Wants vs Needs

[Homebody]

First off, very new to the hobby. So my experiences are very limited. Take it all with a grain of salt. I love these little guys and want nothing but the best for them. But I have struggled in the first couple months of keeping to figure what is best in terms of enclosure size etc. I am a firm believer in giving an animal everything it wants, not just what it needs. So long as its not detrimental to its health (ie a golden retriever with free choice food). The current general recommendation for enclosure size seems to be 4x2x2. However I struggle to find a reason that this is actually what they want. Now I am sure every animal is different. BUT, these little guys spend 90+percent of their time in the tightest spot they can possible get into. They may move to a cooler area when they're warm, I've seen that regularly. But what I haven't seen is any "exploration." It's one spot to the next along the path of least resistance. I feel if they only had to move 6" to cool off, they wouldn't travel 4' to achieve the same thing. Same with basking behaviour. Would they move across the enclosure and climb a structure if they could achieve the same thing by simply crawling out of their hide? Would they travel 100 yards to a new termite mound if there was a healthy supply of food where they currently were residing? In nature they appear to live and eat in one location until the food runs out. If they get cold they may crawl to the entrance of their burrow to warm up. When the food supply dries up they move along to the next spot. But they don't want to move away from a secure location with an adequate food supply. They will if the need to, but I doubt they WANT to. So, given the choice, would a snake choose a 4x2x2 or a FB70 with the exact same parameters (temps, hides, and food supply)?

In this video (@6:40), Clint from Clint's Reptiles says basically the same thing that you do above. On the other hand, I believe snakes instinctually seek freedom. In the wild, if a snake gets stuck in a 4x2x2 space, it won't live very long because no 4x2x2 space in the wild is going to meet a snake's needs for very long. So, in addition to it's basic physical needs, I think it's important to provide your snake with a sense of freedom. That's why open my snake's enclosure and give him the opportunity to roam almost every day.