I think my ball python is bored

[lawnchaircrisis]

I've had my adult male ball python for several years now, and he recently moved with me from Pennsylvania, to Houston, TX. Since I've started my PhD program I haven't been able to spend nearly as much time with him, and he often seems to be bored. While he sleeps all day, in the evenings when I'm getting ready for bed he just paces in circles around his tank (29 gallon) and pushes at the lid. I feel horrible and try to let him out around the apartment as much as possible, but I don't always have time for that. What should I do? Does he need a bigger tank? Is there some stimulating activity for him? Could I redecorate his tank? Help!

[Morjean]

28gal is a bit small for an adult ball python, even a male one, if you want to give him a nice and enjoyable time with you. As a rule of thumb, the length of the tank should be long enough so your snake can completely stretch out along the side of it, and I've read a couple times that 40gal is the minimum for a permanent adult home, better 50+ if you have the space. (note: the bigger the tank, the more hides you need, and the more things to clutter it up and reduce scary open space)

Completely redecorating might put him off feed, but you probably have better experience with your own pet there and can judge that better than me!
Enrichment mainly consists out of providing as many hides as possible, lots of cover like big plants, things to crawl over and under, perhaps even a second level as males have been found to enjoy climbing to a certain point! Also a second level increases the "accessible" ground space in a tank.
You can also try mixing up the substrate, you could make a 70/30 mix with a different type, or put one half in that substrate and the other half in a different one, whatever, either way some pet owners have reported that their BPs seem to be interested in the change and enjoy exploring it. If you have enough hides and objects, you can also try swapping them up once a week or so! Taking one object out to replace it with another and slowly cycling, that way there's always something new to explore without stressing them like drastic changes might do!

So yea, enrichment is mainly to have a big enough space for them, and to give them options to choose from on their leisure, like where to lie and where to sleep, so they're not stuck with only one or two hides they MUST use.

EDIT: I've mainly gathered this advise from ball python pet owners over the past year in preparation, so these standards are for pet animals, which (in my opinion sadly) are seldomly met by breeding animals.
I understand fully that it is impossible to hold up pet standards if you have God knows how many animals for the sake of breeding, but if you only have one --- why not provide more than the bare living minimum? Go nuts, if you have the funds and time, grant them a nice and enjoyable snek life!

[viper69]

I've had my adult male ball python for several years now, and he recently moved with me from Pennsylvania, to Houston, TX. Since I've started my PhD program I haven't been able to spend nearly as much time with him, and he often seems to be bored. While he sleeps all day, in the evenings when I'm getting ready for bed he just paces in circles around his tank (29 gallon) and pushes at the lid. I feel horrible and try to let him out around the apartment as much as possible, but I don't always have time for that. What should I do? Does he need a bigger tank? Is there some stimulating activity for him? Could I redecorate his tank? Help!

When did you feed him last? All animals are individuals etc, but the only time I see my BP that active as you describe is when he's pretty hungry. I agree w/the other poster's remarks on cage/hides too. If your stipend can allow it, spring for something larger.

[JoshSloane]

28gal is a bit small for an adult ball python, even a male one, if you want to give him a nice and enjoyable time with you. As a rule of thumb, the length of the tank should be long enough so your snake can completely stretch out along the side of it, and I've read a couple times that 40gal is the minimum for a permanent adult home, better 50+ if you have the space. (note: the bigger the tank, the more hides you need, and the more things to clutter it up and reduce scary open space)

Completely redecorating might put him off feed, but you probably have better experience with your own pet there and can judge that better than me!
Enrichment mainly consists out of providing as many hides as possible, lots of cover like big plants, things to crawl over and under, perhaps even a second level as males have been found to enjoy climbing to a certain point! Also a second level increases the "accessible" ground space in a tank.
You can also try mixing up the substrate, you could make a 70/30 mix with a different type, or put one half in that substrate and the other half in a different one, whatever, either way some pet owners have reported that their BPs seem to be interested in the change and enjoy exploring it. If you have enough hides and objects, you can also try swapping them up once a week or so! Taking one object out to replace it with another and slowly cycling, that way there's always something new to explore without stressing them like drastic changes might do!

So yea, enrichment is mainly to have a big enough space for them, and to give them options to choose from on their leisure, like where to lie and where to sleep, so they're not stuck with only one or two hides they MUST use.

