Snakes have a sad life in a tank...

I am curious as to how many snake owners also get comments from others along the lines of, "Oh he has such a sad life because he lives in a tank." Both my parents and bf think this.

Personally I think that snakes in tanks have it pretty good. I acknowledge the fact that they can't really explore, but they have regular food, a safe environment without any predators, a heating pad, and an environment that is tailored to their needs. What more could they want?!

I think youre right. As long as they have food and warmth what do they care!


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That's the problem I run into a lot with tubs. "Oh my god, you keep it in a box?! That's horrible."

I showed my coworker the rack I modified and she chewed me out for it because they were too small (I used 32 qts for anything over 500 grams). This is the same one who doesn't understand why I don't feed them live food because "they need to hunt!" and "watching them kill it is the best past." :eyepoppin

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Originally Posted by whatsherface

This is the same one who doesn't understand why I don't feed them live food because "they need to hunt!" and "watching them kill it is the best past." :eyepoppin

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Yea...my boyfriend doesn't understand why I feed my snake pre-killed rats. He doesn't understand how the rat could potentially cause the snake harm. He is like "The snake will just let the rat eat it? Hmphh"

It could be worse. We could be like the rest of the population and fear snakes. Kill them when they are in our yards, and treat them with zero respect. Funnily enough with all my research, I've found Ball Python owners, and snake keepers in general to be some of the most compassionate and caring animal lovers out there.

Anyone who's ever cared for a reptile or amphibian of any kind knows, they aren't all fun and games, and its not always easy work. It's a labor of love in my opinion.

I really admire animals that command respect. I guess that's why I've always had a passion for reptiles. They aren't conditioned to love you back like say a Dog. Instead there's mutual respect. If they allow you to handle them without balling up, or without striking. That's respect, and tolerance.

At least in my opinion, that's far more rewarding than any 'conditioned' love, that's based on a need. Call me crazy I guess.

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Originally Posted by Navaro

It could be worse. We could be like the rest of the population and fear snakes. Kill them when they are in our yards, and treat them with zero respect. Funnily enough with all my research, I've found Ball Python owners, and snake keepers in general to be some of the most compassionate and caring animal lovers out there.

Anyone who's ever cared for a reptile or amphibian of any kind knows, they aren't all fun and games, and its not always easy work. It's a labor of love in my opinion.

I really admire animals that command respect. I guess that's why I've always had a passion for reptiles. They aren't conditioned to love you back like say a Dog. Instead there's mutual respect. If they allow you to handle them without balling up, or without striking. That's respect, and tolerance.

At least in my opinion, that's far more rewarding than any 'conditioned' love, that's based on a need. Call me crazy I guess.

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Very well put!! X2

Yeah, my snakes really have it bad. Warm tank. Nothing bothers it. Guaranteed to be fed once a week. That's really sad. I got all that too. Except for the nobody bothers me part.

I think the public at large radically overestimates the snakes' intelligence - and humanizes the heck out of them.

This is both the source of how 'sad' it is to keep them in tanks and tubs, AND the fear of them and seemingly burning desire to kill everyone they run across. They attribute all kinds of motives and thought processes to them that snakes just aren't capable of.

I don't get this much but when it comes up,
I usually point out that all pets are contained to some degree, horses in stalls,
dogs in cages or fenced pens and so on, as long as it's appropriate housing it's a non-issue.
That usually proves my point.

I get flak about keeping my snakes in Sterlite bins. Heck, at first I thought it was cruel to put them in anything but a lavishly decorated tank with lots of attractive foliage. I've changed my mind as I've learned more about the needs of the ball python. The ones I keep in bins are doing so much better than the ones still in terrarium space. It's easier to clean, heat and regulate the bins' humidity levels which equals happier, healthier BPs. I had one that went on a food strike for five weeks and he was starting to lose weight that he couldn't afford to lose. I moved him to a bin and in two days he took a rat pup eagerly. People who are saddened by seeing pythons in tanks and bins do not understand how they exist in nature to begin with.


