Some care sheets

[bioteacher]

I too would say that 73 is the extreme end of low. I don't like seeing under 76º and never for ambient air temps. I would also point out that 88ºF ambient with a hot spot of 90º will not allow thermoregulation and again is on the extreme end of hot. I own Royal that is 5 foot 5 so 5 feet is clearly short i believe the longest (oldest too and largest) was just shy of 6 feet. A 20 gal tub I think that is also in error.

Royal python comes from the Latin, regius, royal. I believe regius came from the Dahomey tribe's worship of the species. I believe they built temples to them and houses for them the CITES expedition were banned from the Dahomey home land as it is un acceptable to disturb Royal pythons in any way. The first description of the species came from a visiter of the Dahomey tribe (I can't recall the name of the man now)

My bps are completely healthy and grow really well without overfeeding. I feed about once a week and they've all put on close to 125 grams of weight a month. No respiratory issues, all very active... never an issue. These are also temps that are recommended by a lot of keepers. All of my snakes have not had health issues and all my bps are eating without fail and shed perfect.

As for tub size, most keepers use 41 quart tubs - which is just over 10 gallons. I prefer to give my snakes some room to move. So stuffing them into a small space, may give them security, but also makes them more sedentary. Bigger cages with hides for them to feel secure works perfect... and also allows for a greater temp gradient so they can better regulate body temp. a 10 gallon tub won't have much of a gradient because of available space.

The 5 ft mark is for averages, obviously there will be exceptions. I don't want to put the maximum mark for each species. That'd be like me saying the bps have clutches between 3 and 20+ --> better to give an average.

As for the name, you may be correct. I only know what I've read. And I've read it in several places, which is why I've listed the facts I did.

Oh well - everyone has a way of doing things. I just know other keepers use the same specs as I do and are very successful. I'll make sure to add a side note that any diligent keeper should do their research. :-)