Quote Originally Posted by oodaT View Post
You could say that, but that's how ball pythons are, they aren't out roaming around in their natural habitat either. Their hold up in some hole in the ground, hollow tree trunk etc. I don't consider a ball python a display snake personally. Although I don't have so many that I can't get everyone of them out just about everyday and let them roam around a good bit to really stretch out and get the muscles moving.

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I always kinda cringe at that, like BPs just teleport between hollows. Yes, they like tight spaces, and although that's an easy 80% of the story, or more, it's not the whole book. They do come above ground, they do crawl between burrows. At certain times of years, in some areas, they are found out and about during the day. I do not know of any studies that track their nocturnal movements, but based on the behavior of other pythons and other snakes of similar body plans, I wouldn't be shocked if hunting ball pythons are sometimes forced to leave their burrows and find an ambush spot by a well-used rodent trail. Remember, their burrows are found by collectors who look for sign that a snake is coming in and out of a burrow -- that in itself tells me they're more active than we give them credit for. At least a little. Just not at a time that they normally cross paths with humans.

Because of that, honestly, near darkness is probably fine. It's likely that enough light makes it through the cracks to cue the animals as to what time of day of it is, and not being forced to see the human, especially when no hide is available, will reduce stress. Is it necessary? Probably not. Does it hurt? Also, probably not. Only way to know is to study it. I only know that it works, and can work very well.