Chapter 03
Life in the Wild
The savannas and forest edges of West Africa — and why where they come from decides everything about how you keep them.
Care Library · Vol. I
Ball python.
Volume One of the Citadel Culebra Care Library. The definitive keeping guide — written by the people breeding them. Start reading free.
Why this guide
The most-kept snake in the world deserves the best guide in the world.
Built from the working notes of breeders running tens of thousands of animals. The husbandry that actually works — not the husbandry that fits on a pet-store care card.
What's inside
The chapters that change how you keep.
A taste of the book. Every topic is covered in depth — from the animal's wild range to the genetics behind the morphs.
Chapter 06
Enclosure & Setup
Heat, humidity, hides, substrate, footprint, security. Built right the first time, with numbers that actually hold.
Chapter 05
Temperament & Handling
Why ball pythons ball up, what stress really looks like, and how to build an animal that trusts the hand.
Chapter 08
Morphs & Genetics
Recessives, co-doms, allelic combos and the math behind a pairing — the genetics chapter, without the market hype.
Chapter 09
Health & the Vet
RIs, mites, scale rot, stuck sheds, and the conditions that quietly kill ball pythons — how to catch them early.
Feature
The Conservation Story
Where ball pythons come from, the ranching trade, and what we owe the place they came from.
How it works
Start free. Unlock when you're ready.
Create your free Codex account and start reading today — the free version of this guide opens instantly, right inside the Codex, alongside the free version of every other book in the library.
When you want the whole book — genetics, breeding, the full health workups — unlock the complete e-book for $9.99 (half off for launch, regularly $19.99). Or become a member and get this book, every other volume, and everything else in the Codex.
No PDFs. It lives in the Codex, on any device, and travels with your account.
The offer
Three ways in.
Read free, own the book, or unlock the whole library.
Free
Free
Free Codex access — read the free version of this guide and every book in the library.
- Free version of every book in the Codex
- A real taste of the whole platform
- Reads in the Codex on any device
- Just your email to start — upgrade anytime
Launch price · 50% off
The E-book
$19.99$9.99one-time
Unlock every chapter of the Ball Python guide — yours for good.
- Every chapter unlocked
- Lifetime access in the Codex
- The full genetics & breeding appendix
- All future editions of Volume One
Founder price · first 15,000
Membership
$49/mo
Everything. Every volume of the Care Library, plus the full Codex.
- Every Care Library volume — unlocked
- Full Codex: courses, guides, the library
- New volumes the day they drop
- Founder price locked for life · cancel anytime
Free access
Start free inside the Codex.
Enter your email and we'll set up your free Codex account — the free version of the Ball Python guide, plus a taste of every other book in the library. Unlock the full e-book whenever you're ready.
Culebra Connect
You don't have to keep alone.
Culebra Connect is where keepers actually talk — collections, breeding projects, the hard questions, the wins. Marketplace energy meets a real community of people who care about the craft.
The guide gets you the knowledge. Connect gets you the people.
Citadel Culebra
This guide is one room in a whole school.
Citadel Culebra is the school the reptile world has been waiting for — built by working breeders, field herpers, vets, and master keepers. Care Library volumes, courses, certifications, and the community, all under one roof.
The Ball Python guide is where a lot of people start. It's nowhere near where it ends.
Before you start
Common questions.
Free Codex access gets you the free version of this guide — and every other book in the library — to read in the Codex. The full book (complete genetics, breeding, deep health workups) unlocks when you buy the e-book for $9.99 (launch price, regularly $19.99) or become a member.
Everything. Membership ($49/mo — founder price for the first 15,000 members, locked for life) opens every volume of the Care Library plus the full Codex: courses, guides, and the library. Cancel anytime.
Your email is your account. It's how your guide, your progress, and anything you unlock follow you across devices and across Citadel Culebra.
Both. The first chapters work as a complete beginner's guide. The later chapters cover what advanced keepers and breeders need — pairing, incubation, genetics, the lot.
Yes. Care Library volumes are versioned — buyers and members get every future revision of the volume, free.
Care Library · Vol. I
Start reading tonight.
Free to start. $9.99 to own it (was $19.99). $49/mo for the whole library.