Who says they don't appreciate height?!

Low humidity is not likely a cause of RI bacteria do not generally same for spores thrive in low humidity conditions. That would leave only viral RI which thankfully is the rarest form. High humidity and poor air circulation promotes bacterial growth, and can absolutely lead to RI.

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Originally Posted by majorleaguereptiles

Crazy to think only 3 of those countries routinely export ball pythons too.

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Out of pure interest, in case you are too, are you aware of the Ewe speakers and Dahomey peoples? These are the people whom worship Python Regius (Royal python... that would be where Royal comes from) Even today the areas that have either in high numbers will NOT tolerate ANY disturbance to them. Into the beginnings of the 19 century if you killed one even accidentally you would be burned or stoned to death. Even today they will not allow scientists to study or even approach them. If one is seen on a road all traffic is stopped until it moves you must no touch one, out of respect. Some of the range where royal pythons are found have large populations of one or both groups, these regions do not export or allow collection of Royal pythons. The countries that don't export Royals and have them, often they are found in political regions holding many of the Ewe or Dahomey and due to this there is no export. The land bordering on the Gulf of Guinea for the most part this area does not tend to export large amounts at all the majority coming from inland areas of Togo, Benin and Ghana.

EVOLUTION!!!

Life finds a way. Anyone who hasn't done their Darwin research, I would highly suggest it... Animals do all kinds of crazy things in order to ensure the survival of the species. A terrestrial snake climbing trees to find food in a rodent deprived area would not surprise me at all.

Sincerely,
Brendan

P.S.: An open mind is a beautiful thing. In the age of information, ignorance is unacceptable.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

My iphone was bugging out and not loading the last page. Yes, i see where it said it now.

I find this to be pretty interesting. Ball pythons being found in "one of the wettest areas in the world". So if they can survive there, that tells me that scale rot and RI's are over dramatized by a lot of keepers. Possibly to just scare new owners or because they really don't know the hardiness of the snakes? Though I'm sure the immune systems of the ball pythons we keep aren't quite as strong as the wild ones, so maybe not.

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I hope no one else answered this, I skimmed but I've got the worst headache and this post caught my attention. I can totally see this making sense, in the wild they can move around and regulate and they aren't confined. Plastic also seems to encourage mold and bacteria growth whereas many natural, organic substances retard it. Being in a moist enclosed environment that they are always in contact with would be a lot different than being in a very moist, humid outdoor setting.
Coupled with the fact that many keepers do not/ cannot clean and sterilize *immediately* when a snake makes a mess, I could easily see how more moisture can make scale rot or RI more likely in captivity. In the wild they can simply leave the area they defecated in.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Apparently no one read the cites report? 75 Royals were collected and one in a tree. There is more detailed observation of it systematically poking in each and every hole in the tree the observation period was 30 mins if memory serves. The Italian group (L, Luiselli) remarked that perhaps in regards to sub adult the classification is incorrect and semi arboreal is appropriate. It is available in journals if one bothers to read them.

That said the fact any breeder states they know about the behaviour of wild royals because they keep 10000 or 10000000 in plastic tubs is offensive. there is very little field studies done and little knowledge of what the real behaviour actually is.

There can be no absolutes. The fact still remains however that the behaviour of a royal in an enclosure bears little to no relation to a wild population. The fast wild snakes climb is hard to argue if you have read the studies (and where do snakes get fledglings of tree dwelling birds from if not from trees?) The fact a young snake is climbing can be an exploration or seeking correct temps. The nature of the activity comes into play. Calm tongue flicking curiosity is likely just that. Fast jerky not so much tongue flicks is likely some sort of stress.

No blanket statements they simply do not fit every animal. I have a big male whom often perches at the top of his enclosure he rarely skips a meal and is a healthy animal who is just curious by nature. (he gets into everything when handled) My other male if he were climbing I would be freaking out. It is not his nature at all.

Personally I don't believe tall enclosures are a good idea anything over 18 inches is hard to maintain correct temps and humidity. Personally I would say 16-18 is ideal heights.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cite...thon_ghana.pdf

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If anybody does kill a royal python, he/she must purchase a new cooking pot and carry the “corpse” to Afife for burial.
The culprit’s hair on head, armpits, anus and genital area are shaven.

My bp climbs all over the tank and frequently hangs out in the top of his tree shaped hide instead of inside it, he gets active at night and is everywhere. :)

Skip, that true? Some of the old customs are quite odd I can't tell if you are in your sarcastic mode of hidden gem mode. :D I get the Ewe and Afife confused. The Afife region and Ewe people, but do the Ewe speakers in Afife region call themselves Afife or Ewe? I am never sure how that all works.

Lol I thought when the cat of an Egyptian cat died all the family members shaved themselves. I dunno.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Skip, that true? Some of the old customs are quite odd I can't tell if you are in your sarcastic mode of hidden gem mode. :D I get the Ewe and Afife confused. The Afife region and Ewe people, but do the Ewe speakers in Afife region call themselves Afife or Ewe? I am never sure how that all works.

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It's in the document you linked to.....verbatim!

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Mike, ball pythons can thrive in 80% humidity :rolleye2:

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Don't you roll your eyes at me mister! :p

I seriously didn't know that. I always thought 50-60% was best for them (except when in shed). This thread has taught me a lot of new things I didn't know. Dream vacation would be to go to Africa and study these guys in the wild!

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Don't you roll your eyes at me mister! :p

I seriously didn't know that. I always thought 50-60% was best for them (except when in shed). This thread has taught me a lot of new things I didn't know. Dream vacation would be to go to Africa and study these guys in the wild!

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I agree. This is a good thread. I joined the forum to learn about the snakes, and this thread helped remind me about that. Even though I spend 80% of the time in the pictures section :D.