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  1. #11
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    Well I finally set up Totoro's big boy tub - he got a large plastic tub, big enough to last him probably until he's about a year old, with aspen shavings, a couple UTH's (one large one small), a nice water dish, some driftwood and a fun mossy climbing thing because I had a Petsmart coupon I needed to use. He dove right into the aspen and loves swimming around in it, though I have to admit, having a white snake living in aspen shavings isn't ideal for a display animal, lol. He likes to hide so well that I have a mini panic attack every time I go to look for him, I always think for a minute that he's somehow escaped!

    I definitely plan to use many of the idea you guys gave me, especially the strawberry pot, I'm going to grab one the next time I'm in town (I live up in the mountains). He enjoys climbing on his stuff, he'll like the strawberry pot a lot I think!

    I'm feeling guilty today, I offered him a mouse yesterday and he was TERRIFIED. Full on hissing, striking, flailing and trying to get away from it. He even accidentally bit me, and he's usually very very tame. About an hour later I went to check on him and realized he's in blue... oops, my bad. No wonder the little guy was so scared! (Though in my defense, both of my ball pythons will eat even when in blue - once Ana Gwyn ate, then shed 10 minutes later! So Totoro being in blue possibly being the problem didn't immediately occur to me.) But true to his nature, after about an hour he was back to being completely handleable, even though he can't see me very well, so I feel like he's getting used to my scent meaning "it's okay, this lady is safe."
    Last edited by OoohShiny; 09-20-2020 at 03:38 PM.

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  3. #12
    Registered User Alex Lehner's Avatar
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    Re: Fun stuff for snakes?

    If you looks at bird toys and perches they have little wooden ladders like mentioned above that you can purchase for pretty cheap.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

  4. #13
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    Re: Fun stuff for snakes?

    I like this idea, too! He does love to get up high - right now I'm not piling his stuff up too tall, because he's just tiny and I'm scared of him falling (into three inches of soft fluffy aspen shavings, lol - yes I'm a worried mom!). But once he figures out he has a tail and how to use it (he sometimes seems to forget it's back there and it overbalances him) I'm going to work on getting him more height to play with.

  5. #14
    BPnet Veteran Caitlin's Avatar
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    With little snakes that seem interested - they're out and about a lot and/or are asking to come out of their enclosures - I like to set up what the reptile training and enrichment folks (I'm definitely in that category) call 'snake in a box'.

    I use a big Sterilite or Iris tub - the size of the tub depends on the size of the snake I am working with; you don't want to totally overwhelm a hatchling. I fill the tub with stuff they can climb over and into. That can be anything from empty cereal boxes, cardboard egg cartons and the cardboard rolls from toilet paper or paper towels, to branches, ladders, and those plastic balls for dogs that are mostly holes (I think they're called 'holee rollers' and are available in various sizes in the big box pet stores or on Chewy.com). Be sure she can't easily climb all the way up and out. I'll set the box + snake up next to me so I can keep an eye on them, and just let them explore. As she gets more comfortable with the 'snake in a box' routine, you can also set up food mazes or scent trails in the box.
    1.0 Jungle Carpet Python 'Ziggy'
    1.0 Bredl's Python 'Calcifer'
    0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa 'Mara'
    1.1 Tarahumara Mountain Boas 'Paco' and 'Frida'
    2.0 Dumeril's Boas 'Gyre' and 'Titan'
    1.0 Stimson's Python 'Jake'
    1.1 Children's Pythons 'Miso' and 'Ozzy'
    1.0 Anthill Python 'Cricket'
    1.0 Plains Hognose 'Peanut'
    1.1 Rough-scaled Sand Boas 'Rassi' and 'Kala'
    1.0 Ball Python (BEL) 'Sugar'
    1.0 Gray-banded Kingsnake 'Nacho'
    1.0 Green Tree Python (Aru) 'Jade'

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  7. #15
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    Re: Fun stuff for snakes?

    Oh wow, that does sound fun! I bet Totoro would love that, he's such a curious, active little dude - well normally he is, right now he's in blue and all grumpy about it, lol. But he's generally very active and I think he'd appreciate being a snake-in-the-box. That would be a really fun thing to have my niece help me set up, too, she loves my snakes and we could probably even find a way to make it a science project for her schoolwork!

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  9. #16
    BPnet Veteran Caitlin's Avatar
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    Re: Fun stuff for snakes?

    Quote Originally Posted by OoohShiny View Post
    Oh wow, that does sound fun! I bet Totoro would love that, he's such a curious, active little dude - well normally he is, right now he's in blue and all grumpy about it, lol. But he's generally very active and I think he'd appreciate being a snake-in-the-box. That would be a really fun thing to have my niece help me set up, too, she loves my snakes and we could probably even find a way to make it a science project for her schoolwork!
    If your niece wants to do a science project, I'd suggest that the two of you watch some videos by Lori Torrini, who is my sensei as far as this enrichment stuff goes. I'll link her youtube channel below. Lori does training, behavioral modification, and enrichment with a large group of snakes - mostly pythons, but she also works with colubrids. If your niece needs a couple of formal scientific articles on food mazes and target training for snakes, let me know and I can link some. A simple target training study or an observational study of the snake's response to offering enrichment could work out well for a project.

    I try not to dump an overwhelming amount of information on newcomers to enrichment, but I'll just say there's a whole world of research, info, videos, and even online classes.

