how fake plants changed my snake
with a lot of discussion recently about snake keeping and husbandry, i though i’d offer my two cents. i only have one ball python, my 3 year old ghost male phanin, so i’m far from an expert. i do however have a background in animal husbandry, so im well versed in enrichment and animal care
here’s my hot take- cover is not just enrichment, but a requirment for a happy ball python
when i first got phanin, his setup was a spacious bin with thick layer of paper towles, a water bowl cool hide and a dark plastic warm hide. i had the humidity right, and a thermostat for the heat pad, and i felt like i was doing okay. i did everythig the breeder said to do to a tee. but i was concerned because i didn’t see much of him unless i was handling him. i didn’t understand why he was so laid back and curious while i handled him but so relcusive in his bin. i’ve always been a night owl, but even late at night i didn’t see him. he moved between the hides like a ghost (morph pun intended)
i did some online digging and discovered the bin was too empty, and probably making him nervous. i started adding fake plants, first just one, and then two. i started seeing him come out more often at night, not just booking it from one hide to another, but poking around and sometimes even resting outside of his hides. i could tell he felt safer.
i’m up to four plants now, and i see him at least once or twice a day outisde of handling. he pokes his head out of his hides, and he explores, and just lazes around his bin. besides getting bigger bins over the years and fine tuning temps and equipment, i can’t say my husbandry has otherwise changed drastically. it was most definitely the plants that caused the change in his behavior. i’m always striving to make his care and enviroment as optimal as possible. phanin is still as laid back and happy as ever, and i’m glad he feels safe and secure in his home. he sheds great, he eats great, he’s always relaxed when i handle him
long story short, if i had never put those plants in his tank, i’m quite certain i would still think of my snake as a ghost, and as an inactive creature who just hid all the time. he’d still be stressed by the big open world around him. if i had not listended to the reptile keepers who went above and beyond the bare minimum of care and showed me how to make him more comfortable, he’d still be uncomfortable in his own home. he would have been healthy, but not relaxed. why make your pet just survive when they can thrive?
tldr; give your ball pythons some cover and they just might surprise you
annaxmalina
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vaporwave
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