Day/night cycle?

[Starscream]

Just curious. I'm reminded of this thread
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...he-recommended

where you were originally unsure of night temp drops and decided against it after getting various opinions against the practice. You even thought it was counter-intuitive at the time so I'm wondering what made you decide to give it a go?

I've since had a year to research things (verses the three month I'd had then), and I also have a larger enclosure now than I did then for my snake. I have elements that stay warm after the ambient temperatures drop for several hours, which Maze has access to. I apologize for not making that clear in my original post.

Observationally, Maze comes out more regularly at earlier times of the night if I drop the temperatures. I can't know what this specifically means, but since she doesn't come out until 5-7 days after a meal, or while she's in shed, I've made the assumption that the lowered temperatures make her think it's time to hunt, more so than just turning off the lights. Obviously I have no way of knowing if that's true, but even when let out of her enclosure and allowed to rest on a warm surface, she will choose to keep exploring over staying still. Her activity level means she gets exercise, and I do get to see her more often (which is a selfish motivation, I'm aware). As a species that is easily given to obesity in captivity, I find this exercise important.

It does mimic how things are in the wild; however, I'm not dropping these temperatures into dangerous ranges. They never fall below 78F, and are usually closer to 80F, especially on the hot side. I don't intend to cycle her temperatures annually as of yet; as you can see by my change in opinion from a year ago, I don't know what I may decide is best for my animal in the future, upon further research.

I recall the vet from that thread recommended I drop the temperatures down into the low 70s to mid 60s, which I think is pretty low, considering in their natural range, temperatures rarely ever drop below 72F (which is considered an extreme, and usually only happens at night).

[MissterDog]

I've since had a year to research things (verses the three month I'd had then), and I also have a larger enclosure now than I did then for my snake. I have elements that stay warm after the ambient temperatures drop for several hours, which Maze has access to. I apologize for not making that clear in my original post.

Observationally, Maze comes out more regularly at earlier times of the night if I drop the temperatures. I can't know what this specifically means, but since she doesn't come out until 5-7 days after a meal, or while she's in shed, I've made the assumption that the lowered temperatures make her think it's time to hunt, more so than just turning off the lights. Obviously I have no way of knowing if that's true, but even when let out of her enclosure and allowed to rest on a warm surface, she will choose to keep exploring over staying still. Her activity level means she gets exercise, and I do get to see her more often (which is a selfish motivation, I'm aware). As a species that is easily given to obesity in captivity, I find this exercise important.

It does mimic how things are in the wild; however, I'm not dropping these temperatures into dangerous ranges. They never fall below 78F, and are usually closer to 80F, especially on the hot side. I don't intend to cycle her temperatures annually as of yet; as you can see by my change in opinion from a year ago, I don't know what I may decide is best for my animal in the future, upon further research.

I recall the vet from that thread recommended I drop the temperatures down into the low 70s to mid 60s, which I think is pretty low, considering in their natural range, temperatures rarely ever drop below 72F (which is considered an extreme, and usually only happens at night).

Ah I see! Interesting!