Setting up UVB questions

[Caitlin]

I'm not aware of any studies that show this for Python regius, though I don't have access to academic databases. Google Scholar links to only two studies, one showing that they do not manufacture endogenous D3, and another that was a clinical discussion of severe damage caused by a faulty lamp (relevant again in light of the new wave of UVB LEDs hitting the market, most marketed by no-name foreign companies).

Could you provide links or citations to this science regarding ball pythons?

Sure! Though there are also several reasons other than serum D3 production to support providing UVB to snakes. I'll admit that I tend to be research and data-driven, but I am super reluctant to turn this thread into a list of citations. I'm glad to share other citations in a separate thread if anyone is interested! Since your question is on the serum D3 research, I'll gladly share some links here and will leave the rest to a potential separate thread if anyone wants that. I just don't want to push citations on folks rather than have a conversation, you know?

There were methodological issues with the study by Hedley and Eatwell that you linked. And it should be noted that this is the ONLY study ever done on snakes that failed to show an increase in serum D3 after UVB exposure. Dr. Hedley herself has stated that the sample group size was too small and that the controls were not at all ideal. The experimental group was 100% female and started off with very high serum levels of D3 in the first place due to breeding season, when they are pumping out D3 for egg production. There was no way of determining how much D3 they were receiving in their diet, and for those two reasons, there's the very real possibility that they had no need at all to be producing endogenous D3 at the time of the study. So of course the end result would be that the snakes were not producing D3 after UVB exposure. They weren't producing it because they already had enough, and didn't need to produce more.

The control group was mostly males, with much lower serum D3 levels naturally - so the two groups can't really be compared. But I want to emphasize that Drs. Hedley and Eatwell did a good job with the study given the limitations imposed in the UK on doing this sort of research. It's just that the study can't really be used to support or debunk the idea that UVB exposure is important for Ball Pythons for D3.

Here's a list I cut/paste from a saved document that includes a list of citations for studies on multiple other snakes. Just to compare: Corn snakes, which are used in many of the studies cited below and which are shown to benefit from UVB, actually require a lower UV level than Ball Pythons. Corn snakes inhabit Ferguson zone 1 (crepuscular shade dwellers) as opposed to Ball Pythons which inhabit Ferguson zone 2 (partial baskers).

Experiments on Corn Snakes, Burmese pythons, Jamaican boas and others have shown a drastic increase in serum D3 levels after basking under UV:
Acierno, Mark J., et al. "Effects of ultraviolet radiation on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentrations in corn snakes (Elaphe guttata)." American journal of veterinary research 69.2 (2008): 294-297.

Bradwell, Jordan, and Jessica Hackett. "The Effects of Ultraviolet (UV) Light Exposure on the Physiology And Behaviour of Captive Corn Snakes (Elaphe guttata)." RATEL (2013): 9.

Nail, Student-Abigail. "Does exposure to UVB light influence the growth rates and behaviour of Corn Snakes, Pantherophis guttatus?” BI6154–Dissertation at Reaseheath College.

Bellamy, T. and Stephen, I. (2007) The Effect of Ultrviolet B (UVB) Illumination and Vitamin D3 on the Activity, Behaviour and Growth Rate of Juvenile Jamaican Boas Epicrates subflavus, received through personal communications with F. Baines author of www.UVguide.co.uk

Artificial ultraviolet b radiation raises plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin d3 concentrations in Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus)." Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 49.3 (2018): 810-812.

UV has even been found to be one of the factors that determine niche partitioning between conspecific species of snake, for example:

Brinker, Andrew Michael. "An ultraviolet light survey of three species of semi-aquatic snakes at the Old Sabine Bottom Wildlife Management Area, with intraorder comparisons and microhabitat descriptions [electronic resource]." UMI thesis. (2006).

[Malum Argenteum]

Thank you for the citations. It might be a valuable project to start a listing somewhere here (new thread?) of public access studies on UVB -- would help those of us without access to do some reading as time permits.

