why basking spot and or heat pad?

im wondering why we provide a basking spot and or heating pad for nocturnal snakes that stay in underground burrows all day?

because they need the temperature to digest, after a BP eats in the wild it will sit in the sun. they are not entirely nocturnal.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

because they need the temperature to digest, after a BP eats in the wild it will sit in the sun. they are not entirely nocturnal.

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cool. thanks

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

because they need the temperature to digest, after a BP eats in the wild it will sit in the sun. they are not entirely nocturnal.

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so maybe along with requiring heat from the sun they actually do utilize sunlight after all. ive always read they do not require light because they are strictly nocturnal...

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Originally Posted by chasingtime

so maybe along with requiring heat from the sun they actually do utilize sunlight after all. ive always read they do not require light because they are strictly nocturnal...

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They are mainly nocturnal except for the day after feeding day i would imagine. Also the termite mounds they live in provide pretty good humidity and temps

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

They are mainly nocturnal except for the day after feeding day i would imagine. Also the termite mounds they live in provide pretty good humidity and temps

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also always read they are mostly found in mammals burrows underground...

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Originally Posted by chasingtime

so maybe along with requiring heat from the sun they actually do utilize sunlight after all. ive always read they do not require light because they are strictly nocturnal...

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They do not require light the way most reptiles do (many lizard species require UV light to produce essential vitamins. The light is irrelevant, they just need the heat

Also, the climate across the U.S. does not resemble the climate in Western Africa. They go underground to escape the blaring heat. Underground burrows are easily in the 80-90 range, depending on the time of year. As an exotic animal, when we keep BP as pets, we are creating an artificial environment that provides the requirements needed to thrive. We give them a heat GRADIENT, humid hides, secure hiding places, so THEY can determine what their body needs in the space we give them.

I wonder if ball pythons could become established in the southern
portion of the Florida peninsula like the Burmese python has.

Anyone's who's ever had a ball python come down with an RI because their temps dipped into the 70s for a couple of days will attest to how unlikely that scenario is.

I've found ball pythons to be quite intolerant of inadequate temperatures, and actually had an escaped snake inadvertently commit suicide years ago, by making her way into a closet against an outer wall. It was poorly insulated, and too cold, and the cold killed her.

Florida's cold snaps would take out ball pythons with a lot more efficiency than they're doing in the Burmese pythons.