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Originally Posted by CptJack

They attribute all kinds of motives and thought processes to them that snakes just aren't capable of.

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I completely agree. I try to explain to people that a snake doesn't have the cognitive ability to feel sad about the fact that it is confined to a tank or tub. They don't think like us.

However many will argue, "How do you know that they lack the ability to feel emotion?"

No, the truth is I can't say for sure that they can't feel emotions; however I do know that scientists have studied their brains and found that they do not have the section that deals with emotions (that humans have). So...

A snake being in a tub is like us being in a house, Them getting a F/T rat is like us getting a Nice steak! And not chewing the cows behind!

It's hard for alot of people to understand, because they think snakes need to be treated such as a dog, with exercise and physical and visual stimulation is needed or they are "sad".


I let my GF test this buy placing my snakes in my ARS rack. Yet let her pick her "Favorite" one and we set up a glass tank.. it lasted for about 3 months when shes like. "He doesnt even move in the trees i gave him" Then notices the picky eating habbits from being in a open enclosure!

Ended with me being right and being able to say the famous "Told ya so!":taz:

People who aren't snake people simply don't understand their needs. Proper temps and humidity, an appropriate hide, fresh water and regular meals. No doubt our pythons would be much "happier" being born in the wild and being served for dinner to a predator within the first days of their lives as most are. I wonder how many of these critics have house cats and dogs on leashes.

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Originally Posted by DennisM

People who aren't snake people simply don't understand their needs. Proper temps and humidity, an appropriate hide, fresh water and regular meals. No doubt our pythons would be much "happier" being born in the wild and being served for dinner to a predator within the first days of their lives as most are. I wonder how many of these critics have house cats and dogs on leashes.

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Or being a luckily Wild born high white gorgeous pied and being singled out and eaten first!! Aswell as other colorful bright morphs!!


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Or being riddled with mites, and parasites. Only being able to digest 15% of their meals, if they are lucky to come across them, due to a house of parasites feeding off everything else within them.


The mere fact that when kept properly and cared for in captivity , their life expectancy is exponentially higher, should speak volumes.

And like I've always said. It beats the alternative. To fear snakes, and loathe them, and kill them whenever you get the chance.

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

A snake being in a tub is like us being in a house, Them getting a F/T rat is like us getting a Nice steak! And not chewing the cows behind!

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It's kinda like that except we aren't forced to stay in our house if we don't want to. To compare to humans it would kinda be more like being a prisoner. You get the bare necessities to live but don't get free will. A big difference to that as well even is snakes mostly don't interact with other snakes in captivity.

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Or being a luckily Wild born high white gorgeous pied and being singled out and eaten first!! Aswell as other colorful bright morphs!!


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The majority of morphs were created from breeding in captivity.

However in the case of piebalds, the first was found in the wild. The ball pythons are solitary animals and also would not likely go to interact with each other except in the case of breeding. I think what matters most here is the animals are being kept in good conditions in the home. A captive born ball python probably wouldn't have any memories of that nice toasty termite mound in Ghana.

Once in awhile, but not too often. Most people don't ask, or know me well enough to know better.

But I look at it this way: a snake in a tank or tub is no worse off than any other captive animal, including dogs. Think about it, in the wild canines are constantly moving over large areas. Unless you leave your dog to run free, or are walking it hours every day, the dog isn't getting that Dans stimulation and exercise. Especially true of dogs left in a kennel or apartment all day. (This of course doesn't apply to all, just thinking of the average dog owner I know. ) of course your average person on the street won't think of it this way, or will get angry at the insinuation they aren't caring for their dog optimally, but the comparison is no less valid.

Usually when I tell people I have 4 snakes they get a little freaked and ask "Do you let them roam around your house??" to which I reply "Of course not, if I did, then I wouldn't have a pet snake in the morning" lol

I've never been asked why I keep them in enclosures all day or told it's cruel, usually I just get compliments on how nice the enclosures are.

