Is it Necessary?

[tttaylorrr]

A sturdy ball python hide for an adult is pretty expensive. We're not talking a plastic tub that's cut out, if you wanted a large hide that could fit the whole snake, not tip over and break apart,, Ijust checked online it's $50 dollars Canadian so slightly less cause your in the States.

I mean at night I turn off any light source that produces heat, some nights might turn on the red light. But just keep their heat mat on. Just like Africa the night is always cooler than the day, obviously it doesn't get freezing in the house but the temperature naturally just drops to a comfortable degree.

And that's exactly why I let in the sun shine, cause in Africa a Ball is going to be in some abandoned hide during the day but we're talking Africa that sun is going to be blasting on that hide all day, and it's going to get into the hide some what. Plus any sun light a snake gets is more beneficial as Vitamin D is good for a snake. With or without the sun shining on the tank, the ball is probably going to be in its hide during the day, sunshine is going be more positive than negative.

you need to get more creative. buy a terra cotta planter big enough, make a hole. ~$15.

this isn't africa tho, and they're not in the wild. they're pets. there's no benefit to dropping temps.

also, how does "extra" vitamin D do anything for a nocturnal animal??? there's no basis for that at all, and there is no science proving positive or negative. here is a study done on captive ball pythons showing no correlation between exposure to vitamin D and how well they absorbed calcium (the biological process vitamin D is used for).

i cover 3 sides to almost all my snakes enclosures. whatever sunlight makes it into their tubs is plenty.