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

[Crotalids]

Let me make sure I understand this.....you have never kept ball pythons, but know people who do - so that means by association, you know the best way to house ball pythons (after all - your way is right and everyone else is wrong - by your own admission).

But because someone didn't keep the exact animal you keep, then they couldn't possibly be able to debate with you about said animal....right?

And you also argue, how do we KNOW that our animals are happy the way that we keep them? Well - how do YOU know that yours are? How do you know that yours wouldn't be just as perfectly happy in a secure tub with newspaper that they can get under, water, and regular meals?

Just because yours is "prettier" and requires more work makes you more passionate as a keeper .... or wait - you said it doesn't take you more time, so it's not about tubs being "easier" that makes us less passionate since according to your calculations, it doesn't require more time to maintain them?

When I started out, I provided a naturalistic enclosure for some of my ball pythons, they went off feed, and roamed all the time - a sign of stress in ball pythons. When I moved those same animals to appropriately sized tubs with snug hides - they began to feed vigorously. It was my PASSION for these critters to not wish to see them stressed by the extra stimulation I was providing them and to choose to keep them in a way that I believe was better for MY animals.

Let me get this right, you haven't bothered to read the thread properly. Otherwise you would have seen me state this is not solely directed at ball python keepers. I don't care what you keep, it's in general to inadequate housing (in my opinion), size and the way it is set up. Boa keepers do it, retic keepers do it, rattlesnake keepers do it, it doesn't matter what snake.

Yes by association, but this is one of my best friends. I've looked after his Royals when he was on holiday etc, but I haven't owned any myself, no.

And again, I've got nothing against tubs!

Well your naturalistic set up was obviously not set up correctly. Do you have any pictures of it? There are copious amounts of people who have my style set ups for royals and their snakes feed perfectly, because they're given more than adequate hiding space etc.

I don't know they're happy. I never will. However, I am of the view that if I'm going I replicate the temp's and humidity of the wild, I may as well replicate the environment they live in as closely as I possibly can. After all it cost's peanuts to set up a nice enclosure, if you're smart about it.

There are plenty of other things keepers should also do, like vary the diet of their animals. So many people just consistently feed their snakes the same old mice, mice, mice, mice. I mix it up, dependent on species obviously, but I use every food source available to me; chicks; mice; rats; quails, gerbils, lizards etc.

A lot of keepers don't also alter their feeding regimes, I never stick to a day to feed them. For example, my Gaboons were last fed 4 weeks ago. Next time round i might leave it 2.5 weeks, it's little things like this I believe can make your snakes more active and replicating the behaviour in the wild.