity of your Cinnamon is optimal. You can even create a dedicated humidity chamber to aid shedding. The interior humidity of this chamber should be somewhere around 85 degrees. We also discourage trying to remove the shed of the Cinnamon yourself.

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