I am either really good about who I talk to, or I have yet to meet one of those negative types who thinks they're going to save the world.

Here's how I think about it. And this is for ball pythons specifically.
Balls live in termite mounds and rodent burrows for the majority of their lives. An ASF burrow is not large and spacious. They are small and tight.
Ball pythons spend ~90% of their time in these small spaces. They sit there and wait for prey, eat the inhabitant, sit around, then when they're hungry again, they move to the next burrow. They rarely go out to explore unless they are seeking a mate or food.

A tub is no different than a burrow or mound. In fact, I think they are actually more spacious.
I give my ball pythons a tub and a hide. I can tell you that all but one *never* leaves their hides even though they have more room in the tub to stretch and roam. If they leave their hide, it's to feed to drink. Otherwise, they do not utilize any of the extra space. They feel most comfortable in these small spaces.

Other species like boas for example, I will offer a larger enclosure because I know they like to explore and use the extra space. Balls? Not so much.

I think this is a very interesting thread, both because of my personal collection, and because I regularly work with the public in a zoo setting. Many of the people I speak with on a personal level about my animals in particular, simply trust my judgement. They don't know about snakes, nor do they particularly care, as long as the snakes aren't in their personal bubble. If I, as the "snake expert" in their minds, decide to keep my animals in tubs the way they are now, the farthest they usually question is "don't they need more space?" then, after I describe their natural habitat, they leave it alone.

walking into a zoo setting, there are lots of people who fancy themselves animal experts, claiming that these animals look "sad" and "confined" and "trapped." It takes a lot more energy to describe to these folks that all that matters to us on a biological level for these animals are the markers of "stressed" and "not stressed". A stressed animal may behave in a more entertaining way for a general spectator (think of when we see our ball pythons actively exploring for more than a few minutes at a time), and because humans anthropmorphise, these stressed behaviors may look more positive than negative, because these behaviors also look cute (think of head-pressing in big cats and primates, excessive exploration in reptiles, excessive vocalizations in birds). When working with exotic animals, these seemingly cute behaviors are usually warning signs for illnesses or burgeoning bad habits that keepers are constantly on the lookout for. Explaining that these relaxed animals look lazy because that is their natural state in the wild often breaks a reality for folks that they thought they knew. A wild lion is constantly on guard for threats to its territory. A zoo lion realizes that there are no threats to its territory, and so sleeps.

The only exception I have to throw out is (playing devils advocate a bit here), that while everyone on HERE knows how to properly care for their reptiles, what about the ones that aren't informed, that keep their BP (or any other reptile) in a 10 gallon glass tank with reptile carpet and 3 layers of stuck shed because this is how the petstore said to keep them. This can be said for any animal where the owner hasn't educated themselves. Our local petco had a "reptile day" on Sat and this was seen for every one they had on display, I did a major face palm when one of the employees told me you can keep an adult BTS in a 20 gallon glass tank their entire life because they are lazy, also take a look on CL and see all the improper setups on there. In these cases I would agree that they have a pretty sad life, I know this is the exception, but I think sometimes people get blinded online because they are surrounded with like minded people and it is easy to forget all the bad examples out there, I know its that way for me, it always brings me back to reality when I see such terrible husbandry:(

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Originally Posted by Generationshell

I am curious as to how many snake owners also get comments from others along the lines of, "Oh he has such a sad life because he lives in a tank." Both my parents and bf think this.

Personally I think that snakes in tanks have it pretty good. I acknowledge the fact that they can't really explore, but they have regular food, a safe environment without any predators, a heating pad, and an environment that is tailored to their needs. What more could they want?!

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You know what snakes really love? Being eaten alive by predators in the wild. Or succumbing to disease without vet care. Theres a reason why they live longer in captivity. Nature is a cruel mother and captive snakes are removed from most of that cruelty.