photoperiod or no???

[landofthelost]

okay so i started this discussion on another thread, but i did not feel like i got a full spectrum of the subject. i have read that balls do not need a photoperiod. i have been told that this is not true at all. what i was told by a friend who has a lot of years with bps is that they deffinately need photoperiod, without uv. his suggestion is that there is regular lighting like a 40 watt light next to the tank. he told me to have it in a manner that will not up the heat in the tank and to have it on a 11 or 12 hour cycle. he told me the snakes will get into better rythms and habits. he also is a firm believer that his snakes are healthier in part because of this. we do live in seattle so our ambient light sources are not the best. what do you all think??

[Shelby]

Can't hurt, but a lot of people successfully breed without it.

If you're not having any trouble with your snake, I wouldn't worry about it.

[daniel1983]

what is your definition of a photoperiod? Just want to make sure we are all talking about the same thing.

[unimom]

If you are moving to Alaska I would definately try it, could not hurt. Maybe a little higher electric bill. Talked to any bp owners up there yet? With some areas being 6 months of dark vs light.hmm.

[mlededee]

i currently have no extra light source in my herp room that would create a distinct photoperiod. there is one window in the room and i keep it covered with a dark sheet to help keep out the heat in the summer and to keep it from being excessively bright during the day, so the only light my snakes get is dim sunlight filtered through the sheet. since they are nocturnal they do not require a source of uvb or uva.

[Adam_Wysocki]

A window in the room is enough.

I know people that keep their balls in complete darkness 24 hours and day and they do fine too.

The only thing that I would keep away from is 24 hours a day of light.

Darker is better if you had to choose, ball pythons are nocturnal.

-adam

[mr~python]

ball pythons dont need a photo period or any uva/uvb light, but some breeders do have a photoperiod for there snakes to cycle them.

[unimom]

Thanks for the correction Adam. I learned something new today, they are okay with total darkness.

[landofthelost]

well my deffinition of a photo period is that you have a light source in this case a reugular 40 watt lamp. it is on a timer with regular hours say 630 am till 530 pm. his idea (and he uses this with all of his bps) is that when the light turns off it triggers the snakes into activity. it is an anchor for them of sorts and he swears it regulates their biorythms,and as a i mentioned before they feed well and have good behaviors. he is convinced that without this natural ebb and flow the balls get irritable. i think this sounds reasonable. when they see that light come on they go into their hides where it is dark and rest; as they would in nature. the light goes off or the sun goes down and it is time to come out and be active. even when they are hidden away in nature there has to be some bits of light that make it through the hubris to where they rest. if it helps with mating, i imagine it probably helps with non- reproductive health. any ongoing thoughts?

[frankykeno]

All I can speak to is our recent experience with two females here in our home. Both are adults, one is an aggressive biter, the other is was a non-eating WC. With the great advice of those on this forum we put in them both in the quietest environment possible with the lowest light possible. Not full dark but as close to it as is practical in a normal household (we also added newspaper balls for the biter).

Well within a relatively short time we have Brannagh the Biter who is definitely calming down. She hadn't even been using her hides as she constantly patrolled her sterlite in an aggitated manner and was exhausting herself. She now uses her hides appropriately and can be removed from her sterlite relatively hassle free (not for handling but for cage maintenance).

Saoirse the non-eating is eating! Plain and simple, eating...scared of us...but eating!

I feel now that the dark, quiet environment is a basic first step for snakes like this. You can't get them to eat or much else until you get those stress levels down and for my snakes anyways, this sort of environment of basically darkness and a short period each day of very low light is working beautifully.