Question

[wolfy-hound]

To the OP, so you truly believe that in the wild, ball pythons live in tanks, exposed to everyone who wants to look at them instead of hidden away in a termite mound, on crushed up bark instead of hard clay, being picked up and carried around by loud primates instead of left strictly alone... I don't know where you're getting your info.

Your picture shows your snake on carpet. How is that natural? Not one bit of how you keep your snake is natural, nor is it somehow more pleasing to the animal.

Newspaper is clean and smooth, like fairly smooth clay in a termite mound. The plastic bin holds in humidity, like the natural environment of termite mounds. The racks are dimly lit and very private, just like their hiding spots in the wild.

It's fine if you want to keep your animal in whatever artificial environment. But don't try to diss how others keep their pets. There's nothing more 'natural and right' about you keeping a snake in a tank and letting your kids carry it about than my snakes in their racks being handled as little as possible. You don't see me posting against letting kids grab up snakes and carry them around, or putting snakes on *gasp* artificial carpet. Our pets are in an artificial environment by being kept as pets. All we can do is try to make them as stress-free as possible and as healthy as possible. If you do it in a tank with repti-bark or I do it in a tub, as long as the animal has PROPER humidity, heat, fresh water and food... it doesn't particularly matter.

Keepers should always think of what the ANIMAL needs first, not what they THINK they would like if THEY were in a cage. You are human. He's a snake. He wants totally different things than you do.

I see people complain ALL the time that they've set up this gorgeous huge tank, complete with tons of hide spots and plants etc etc. Then they find the ball python only hides inside the deepest spot he can cram into. That's what HE wants. Not what the human keeper wants. They don't parade around on display because their instinct tells them not to.