EDIT: I've mainly gathered this advise from ball python pet owners over the past year in preparation, so these standards are for pet animals, which (in my opinion sadly) are seldomly met by breeding animals.
I understand fully that it is impossible to hold up pet standards if you have God knows how many animals for the sake of breeding, but if you only have one --- why not provide more than the bare living minimum? Go nuts, if you have the funds and time, grant them a nice and enjoyable snek life!

The 'rule of thumb' that you state here is not correct at all. Please be more careful in the future to not disseminate information online as 'rules' when they arent correct. There is not a single snake that needs an enclosure that can accommodate the entire length of the animal. Measuring the capacity of a tank for a snake by the gallon is useless, as BPs are primarily terrestrial, and floor space is a better indicator of the appropriateness of an enclosure. The general consensus is that most adult BPs can live comfortably in approximately the dimensions of a 41 qt sterilite tub (34 7/8 x 16 5/8 x 6 1/8). A better approximation to the utility of a cage is that when the snake is in a full coil, you want to have about the area of 4 coils available for space as a rough estimate.

Snakes do not need enrichment. They are primordial animals with a very basic brain structure. Coming out of of the enclosure once in a while for some exercise is great, but dont feel bad if they arent handled every day.

I got through multiple graduate degree programs while owning dozens of reptiles, im sure your BP will be just fine.

[Asherah]

28gal is a bit small for an adult ball python, even a male one, if you want to give him a nice and enjoyable time with you. As a rule of thumb, the length of the tank should be long enough so your snake can completely stretch out along the side of it, and I've read a couple times that 40gal is the minimum for a permanent adult home, better 50+ if you have the space. (note: the bigger the tank, the more hides you need, and the more things to clutter it up and reduce scary open space)

Completely redecorating might put him off feed, but you probably have better experience with your own pet there and can judge that better than me!
Enrichment mainly consists out of providing as many hides as possible, lots of cover like big plants, things to crawl over and under, perhaps even a second level as males have been found to enjoy climbing to a certain point! Also a second level increases the "accessible" ground space in a tank.
You can also try mixing up the substrate, you could make a 70/30 mix with a different type, or put one half in that substrate and the other half in a different one, whatever, either way some pet owners have reported that their BPs seem to be interested in the change and enjoy exploring it. If you have enough hides and objects, you can also try swapping them up once a week or so! Taking one object out to replace it with another and slowly cycling, that way there's always something new to explore without stressing them like drastic changes might do!

So yea, enrichment is mainly to have a big enough space for them, and to give them options to choose from on their leisure, like where to lie and where to sleep, so they're not stuck with only one or two hides they MUST use.

EDIT: I've mainly gathered this advise from ball python pet owners over the past year in preparation, so these standards are for pet animals, which (in my opinion sadly) are seldomly met by breeding animals.
I understand fully that it is impossible to hold up pet standards if you have God knows how many animals for the sake of breeding, but if you only have one --- why not provide more than the bare living minimum? Go nuts, if you have the funds and time, grant them a nice and enjoyable snek life!

Yeayeah... This isn't correct. The reason "breeders" (any many hobby keepers too) keep their BP's in smaller tubs is because the animals are more comfortable that way. Large, uncluttered spaces stress an animal out. Not to mention can you imagine an inclousure big enough to allow a 26 foot retic to fully stretch out? It's not that we don't have time/space/ability to care for our animals properly. It's that we are providing the best housing for them. Tanks take a lot of work to set up correctly, and are difficult to maintain with temp and humidity. Plus they take up a lot of space. There is nothing wrong with a nice, dark tub. To say otherwise means that you need to do a but more research on BP husbandry.

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[Morjean]

The 'rule of thumb' that you state here is not correct at all. Please be more careful in the future to not disseminate information online as 'rules' when they arent correct. There is not a single snake that needs an enclosure that can accommodate the entire length of the animal. Measuring the capacity of a tank for a snake by the gallon is useless, as BPs are primarily terrestrial, and floor space is a better indicator of the appropriateness of an enclosure. The general consensus is that most adult BPs can live comfortably in approximately the dimensions of a 41 qt sterilite tub (34 7/8 x 16 5/8 x 6 1/8). A better approximation to the utility of a cage is that when the snake is in a full coil, you want to have about the area of 4 coils available for space as a rough estimate.

