Update from new owner, please help

[JodanOrNoDan]

I'd question wether snakes stacked up in small containers in racks are 'happy' to be honest.

Have a Royal / Ball in a Viv /rub with a hide ( preferably two ) and a water dish and it's fair to say you won't see much of them ...

Add some branches and fake foliage and the same Royal will be out roaming and climbing for hours every evening .

I prefer the latter if only as they're be getting some exercise . .. I also think they're happier climbing and slithering around or else they wouldn't bother and just stay in their hides ..


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We are going to have to agree to disagree on this. They are not human. To assign human thought processes and or needs is a mistake in my opinion. I observe the behaviors of these animals a lot. My snakes are handled often and are out of their tubs a lot. When out of their tubs they will exhibit one of two behaviors. The shy ones "run" and will find the smallest darkest place they can find to hide in. The "better adjusted ones" are content to sit around my neck, lay where I put them, or play horse for my daughter's barbies. Males are more active than females and will climb given the opportunity but it is not because they are bored. They are looking for females or they are hungry. Ball pythons are feast/famine animals. As such they will only expend energy when they have to. I have yet to see an adult female attempt to climb. When given a choice they will go down rather than up. Most of my girls are heavy bodied animals. They are not built to climb, move fast, or move far.

[Zincubus]

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this. They are not human. To assign human thought processes and or needs is a mistake in my opinion. I observe the behaviors of these animals a lot. My snakes are handled often and are out of their tubs a lot. When out of their tubs they will exhibit one of two behaviors. The shy ones "run" and will find the smallest darkest place they can find to hide in. The "better adjusted ones" are content to sit around my neck, lay where I put them, or play horse for my daughter's barbies. Males are more active than females and will climb given the opportunity but it is not because they are bored. They are looking for females or they are hungry. Ball pythons are feast/famine animals. As such they will only expend energy when they have to. I have yet to see an adult female attempt to climb. When given a choice they will go down rather than up. Most of my girls are heavy bodied animals. They are not built to climb, move fast, or move far.

You'll have to excuse the copy and pasted account below .

I found it to be rather enlightening ... taken from another reptile site .



"I have a friend who has been living in Ghana for a few months and befriended some snake people involved in catching wild ball pythons, among other native snake species! Exciting stuff, he got deets on where ball pythons are found, straight from the trapper/exporter (named Gyasi) himself… I told him to ask for more exact percentages on where they're mostly found in Africa:

55% in “the bushes / branches" near ponds

25% under rocks

10% under trees when they are well fed/full

10% around trash areas (like literally in piles of trash apparently LOL)

No mention of termite mounds or “hiding in holes their whole life”, at least from this trapper. Go figure?
My friend also hasn’t seen very many grassland areas or open areas in Ghana at least where he is, even the drier areas have a lot of low-growing trees.
He went with his trapper group on a short expedition lately too, and that sounded exciting, getting to see the native range and habitat of these animals.
In conclusion: ball pythons have a very wide natural habitat range! They are not solely ambush predators like gaboons, and definitely not living in holes and hiding their whole life. Funny thing, the trapper mentioned nothing of holes or termite mounds himself haha. I think my friend brought up the "holes and termite mounds" thing, since I asked specifically about how this is always preached in the states, and Gyasi was just like "?????" If the holes thing is from other trappers, it must be only one very small part of how ball pythons live!
My friend is on this forum, but he never posted before. I'm trying to get him to eventually post a short journal and pics of the habitat and the various wild caught snakes there, it would be fun! (I've seen the pics already bahah)
Anyway, I think these are exciting and interesting details, because I personally believe at this point that the average keeper/breeder's knowledge that is constantly preached in the states on their natural habitat and living conditions are apparently quite skewed. And it's always nice to be more informed about the animals we are keeping and the way they are kept. The more knowledge, the better !"




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[JodanOrNoDan]

You'll have to excuse the copy and pasted account below .

I found it to be rather enlightening ... taken from another reptile site .



