Snake play gym???

[embrit345]

Sounds silly lol but has anyone made a play gym type thing for their snakes with branches and stuff for them to excercise and stuff?

Am really tempted to make one. We don't have the weather in uk for them to be outdoors more than maybe one or 2 days throughout summer so trees etc are a bit of about go xx


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[Ax01]

BP's are terrestrial snakes but occasionally climb. i've seen plenty of pix and posts of BP's climbing branches in their enclosures. but these are 1-2 feet climbs on branches and perches and not full size tree climbs. that said, i was just scrolling through the forum and there's a new DIY jungle gym thread in the Morelia (arboreal python) forum - http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ungle-Gym-help!

[piedlover79]

A ball python will just feel exposed on a free standing 'play' gym and do what it can to get back to the ground and the safety of a hide.

[Coluber42]

If you give BP's something to climb on, they will use it and it's probably good for them.
If the snake has only ever lived in a tub with minimal head room or no climbing opportunities, it might take awhile before it figures things out and builds up the muscles. So platforms or hammocks can be a good start because they give the snake something to climb on but also another stable place to hang out. A platform that's fairly close to the ceiling actually has some aspects of a hide too (as long as the lid is on, lol), since it's sort of a narrow crevasse, so it gives the snake more options for sitting around as well as for climbing. But dowels, PVC, branches, etc, can all be used to make climbing structures. You can buy cleaned-up branches and driftwood kinds of things at pet stores, although they're often overpriced IMHO. I've heard of using perches meant for birds, too. If you're using a tub, you just make a hole in the side to mount it to. In a tank you probably have to be more creative at either building free-standing structures or using branches that can go diagonally from corner to corner and not fall.
Another method I've seen that looks neat is to wrap PVC pipe with rope or twine so it isn't so slippery. You could even wrap fake plants in along with it if you want.

[enginee837]

A ball python will just feel exposed on a free standing 'play' gym and do what it can to get back to the ground and the safety of a hide.

If you are speaking for all bp's you are mistaken. Our spider female thinks she is a chondro.[IMG][/IMG]

[redshepherd]

If you put the play gym inside their own enclosure, they may utilize it once in awhile when exploring/"hunting". But when I take my bp's outside their enclosure, they basically just want to find the closest warm or dark place, even if they have to travel across a room or under a bed to get to it.

Ball pythons can climb and wild ones may actually be quite capable of climbing even tall trees, having been recorded in trees hunting for prey in a few studies. But it is majorly for hunting/feeding purpose... Ball pythons don't just chill in a tree for relaxing/digesting like GTP or JCP species would.

[piedlover79]

Inside an enclosure is fine. I was thinking they were speaking of one of those big tree like gyms you put parrots on.

[Reinz]

My 14 yr old climbs whenever the opportunity presents itself.

[Prognathodon]

Another arboreal-BP owner here. This is my girl on our snake "tree" (built mainly for the carpet pythons).



My Morelia and husband's VBB also have PVC, rope, and artificial vine jungle gyms in their cages.



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[enginee837]

Looks like we are crushing stereotypes left and right.