Snakes do not need enrichment. They are primordial animals with a very basic brain structure. Coming out of of the enclosure once in a while for some exercise is great, but dont feel bad if they arent handled every day.

I got through multiple graduate degree programs while owning dozens of reptiles, im sure your BP will be just fine.

Hello again!
There are multiple "rules of thumb" floating about, and the most common ones are either length+width of the tank should equal the length of the snake, or that the length of the snake should equal the length of the tank, whichever you want to believe ― It's not a rule as in "the snake needs this space as a bare minimum to survive", but rather a "Consider this if you have a pet BP and want to go that extra bit to make sure it's feeling well and has as nice a life as you can provide". As with every enclosure for an animal, the bigger the better! If big, just remember to clutter it up with hides etc because open empty spaces are stressful. Some comments on that are here, but I've seen far more floating about I could try and find?

I know that enrichment is a very controversial topic on this forum, considering how we mainly have breeders on here over the number of pet keepers. And again this isn't a matter of survival (of course they will also survive entirely without enrichment at all) but rather some suggestions as to how to make their life nicer, yanno? Of course these snakes don't have the brain capacity to perceive enrichment in the same way you would play fetch with a dog or the like, instead enrichment in their case is just providing an explorable and realistic home, instead of just a small box with a hide and a water dish. That would be pretty boring... Some thoughts on enrichment and/or why it is important are here, here, and most importantly a very big one with scientific papers and all that jazz here!

After all the OP was not asking about whether or not a big tank or enrichment is necessary, they were asking about possible "stimulating activity" to make up for the lack of handling recently. And, welp, my first post was just trying to make some suggestions of things one could do for such, collected from what I have seen other pet owners come up with, and a big tank with lots of clutter is the general consensus at that... Hadn't exactly meant to scratch such a sore nerve there ^^'

[Slim]

I've mainly gathered this advise from ball python pet owners over the past year in preparation, so these standards are for pet animals, which (in my opinion sadly) are seldomly met by breeding animals.

Bovine Feces!

Pet or breeder, the minimum standards for care are the same. I know pet owners who breed their snakes, and I know breeders with hundreds of snakes who look at all of them as pets...

[JoshSloane]

Youre still anthropomorphizing these snakes, and assigning notions of the quality of life regarding humans and other higher animals. Snakes simply dont have developed brain structures to even comprehend of an abstract emotion such as 'bored' or 'not having fun.'

[Morjean]

Youre still anthropomorphizing these snakes, and assigning notions of the quality of life regarding humans and other higher animals. Snakes simply dont have developed brain structures to even comprehend of an abstract emotion such as 'bored' or 'not having fun.'

As already stated I understand that their perception of enrichment is entirely different to ours or other animals, and that it works on a much "lower" level than ours, but enrichment is still important for them! I'm not talking about keeping them entertained like you would with a dog, I am literally just suggesting an interesting tank, that is all. And enrichment adjusted to an animals needs is always important. A very comprehensive guide on reptile enrichment is HERE (not just snakes, but reptiles in general, not everything is 100% applicable) and that thing honestly has more credible sources than my final papers do...

[lawnchaircrisis]

I didn't meant to tap into the middle of controversy with my question, but it is important to provide all species of animals in captivity with some form of enrichment, whether they are breeders, pets or both. While there are plenty who keep their snakes in tubs and racks with great success, this is not my preference and not what I believe is best for the animal. In the three or four years I've had ball pythons I've continually been surprised by just how intelligent they are, and there is some interesting research done to back that up. University of Rochester did a particularly interesting study using corn snakes and a derivation of the water maze test (using bright lights as the aversive stimuli instead of water) which shows that a snake's cognitive abilities are more on par with rodents and birds. I've actually been meaning to design a few experiments of my own to study intelligence, but I don't have enough time or a high enough "n" yet

Thank you for all the advice and suggestions, and I am going to try and save up to get him a bigger tank (although I did recalculate and the one he has now is 36 gallons) and maybe some more hides and plants. viper69 was also correct in that he was hungry, he smelled the cage of young mice I had on hand for my new snakes and very much wanted one, so I thawed a rat for him.