How can I change the default Mysql connection timeout when connecting through python?

Do:

con.query('SET GLOBAL connect_timeout=28800')
con.query('SET GLOBAL interactive_timeout=28800')
con.query('SET GLOBAL wait_timeout=28800')

Parameter meaning (taken from MySQL Workbench in Navigator: Instance > Options File > Tab "Networking" > Section "Timeout Settings")

• connect_timeout: Number of seconds the mysqld server waits for a connect packet before responding with 'Bad handshake'
• interactive_timeout Number of seconds the server waits for activity on an interactive connection before closing it
• wait_timeout Number of seconds the server waits for activity on a connection before closing it

BTW: 28800 seconds are 8 hours, so for a 10 hour execution time these values should be actually higher.

You change default value in MySQL configuration file (option connect_timeout in mysqld section) -

[mysqld]
connect_timeout=100

If this file is not accessible for you, then you can set this value using this statement -

SET GLOBAL connect_timeout=100;

I know this is an old question but just for the record this can also be done by passing appropriate connection options as arguments to the _mysql.connect call. For example,

con = _mysql.connect(host='localhost', user='dell-pc', passwd='', db='test',
          connect_timeout=1000)

Notice the use of keyword parameters (host, passwd, etc.). They improve the readability of your code.

For detail about different arguments that you can pass to _mysql.connect, see MySQLdb API documentation