"I have a friend who has been living in Ghana for a few months and befriended some snake people involved in catching wild ball pythons, among other native snake species! Exciting stuff, he got deets on where ball pythons are found, straight from the trapper/exporter (named Gyasi) himself… I told him to ask for more exact percentages on where they're mostly found in Africa:

55% in “the bushes / branches" near ponds

25% under rocks

10% under trees when they are well fed/full

10% around trash areas (like literally in piles of trash apparently LOL)

No mention of termite mounds or “hiding in holes their whole life”, at least from this trapper. Go figure?
My friend also hasn’t seen very many grassland areas or open areas in Ghana at least where he is, even the drier areas have a lot of low-growing trees.
He went with his trapper group on a short expedition lately too, and that sounded exciting, getting to see the native range and habitat of these animals.
In conclusion: ball pythons have a very wide natural habitat range! They are not solely ambush predators like gaboons, and definitely not living in holes and hiding their whole life. Funny thing, the trapper mentioned nothing of holes or termite mounds himself haha. I think my friend brought up the "holes and termite mounds" thing, since I asked specifically about how this is always preached in the states, and Gyasi was just like "?????" If the holes thing is from other trappers, it must be only one very small part of how ball pythons live!
My friend is on this forum, but he never posted before. I'm trying to get him to eventually post a short journal and pics of the habitat and the various wild caught snakes there, it would be fun! (I've seen the pics already bahah)
Anyway, I think these are exciting and interesting details, because I personally believe at this point that the average keeper/breeder's knowledge that is constantly preached in the states on their natural habitat and living conditions are apparently quite skewed. And it's always nice to be more informed about the animals we are keeping and the way they are kept. The more knowledge, the better !"




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That was posted here by Red about a month ago.

[Zincubus]

That was posted here by Red about a month ago.

Fair enough .... makes for interesting reading though IMHO


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[wolfy-hound]

Did he look in termite mounds?

If I were a State Trooper and all the cows I've ever encountered were roaming loose on the interstate, I might conclude that all cows live on highways and roads.

Of course ball pythons do have to come out and get water or move to a new place or roam to find a mate, many reasons. But there's video of python hunters literally breaking open the termite mounds to retrieve the snakes inside. So a friend who heard from a guy who talked to some guys who found ball pythons in random places doesn't mean that the python hunters from the videos didn't actually find all but one of the balls in the termite mounds.

Ball pythons have always done quite well in smaller, darker bins. Many times when someone comes in with a problem feeder snake, it is a tank keeper. Some solve the issue with crowding the tank. Some move to bins.

The ability to keep temps and humidity and security all correct in a bin, resulting in my snakes eating on a regular basis and having whole sheds on schedule means that I will do what works and what seems to keep my snakes healthy and relaxed.

[Craiga 01453]

Did he look in termite mounds?

If I were a State Trooper and all the cows I've ever encountered were roaming loose on the interstate, I might conclude that all cows live on highways and roads.
.

Literally laughing out loud at this!!

[Zincubus]

Did he look in termite mounds?

If I were a State Trooper and all the cows I've ever encountered were roaming loose on the interstate, I might conclude that all cows live on highways and roads.

Of course ball pythons do have to come out and get water or move to a new place or roam to find a mate, many reasons. But there's video of python hunters literally breaking open the termite mounds to retrieve the snakes inside. So a friend who heard from a guy who talked to some guys who found ball pythons in random places doesn't mean that the python hunters from the videos didn't actually find all but one of the balls in the termite mounds.

Ball pythons have always done quite well in smaller, darker bins. Many times when someone comes in with a problem feeder snake, it is a tank keeper. Some solve the issue with crowding the tank. Some move to bins.

The ability to keep temps and humidity and security all correct in a bin, resulting in my snakes eating on a regular basis and having whole sheds on schedule means that I will do what works and what seems to keep my snakes healthy and relaxed.

I'm only guessing here but I'm thinking that guys who's living is to hunt and catch Royal pythons PROBABLY know where best to look .... just a hunch of course .

[redshepherd]

Did he look in termite mounds?

If I were a State Trooper and all the cows I've ever encountered were roaming loose on the interstate, I might conclude that all cows live on highways and roads.

I'm going to say that it's probably because termite mounds take a heck of work to dig out, so it's a lot easier to find them in those other places.

And given that, it means many ball pythons live in these other places as well. It's just that some keepers believe ball pythons SOLELY live in termite mounds, and can't live anywhere else, and use that as if it's a strict fact. That is all.

[JodanOrNoDan]

I'm going to say that it's probably because termite mounds take a heck of work to dig out, so it's a lot easier to find them in those other places.

And given that, it means many ball pythons live in these other places as well. It's just that some keepers believe ball pythons SOLELY live in termite mounds, and can't live anywhere else, and use that as if it's a strict fact. That is all.

LOL. I heard some of those things are like concrete.

[redshepherd]

lol. I heard some of those things are like concrete.

yep. Lol