    Link: https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...y=lori+torrini
    1.0 Jungle Carpet Python 'Ziggy'
    1.0 Bredl's Python 'Calcifer'
    0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa 'Mara'
    1.1 Tarahumara Mountain Boas 'Paco' and 'Frida'
    2.0 Dumeril's Boas 'Gyre' and 'Titan'
    1.0 Stimson's Python 'Jake'
    1.1 Children's Pythons 'Miso' and 'Ozzy'
    1.0 Anthill Python 'Cricket'
    1.0 Plains Hognose 'Peanut'
    1.1 Rough-scaled Sand Boas 'Rassi' and 'Kala'
    1.0 Ball Python (BEL) 'Sugar'
    1.0 Gray-banded Kingsnake 'Nacho'
    1.0 Green Tree Python (Aru) 'Jade'

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    Bogertophis (09-20-2020)

  11. #17
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    Re: Fun stuff for snakes?

    That is so cool, I never knew about any of this, I'll definitely check it out! I'd love anything you want to link to And hey, if the project requires pythons, I've got two of those, lol. Niece will be very excited about something like this, even if we only end up doing it for fun. but I definitely think Totoro will enjoy it!
    Last edited by OoohShiny; 09-20-2020 at 05:44 PM.

  12. #18
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    Just make sure that any enrichment "toys" have no holes that your snake can get stuck in, because sooner or later it will happen. Plug any unsafe holes first, don't rely on
    your memory for when your snake grows larger. With the strawberry terra cotta pots, I got ones with a drainage hole in the center bottom, so I used that to run a bolt* thru the hole & into a sturdy board underneath it for a base, to prevent it from being tipped over by the snake having fun; any time you have a rock or other items that are heavy, you need to prevent injuries by making sure they cannot be toppled on your snake. (*you'll probably need a fender washer & a nut too)

    I like Caitlin's idea of a "play-ground"...I've actually constructed mazes out of clean cardboard boxes (shoe boxes etc) & my snakes absolutely loved them & felt very safe
    with so many hiding places and multiple doors to peek out of. Very sad when they finally out-grew them...I did that when I first got my pair of Trans Pecos rat snakes as
    tiny c/b hatchlings, shipped un-fed right out of their eggs. After air shipping, I knew they'd be stressed, & it really helped them quickly adjust & eagerly gobble up pinkies.

    Ladders: while bird ladders will work ok, they're vertically arranged. What I do is construct a "ladder" that is much wider (at least 2' wide), with the total length = to the
    diagonal distance from the bottom to the top of the tank, so the snakes can not only go up & down, but bask horizontally as they would on branches. It can be made of
    real branches, bamboo, or store-bought wood, whatever's handy & appeals to you. Even a large tub set up with natural branches intersecting diagonally every which way
    would be well-received for climbing, I can assure you.

    This is all taking the place of things snakes would actually do in nature...it's like "kindergarten" for snakes, lol.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 09-20-2020 at 06:12 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  13. #19
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    I had to come report back - yesterday I finally got a chance to add some fun stuff to Totoro's tub, and I'm so glad I did! I found a way to securely hang some of that fake leafy vine from the dollar store about halfway up in his tub, and got him one of those cat toys that's a ball in a circular track. I swear, you'd have thought Totoro was a toddler at an amusement park! He spent about an hour hiding from the new stuff in his hide, but then he came out to investigate and it was ON. He was climbing vines, tunneling under the ball toy, all over the place... he started around 6 pm, and when I went to bed at midnight he was STILL at it. Apparently the very BEST thing is to climb up onto the vine above the toy, then dive down through the middle of the toy and into a tunnel that he dug. He did that for hours, over and over again. It was awesome to see him having so much fun. I'm definitely going to use some more of these enrichment ideas and keep changing things up for him, since he so obviously appreciates it

    Then, this morning when I went to feed him, he ATTACKED his mouse with more enthusiasm than I've seen from him since I got him. I bet all that playing made him hungry!

  14. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to OoohShiny For This Useful Post:

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  15. #20
    BPnet Veteran Caitlin's Avatar
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    Re: Fun stuff for snakes?

    I LOVE hearing this. Good job, and it's just wonderful to hear how well your little guy responded to this. There are lots of studies demonstrating that snakes provided with enrichment are better able to cope with changes, are more apt to explore, and are quicker to learn than snakes without those opportunities. But actually seeing it happen with your own pet is a wonderful feeling.

    Congratulations! Please keep us updated!
    1.0 Jungle Carpet Python 'Ziggy'
    1.0 Bredl's Python 'Calcifer'
    0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa 'Mara'
    1.1 Tarahumara Mountain Boas 'Paco' and 'Frida'
    2.0 Dumeril's Boas 'Gyre' and 'Titan'
    1.0 Stimson's Python 'Jake'
    1.1 Children's Pythons 'Miso' and 'Ozzy'
    1.0 Anthill Python 'Cricket'
    1.0 Plains Hognose 'Peanut'
    1.1 Rough-scaled Sand Boas 'Rassi' and 'Kala'
    1.0 Ball Python (BEL) 'Sugar'
    1.0 Gray-banded Kingsnake 'Nacho'
    1.0 Green Tree Python (Aru) 'Jade'

  16. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Caitlin For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (10-03-2020),OoohShiny (10-04-2020)

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