To clutter or not to clutter

[LittleTreeGuy]

I know I've been asking a lot of questions across the board about my new snake and setup, and thank you very much to those of you who have shared your knowledge. I have yet another question that there may not be a "right" answer for. Do you "clutter up" your snakes cage with leaves, sticks, shelves, rocks, etc...? I have a 2 month old bp, around 75g, and here is my setup:

PVC cage - 24"widex20"deepx13"high
Inside I have two identical hides, one on the left, one on the right, a water bowl in the front, and a paper towel roll in the middle. I just picked up a string of ivy leaves from the dollar store and put them from one side, around the back, and to the other hide. Is that enough? she spends most of her time in her hides. She eats very well.

I just still see some folks using a hide and water dish in a tub in a rack system and see others with beautiful displays full of branches, plants, rocks, etc... and I'm like...

Here is my setup before I put the leaves in (I have gotten the temps up to the appropriate range since taking this photo):

[Lizardlicks]

It's really down to what works for you. The snakes that are kept in tub/rack set ups are kept with minimal fuss because they don't need it. The tub and rack create a small, securely enclosed space for the ball python to be comfortable and allowed to not be exposed to very much stress from external stimuli. For a tank or pvc cage with a big clear front that lets people (and other animals) stare into it all day, cluttering up the tank creates a visual barrier that does the same thing. if You're only keeping one or two snakes, then well furnished terrariums are not only good for your snake, they're nice to look at. If you have a lot of snakes, and/or intend to breed the ones you have, and need to keep all of those animals efficiently, tubs and racks are the way to go. They don't look as pretty, but the real show is sliding one open to see your most prized morph

[gaitedappy]

It all comes down to preference, I like cluttering my tanks, and I'm in the middle of revamping my adult's tank buying him some pretty things, but I only have the two snakes right now. To me, it is worth it to clutter my tanks to make them pretty, and to make the noodles happier, but it is a pain to clean everything when it comes to serious deep clean day. As long as your snake is eating and healthy, just do what works for you. To sum it up less decor is less work to clean, but can be boring, and more decor is pretty, but can be a pain to clean.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[redshepherd]

For a baby ball python that small, and for an enclosure that big, clutter is good if not necessary for snakes who are stressed easily/with feeding issues. I think your fake leaves strewn around are apparently good enough clutter for your guy though. If you ever encounter feeding issues, then you can troubleshoot if too little clutter is a problem. Other than what you have, it's just preference and if you like to add what you think your BP would enjoy.

My setup for Cake is like this. Somewhere in between the "rack tub" and fancy decorated setups. Easy enough to maintain, interesting stuff to investigate and climb on, and not too barren.

[LittleTreeGuy]

redshepard.... cake is beautiful!!!! question for you... that log you have in there... is it hard to clean?