Do BPs need exercise?

I know that BPs are fairly sedentary critters but I wanted to know if they need a certian amount of exercise to stay healthy. I handle my pieds a couple of times a week but now that they're getting big, they want to really cruise around a lot. I let them move on my lap, etc. when I handle them but haven't put them on the floor and such since I don't want them to get into trouble. Do they need more cruising time and, if so, how do you guys do it without letting them get into stuff? As an aside, my female is now over 1000g and just beautiful. The male is coming along at 700+g so I think I will be ready to make little pieds next season! My other BP, a spider, has spider neuro problems and is staying small. All great snakes though. Thanks.

I dont know if they need exercise but I guess it cant hurt them.

Usualy I put them in the floor for a while and watch them crawl around and explore. I think is kinda funny how they raise their heads sometimes like a submarine periscope (sp). :D

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Originally Posted by Nvar

I know that BPs are fairly sedentary critters but I wanted to know if they need a certian amount of exercise to stay healthy. I handle my pieds a couple of times a week but now that they're getting big, they want to really cruise around a lot. I let them move on my lap, etc. when I handle them but haven't put them on the floor and such since I don't want them to get into trouble. Do they need more cruising time and, if so, how do you guys do it without letting them get into stuff? As an aside, my female is now over 1000g and just beautiful. The male is coming along at 700+g so I think I will be ready to make little pieds next season! My other BP, a spider, has spider neuro problems and is staying small. All great snakes though. Thanks.

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YOu could make some this season depending on how old she is their weights seem good. I have had 400 gram males breed, and females close to yours but those females were in their third years.

As for the exercise I don't exercise mine I think it is unneccesary, I mean when you have say 20 of them are you going to take each one out for exercise? Sounds a little silly :p

Silly? Heck mine spend about 20 mins. a day on cardio while listening to the Rocky soundtrack :rofl:

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

Silly? Heck mine spend about 20 mins. a day on cardio while listening to the Rocky soundtrack :rofl:

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LOL you should look into the BP treadmill they got out now!

All joking aside thou, your BP's will be fine without "exercise"

TA.. TA TA TA... TA TA TA... TAN TAN TAN TAAAAAAAAAAAN :snake:

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

Silly? Heck mine spend about 20 mins. a day on cardio while listening to the Rocky soundtrack :rofl:

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I keep putting them on the treadmill but they just shoot off the back and they also wiggle out of the ankle weights I put on them (LOL)! Probably a better question to have asked is if anyone has older adults that have lived their entire life entirely in their tubs and are healthy and good breeders? I can imagine those of you that have large collections don't handle each of your snakes much. May sound like a silly question but I want to keep my loved pets/expensive pieds very healthy and I truly don't know if basic weekly handling is enough of a "workout" for them.

I dont take them out and play with them but I do handle them, after work I spend about 4-6 hours in the snake room before bed, and now that it's breeding season my males have to be rotated every 3 days so they get handled, plus I like to look them over on a regular basis. They are all healthy and doing great, they are solitary animals ;)

And did i mention that my female is coming along well with her piano lessons too.......

I won't set Snickets down on the carpet, because my vacuum is like 18 years old and I don't trust it's picking up everything. I will set her on my bed and fold over my comforter, and she'll go exploring in the fold. I wouldn't think a BP would need "exercise" unless it's over weight.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

I won't set Snickets down on the carpet, because my vacuum is like 18 years old and I don't trust it's picking up everything. I will set her on my bed and fold over my comforter, and she'll go exploring in the fold. I wouldn't think a BP would need "exercise" unless it's over weight.

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If it's over weight then you shouldn't be feeding it so much, and if your not over feeding it and it's a female I'll take her ;)

I have actually started to do the same thing. Let them crawl around on the bed. They're very fast though and have one thing in mind which is get off and down on the floor. It's not a question of over-weight. I feed once a week and they look very healthy. Actually, I'm amazed at how beautiful the pieds are as adults. The larger they get, the prettier they are!

I just don't know how much a wild BP travels in its search for food and mates. The main thought I had that prompted me to ask the question was if keeping them confined in a tub so much increases the risk of RI or egg-laying problems. Maybe a good thesis for some biology student.

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Originally Posted by Toronto Python Gurus

If it's over weight then you shouldn't be feeding it so much, and if your not over feeding it and it's a female I'll take her ;)

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I wouldn't give my Snickets up for the world! No, I'm not over feeding her. I was just trying to say that's the only reason I could think of why a snake would need exercise.

Yes, start off slow with pushups and situps and then you can move them up to Taebo.

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Originally Posted by Nvar

I just don't know how much a wild BP travels in its search for food and mates. The main thought I had that prompted me to ask the question was if keeping them confined in a tub so much increases the risk of RI or egg-laying problems. Maybe a good thesis for some biology student.

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Not if you keep them in proper conditions, I'm sure if it was unsafe for them to be rubbermaids alot of breeders wouldn't be doing it ;)

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

I wouldn't give my Snickets up for the world! No, I'm not over feeding her. I was just trying to say that's the only reason I could think of why a snake would need exercise.

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I knew you wern't over feeding I was just saying in general, and even if they are over weight what kind of exercise would they be doing to lose weight? lol over weight ball pythons are usually due to over feeding

Now all I can vizualize is a bunch of BPs doing sit-ups. HA!!

Actually, I'd be interested in hearing a comment from one of the vets, biologists or a herpatologist. For example, we all know that dogs & humans need exercise to stay healthy. What's different in a BP's physiology (cold blooded?) that allows it to stay healthy with little or no exercise.

