Something i have never understood.

I know this sounds so stupid but its just come into my head, if there are thousands of ball pythons bred in the UK,USA and not their native country..
why do they need all this high temps and humidity? why can't they live at normal temps?

Just curious

I do believe there is some captive breeding going on in Africa, but it is probably more lucrative for them to sell the morphs to the US and Europe.

They haven't been in captivity long enough to evolve to that point. They're not domesticated like dogs or cats, they are still "wild".

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Originally Posted by jinx667

I do believe there is some captive breeding going on in Africa, but it is probably more lucrative for them to sell the morphs to the US and Europe.

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I mean like if the ball is bred in this country and like his parents and there parents were bred in this family how can they not adjust to our temps?

why would location change temp requirements? My body needs to be at 98.6 degrees just like people who live in alaska and people who live the middle east. :)

I know it sounded stupid i just cant write it how i want to ask it i know what i mean in my head though lol

1) That kind of dramatic change requires much much more than a few generations.

2) Their parents have been kept in temperatures similar to their native environments. We aren't selectively breeding for tolerance to cooler temps.

Well for one we keep them at the correct temperatures so how could they evolve to new temperatures? Plus when species evolve to new climates it is usually done extremely slowly as they migrate.

All in all ball pythons have really only been bred in captivity for a few decades. I would expect something like that to take much much longer. Plus we would have to slowly over time turn down the supplemental heat, otherwise what is there to change to?

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Originally Posted by SRMD94

I know it sounded stupid i just cant write it how i want to ask it i know what i mean in my head though lol

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no matter what your core temp needs to be what it needs to be. people can put on clothes or take them off and we are also warm blooded and produce heat, so we can adjust to bigger swings in temp. snakes are cold blooded so they need external heat. Being born in warm or cold areas doesn't change anything.

I get what you are trying to say. The answer is because you can't erase genetic make up, biology, instinct, etc. It would take much longer than the short amount of time that we have been captive breeding ball pythons for them to adapt to a different climate, atmosphere and environment than what they have been naturally born, or created to live, survive and thrive in.

Oh ok thanks just me being stupid lol

Thanks for the replies

As a good friend of mine told me once, "If you're confused it means you're thinking."

A'int nothin wrong with thinkin'. :)


Edit: Also, here ya go: http://www.bcreptiles.ca/reptiles_north.htm

They haven't adjusted to our temps because we replicate their natural necessities. SO they can't adjust if the temps at which they are kept are the same as back home.

This is a simple concept with a long drug out explanation. Think of it happening in nature. When a species attempts to migrate to a different climate they do it at a very slow pace. probably only a hundred miles at a time, maybe less. Once in the new area some die off because they cant handle the extreme change of a few degrees. Those that dont die woudl then have to breed multiple generations. Mother natures selevtice breeding of an animal that can stand the new areas conditions. then they move a bit more, selective die off, selective breeding, and so forth. Would take many many years to change even in the wild. Being captive bred we keep them in their native temps / humidity so there is no selective die off or breeding being done to promote the change.

Short answer: Because Evolution isn't instant.

For a cold blooded animal to change their requirements would take hundreds and hundreds of generations. Mammals are infinitely more adaptable than reptiles. And we still have strict requirements.

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Originally Posted by SRMD94

I mean like if the ball is bred in this country and like his parents and there parents were bred in this family how can they not adjust to our temps?

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Originally Posted by versicolor

I get what you are trying to say. The answer is because you can't erase genetic make up, biology, instinct, etc. It would take much longer than the short amount of time that we have been captive breeding ball pythons for them to adapt to a different climate, atmosphere and environment than what they have been naturally born, or created to live, survive and thrive in.

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Yup, what they said.

We,ve been breeding fish in captivity for thousands of years - they still need water.


dr del

You can breed all the penguins you want in Death Valley...they still need to be kept cool. You can also breed homo sapiens in space, but they still need oxygen. Extreme examples? Yes, but you get the point...