Hi,
I made a lot of these same statements when I first joined too.
You are going to kick yourself when you realise how much time you save by letting a thermostat do this for you (much more accurately and consistently than you could even if you spent 24/7 monitoring and adjusting ).Originally Posted by tizzle89
All snakes do indeed have their individual quirks and habits - we try and give advice that prevents any possible problems though. The fact yours hasn't done this doesn't mean he never will and prevention is far better than dealing with the consequences (waaaay cheaper too ).
We get to see posts reporting all sorts of really wierd and uncommon snake behaviour and so will bring up possible problems that will sound utterly ridiculous and improbable to you.
Unless your tank is the size of a continent with a perfect hide for every possible combination of temp, humidity and security this argument is simply not relevant.
You cannot perfectly recreate all of Africa in an enclosure so have to try and replicate the part the animal actually wants to be in as closely as possible.
Africa doesn't grow rubbermaids - but you don't have a termite mound or rodent burrow in your house either.
Those two places are where the majority of ball pythons are found in the field and both have very specific and consistant temperatures and humidity ranges. They are also both dark and relatively cramped.
Snakes don't get bored - but they do get stressed.
Buy him an enclosure you enjoy looking at and fill it with expensive items by all means. Just make sure it provides the things the snake actually needs as well and know you are spending the money for you not for the snake.
Glad to hear you are getting him sorted.
How does the baby food stack up as a diet for him? I have never kept a BTS so do not really know their nutritional requirements.
Glad to hear it but there really isn't a direct correlation between cost and quality in setting up and maintaining reptile enclosures. Most people who buy a snake starter kit for big $$$ come on here and discover they just bought a load of high priced junk they don't need or want. And didn't get the most important peices of kit that they actually needed at all.
Pity.
She is actually giving you extremely good advice that would make your life easier, cheaper in the long term, and improve the living conditions for the animals in your care.
The reason she keeps talking about those two issues is because they are two of the three things that will make your snake truly thrive.
dr del
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