OK I keep getting flack for keeping my snakes in a rack system

[Crotalids]

Thus why I keep my GTPs and ATBs in semi-naturalistic enclosures. I use fake plants and cypress mulch.

Lets face the facts: For those of us who choose to keep a large number of animals, the bare minimum is what is healthiest for the animal, and easiest for the keeper to maintain. Very few people with one or two snakes keep them in bare bones setups. That is totally cool. But for me, I wouldn't be able to handle cleaning out 20+ naturalistic vivs. I can still provide the animals with food, water, and a clean place to hang out.

Its not really that a minimalistic setup gets a stressed snake to eat as much as it is about easily meeting its temperature and humidity requirements, and making it feel safe. People often suggest a bare bones setup over a naturalistic setup because for an inexperienced keeper, there are less variables to deal with in a bare bones setup, which means the keeper will have an easier time maintaining the required environment.

I too often see enormous aquariums with few hides and unregulated heat sources being used by new keepers. This is not the proper way to do a naturalistic enclosure.

Healthiest for the animal? Really..I wonder how any of your snakes are more healthy than mine.

I'm sorry but it's not rocket science to set up a naturalistic tank. Those individuals most of them time are just plain stupid (apart from if they're very young).

About hots it is useless to say that. I am saying that we all have opinions and just like you with tubs mine is about hots the only difference is I don't attack people that want to keep hots. Just as you shouldn't attack people saying they are not passionate about keeping their BP or anything else in a way that they have been kept for years and years.

But we have gotten so far off the point of the OP that almost none one this thread has to do with his question.

To the OP I think you just need to explain to your friends about the places that a BP lives and tell them that they are more than comfortable in their enclosures.

Just because they've been kept that way, doesn't mean it's right.

Did he really just say people who provide their balls with enrichment? So they are like parrots now . . . makes perfect since why mine are so depressed. I'm glad I took them to the pet psychic that I saw on the add while I was putting newspaper down in my retics cage . . .

I think you're naive to think a snake doesn't receive mental stimulation from a more elaborate set up. The picture i posted earlier of a Royal set up, is a friends, their royal is very active and i'm 100% it is more active than ones kept with the bare minimum.

For science and reaserch professionals keep HOTS in tubs! Why in the world would they set up thousands of tanks with decor????? Come on man!

Because they are not keeping them as pets! Even Kentucky Reptile Zoo manages to keep their snakes they use for extractions on a decent substrate.

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I don't know if it's just me, but 90% of the venomous keepers I've come across are extremely condescending and rude when it comes to people who don't keep venomous or do things like they do. I keep my carpet python's in visions and boaphiles with perches to climb on etc but my smaller snakes stay in racks with newspaper and a water bowl and they do just fine. Big vivs are expensive and not exactly in most peoples price range to go buy 20 of them because they have that many snakes. It's easier and cheaper to buy a rack or build one for about the same price as 1 nice viv and you have 5-10 spots for snakes instead of 1. Like you said it's your opinion, but everyone has one and so far the majority are against you and the way you treat the passionate people on this forum. Your just another venomous keeping bully who thinks his way is the way and nobody else should do anything different. And for one I didn't rip any of my animals from there natural habitat so how would they know what is natural and what is not? As long as husbandry is correct and your snake is healthy keep your snake how ever you please.

I couldn't care less if you keep venomous or not. It has nothing to do with that. A lot of my friends just keep non venomous, doesn't bother me.

Yes of course people on here have disagreed with me, that's fine. But that's on this forum, if you were to go on the European forums etc, you will see more people prefer to give naturalistic set ups than minimalistic. And from my friends, only 1 person i know keeps them in a racking system on paper out of 60 odd people.