Re: multiple snakes in same tank
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Would anyone like to consider, it is hard to understand a lot of the aspects of Royal or Ball pythons in the wild as they have been exploited for so long they have had to adapt to the environment according to our agriculturalisation, and industrialization as well as considering the fact that so many pythons a year are caught that we have no clear measurement of the "pythons per acre"
These animals come from an area thats agricultural abilities are by our standards primitive and as for industrialization this is nonexistent in the area of Africa that the Ball python inhabits so the affect is little to none. As for the number no there is no firm number. There are so many in wild populations that our hobby has had very little impact on them in the wild. In fact the number of captive bred animals is just a drop in the bucket of animals sold in the US every year Africa exports upward of 10's of thousands of animals every year and those are from a very very small portion of their natural range covering three countries.
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I have not found any studies of ball pythons in the wild as far as their social habits, but I know there has to be something. Apparently Dr Steve Gorzula has done some videos, maybe they would be descriptive? I plan on going to the library and studying the natural habitat of the ball python and seeing what I can find.
A very good idea there have been several studies done in recent years on the numbers and population per capita of the Ball python. I'll see if I can find it for you.
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We are only humans, we make errors and we are not meant to keep animals in captivity, so no way is the "correct" way, we just do what we can to accommodate these animals that we have bred out of their natural habitat.
There is a right way and a wrong way to keep captive animals. The right way is by being able provide the most basic needs of the animal in the environment , nutrition, and mental stimulus needed to have a healthy animal.
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House cats? They're fine eating cat food and pooing in kitty litter, but I am sure they didn't do it in the wild before we domesticated them! Same thing.
Litter boxes are provided to allow the cats innate need to dig eliminate waste and cover said waist. They do do this in the wild when the conditions lend them selves to this behavior. As for the food thing we feed them out of a can cause having your house cat chasing a live bird or rodent for dinner would be a big let down for visitors to your house. But outside cats will still "prey" on natural food items with out a second thought.
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We are a selfish breed. I don't judge anyone of you for wanting to own and breed ball pythons, don't get me wrong. :) I just understand there's no sure way of knowing what is best for an animal that is not naturally in this habitat.
Selfish is a strong word we are a high environment impact animal. Our mere existence requires that some other species be affected. It is like this with every living creature from bacteria to us. There is no living creature on this planet that's existence does not affect another.
To know for 100% sure that this way is better for the animal than this other way is near impossible to know for any animal I agree with you there. Because what works for one Ball Python might not for another. We are still learning what it takes to provide for these animals we have fallen in love with.
But through time and trail and error we are learning more and more and in doing so getting closer to providing as good if not better lives for them than in the wild.
Re: multiple snakes in same tank
Well said, Freakie, very well said. :gj:
