What is a ball python snake? And why isn't this 'nice cousin' to the Burmese hunted in Florida? We explain the details.

Pythons are non-native to Florida and non-venomous snakes. Burmese pythons are one of the largest snakes in the world. The ball python found in Vero Beach was "friendly" and docile when rescued.

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.

What is a ball python? And why isn't this 'nice cousin' to the Burmese hunted during the Florida Python Challenge? We explain details here.