BPs' love taking a swim once in a while and it's good exercise for them since they move faster...

I like to hear additional comment on this since I always read that you should never put a BP in water deeper than 1/2 its body diameter since they can inhale it (and development a RI) if it goes over their head.

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Originally Posted by Nvar

Actually, I'd be interested in hearing a comment from one of the vets, biologists or a herpatologist. For example, we all know that dogs & humans need exercise to stay healthy. What's different in a BP's physiology (cold blooded?) that allows it to stay healthy with little or no exercise.

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Comparing a BP to a dog exercise wise is not comparable, I mean do people exercise their pet fish? Ball pythons spend alot of time underground in animal burrows or termite hills, they come out at night to eat and only really travel during this time, or when they are looking for a new burrow.

I haven't heard of a Ball Python gettin an RI from keeping its head under water, it could happen. If you do put your snake in water you should be there to watch him/her anyways while they are swimming/soaking so unless your not watchin them I wouldn't worry to much

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Originally Posted by Nvar

Actually, I'd be interested in hearing a comment from one of the vets, biologists or a herpatologist. For example, we all know that dogs & humans need exercise to stay healthy. What's different in a BP's physiology (cold blooded?) that allows it to stay healthy with little or no exercise.

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I'm not a vet, biolobist, or a herpatologist. We eat 3 times a day (more if there is chocolate around), bps only eat once a week (or less). We don't feed them more because they have a very slow metabolism. That's why they sleep a lot.

I think in the wild it's hard for a bp to find a good, regular meal (since thier diet is limited to mostly furry things). So, they have evolved to use less energy, to eat less.

That's my way of thinking :)

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

I'm not a vet, biolobist, or a herpatologist. We eat 3 times a day (more if there is chocolate around), bps only eat once a week (or less). We don't feed them more because they have a very slow metabolism. That's why they sleep a lot.

I think in the wild it's hard for a bp to find a good, regular meal (since thier diet is limited to mostly furry things). So, they have evolved to use less energy, to eat less.

That's my way of thinking :)

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Makes sense to me!

I don't know about "needing" exercise. But when you look at it the other way around it's pretty interesting.

I have both tanks and tubs. Most of my snakes are quite happy in tubs, but I have a few who clearly prefer larger tanks. All of my BP's that are kept in the larger tanks (more room to "exercise" on a nightly basis) are very active when held. Whereas most of my BP's kept in tubs (less space) are not nearly as active when handled.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Oh yea, all the time. Everyday I put them on the treadmill. They just love it!:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Daniel

I would think all living things need some movement or excercise as well as instinctual brain stimulation(yeah, i work in a laboratory). Or do we get snake veal ?
I throw mine in a 40 gal breeder that's set up like a forest so they can cruise around and explore for about an hr.I only do this at night during their natural waking hrs. Every now and then i'll throw a rodent on the other end. I do this once evry couple of weeks.

Of course i only have 8 bps. If i had like 50 it would be tough.

I don't think they need exercise, but it certainly won't hurt them! :) I like to let mine cruise around (while supervised) sometimes. Like someone else said, it's fun to watch them...and how the other critters react! (The beardies bob at them; the geckos just watch with interest.)

Yeah, what Trott said. I have 9 BPs, and I usually take one or two out per day and let them tool around the bookshelf or whatever; they're also sharing tanks, 3 each to a 60 gallon tank.

But I'll have to break down and start using racks pretty soon. This setup is pretty sweet, but it's just not practical for a large number of animals. And I'm very curious to see if there will be behavioral differences between the well-socialized animals and the tub dwellers.

i let my bp(boris) excercise 4 days a week(if it wasnt for feeding i would let him everyday.i do it because hes explorer and jsut loves being able to climb on chairs and stuff istead of moving around a terrarium.i think he prefers to excercise.i even set up obstacle courses for him with pillows and other soft stuff. so ya i think they need excercise just to be able to get out of thier enclosure for a bit

Since we're going there...

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...0075/Betty.jpg

:) Betty trying to figure out how to work the elliptical with no arms or legs...Heehee, I needed a place to put her while I cleaned out her enclosure (I had NO idea a 350g snake could produce a dukie bigger than my cat's...

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Originally Posted by trott

I would think all living things need some movement or excercise as well as instinctual brain stimulation(yeah, i work in a laboratory). Or do we get snake veal ?
I throw mine in a 40 gal breeder that's set up like a forest so they can cruise around and explore for about an hr.I only do this at night during their natural waking hrs. Every now and then i'll throw a rodent on the other end. I do this once evry couple of weeks.

Of course i only have 8 bps. If i had like 50 it would be tough.

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that is a really cool idea....

I would think that they'd get enough "exercise" on their own if they're given a light cycle . . . mine tend to wake up when the lights go out, and you can hear them rearranging everything in their stackables, so I know they're moving around.

All but one of mine are in tubs and they are pretty active at night on their own. I take a couple of them out every night to hold for awhile. They dont all eat at the same time so I just take out the ones who have not recently eaten. This way i can revolve the snake and they all get some time out every week.

They still move around alot in their tubs. They are always in a different place when i look at them. Maybe today one will be asleep in the front but tomorrow he will stay in the back.

I think they are fine without any real exercise. Many BPs in the wild wont even leave the den completely. If a rat passes by or sticks its head in the hole the BP has no reason to leave.

We all know some are much more nervous than others. Im sure its the same way in the wild. The males usually go on the hunt for females during breeding season. They will join the female in the den. The females never have to leave. So they naturally get less exercise.