DavidBall pythons will bite anything in defense when provoked.
BP will bite things they think might smell like food.
Your dog can fit into both categories. So, I’d recommend you keep at least a few feet between them just to be safe. The worse scenario I can imagine is the snake biting the dog and the dog retaliating and killing the snake.
As far as both animals are under your control, there shouldn’t be an issue, I suppose.
Can A Ball Python Kill and Eat A Dog?
Yes, a ball python can kill a dog but might not be unable to swallow it.
Dogs smell like predators to ball pythons, and your snake is a small game to your dog. So, they’re best kept apart! I would advise you train your dog to leave the snakes alone.
Training a dog to avoid snakes is always wise, especially if you reside in an area with lots of venomous species.
Are Ball Pythons Dangerous to Domestic Cats and Dogs?
Dogs and cats are dangerous to ball pythons in most cases. That is because cats would attack snakes based on instinct, and dogs could easily cause injury or death to your snake.
An injury caused by the strike of the ball python is likely to be far less severe to the dog or cat than the injury they would cause to the python.
If you are on getting a ball python and already have a cat or dog (or vice versa), it would be smart to keep the ball python in a separate room and not let other pets in without supervision. Do not let the snake and cat/dog interact.
ALSO SEE: Do Ball Pythons Eat Humans?
Would A Python Eat A Small Dog?
It depends. BP eating a small dog is very unlikely. Not going to happen, to be honest. As for Retic eating dogs, chickens, or kittens, yep no problem, heck people feed them pigs, calf’s, goats, etc. A small cat or dog would go down easy.
Adult retics can take huge prey & a wide variety of it. Your snake could eat your dog, and I’ve seen the news video of the boa that ate the neighbor’s dog. The easiest solution…keep your snake secure in its cage
Can an Adult Ball Python Kill A Dog?
Yes, an adult ball python is able to suffocate a small dog or puppy to death. But, the chances of this happening is very low, as even toy breeds are too large to register as prey to a ball python.
Ball predators naturally would prefer not to confront dogs and are more likely to bite defensively and attempt to flee or ball up.