My question wasn't so much focused on D3 levels as it was your claim that "The science is crystal clear that offering UVB as an option to our snakes has real benefits." (I took the original post, which used "snake" in the singular, very literally to refer to the species at hand; I think "crystal clarity" needs to be species-specific). There aren't crystal clear findings on ball pythons; there aren't any findings, it seems. We can assume they're similar to all the rest, but that's assumption that while however reasonable, is not clarity and not empirical conclusion. That's my main point here.

We might further disagree on what constitutes "benefit" -- that is, not isolated numerical increases in D3 levels, or even behavior changes (e.g. changes in movement patterns over and above basic phototaxis may indicate discomfort rather than benefit, and novice hobbyists are not well-placed to see the difference), but rather benefit considered overall including a cost-benefit analysis of equipment cost (is one snake going to benefit enough to offset a $150 meter, or would that cash be better spent on a larger enclosure, or on naturalistic decor, or a just-in-case vet fund?), the associated complexity of housing ("I don't want to cut my new enclosure"), possible temperature issues for low-temp species, raising the bar too high for new keepers who often have serious trouble simply maintaining temps and moisture levels, and so on. But it sounds as if you'd be game for such nuanced discussions, so thank you.

[Snagrio]

From my understanding, snakes with strict vertebrate diets (for our purposes most of the time, mice/rats/chicks/quail) benefit "the least" from UVB as they already get the nutrients they need from prey. A benefit nonetheless, but not to the point where their QoL has a noticeable detriment compared to, say, a bearded dragon where they outright get a crippling, irreversible condition without it (MBD). Obviously the circumstances are different for those snake species that don't have vertebrate diets as Malum pointed out and require more supplementary sources, UVB or otherwise.

So with all that in mind, especially for my particular case where the housing conditions just aren't very conducive to setting up UVB in the first place and my species in question is thriving perfectly as-is, I could forego UVB as far as I'm aware without repercussions. It's been something I've gone back and forth on, but if it's as risky as has been suggested with my setup, requires further extra preparation including a very expensive reading tool, and would ultimately not have all that significant of a payoff (if not backfiring altogether and actively harming him if I don't get things exactly right), then I don't see going through all these hoops as something worthwhile.

It was admittedly something spur-of-the-moment because I had never seen them in stock before. Oh well, at least I kept the receipt.

[Caitlin]

Thank you for the citations. It might be a valuable project to start a listing somewhere here (new thread?) of public access studies on UVB -- would help those of us without access to do some reading as time permits. <snip> But it sounds as if you'd be game for such nuanced discussions, so thank you.

I won't take the discussion in this thread any deeper, as I don't want to derail the OP's original question. I'll just say that there are multiple reasons that have caused me to conclude that providing the option of UVB to all of my snakes is something I'll continue to do. It's not a question of whether my snakes must have UVB in the same sense a bearded dragon requires it. It's that I want to provide optimal husbandry, and some things that are optimal are definitely not required for survival. But adding UVB has to be done carefully and thoughtfully, and we have to always be open to new information.

I'm absolutely up for nuanced discussions. I put a big premium on courtesy and kindness, and often avoid the usual debates on husbandry found on other social media sites (and occasionally even here) because it just isn't useful when those discussions devolve into arguments or "I've been keeping snakes longer than you", etc. But if we can ever put a thread together to simply share citations and references, I'd be glad to contribute.

[Bogertophis]

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: I've always had a sense that my snakes exhibited some benefit from their occasional trips outside with me for sun, but it was never anything I could prove.

... It might be a valuable project to start a listing somewhere here (new thread?) of public access studies on UVB -- would help those of us without access to do some reading as time permits....

...But if we can ever put a thread together to simply share citations and references, I'd be glad to contribute.

So if you'd like to create just such a thread, I'm pretty sure we could make it a "sticky" for reference & the benefit of our community (& their animals, of course).

(The ultimate decision rests with admin. though, not I.)