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Your thoughts on this please .....

2K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  wilkinss77 
#1 ·
I've just come across something on another forum ( across the pond ) and it's kinda surprised me to be honest - as mine are all feeding well , healthy and VERY active - in the evening .

Now I've got all my Royals in plush vivs with hides , branches , pieces of bark laid all over the place creating even more hiding places and I kinda thought I was doing well by them ...


Any thoughts on the following statement .....

" Like others have said you dont want an active ball python, thats a sign they arent happy with their home. As long as they are hiding they are happy "
 
#2 ·
hmmmmmmmm - Personal Opinion.

Are they feeding? Shedding? Poo'ing? Then they are fine.

I am only new to owning a Royal, just over a week and our viv is very basic. But he still likes having a look around (I say Like, because he does it and still is doing everything he should).

Yeah for 18hours of the day he curled up inside his Hide, but he likes having a nose around - When handling he has never hissed or strike 0 but he wont sit still on me for long before having a smell and exploring.

The Most Consistent thing I have found about owning reptiles is how everyones experience and opinion is different for ALL ASPECTS of owning a snake... Granted they like to hide and be safe, But that doesnt mean they will spend 30 years in a ball,
 
#4 ·
As far as I can tell mine is perfectly healthy. I hesitate to claim happy because how can you quantify that in a snake? She does however, appear to be well balanced and in no way nervous or aggressive. She eats well, sheds well and poos just a little too well. :gasp:

She quite often comes out in the evening and has a good climb (yes mine is broken as well) on her branches and has a general mooch all over her viv.

I find it almost impossible to even consider that this is a sign that she is not happy. Sounds totally crazy to me. Perhaps something started by people trying to justify keeping them in plastic tubs. :whistling2:
 
#5 ·
I don't think snakes have emotions, so saying a snake is "happy" is a misnomer. I think you can say that snakes show conditions rather than emotions, so a snake will either be stressed or not stressed in a situation. If a snake has access to cover, and in the case of royals, become active after the lights go out (other than for a day or so after a meal when they tend to remain under the warm hide), then you could say that the snake is comfortable and not stressed in its surroundings rather than being "happy"
 
#9 ·
There are different kinds of active... There's the healthy curious "what's going on?", "what are you doing?", "Why aren't I getting fed?" "When's my food arriving?" kind of activity and there's the restless (moody and stressful) non stop cruising that some males exhibit when they know that there are eligible females around but they aren't getting any. The same applies to being sat in the hide - is it snoozing, digesting, sitting on eggs or wanting to hide away because they are ill? Everybody does (or should) get to know their own royals; they are not identical, some are bolder, some shyer etc. etc. What matters is what is normal for your royal.
 
#10 ·
Quite odd. Although maybe I think I can see their reasoning. Not saying I agree. Royals during the day time yeah, are pretty lazy. But come the evening I see mine out and about all the time. If something is inactive 24/7, clearly something is wrong.

They might just be talking royals being "happy" when they're inactive because they only see them hiding during the day time and not the actual activity that goes on at night?
 
#11 ·
Yeah , I'd agree but that passage I posted was the whole post it wasn't taken out of context or anything . That's why I highlighted it in the other forum as I regarded it as poor advice for any inexperienced keeper to read . It didn't go well after that :)
 
#12 ·
" Like others have said you dont want an active ball python, thats a sign they arent happy with their home. As long as they are hiding they are happy "
I have only had my royal since late December and he's my first and only snake. If I were to read this quote without relentlessly researching royals then I would think my snake was "happy". He is in his cool hide 24/7, I know this as there is not movement in his substrate. He has not poo'd, wee'd or shed for me yet nor has he fed for me yet. He is 4ft2 and just shy of 1.5kg, he has a nice sheen, his eyes are clear, he does not wheeze,click or pop :lol2: his temps and housing is good as I have checked with multiple royal keepers both on forum and in person, and when I actually get him out (rarely disturb him but handle him once a week just to check on him) he seems quite alert and "content".
I am putting this behavior down to it being breeding season at the moment but will monitor it closely. I would not agree with the statement as I genuinely don't believe any animal could feel "happy" (if they actually have that state of emotion?) being curled up 24/7 there whole life, and have tried my hardest through many ways of furnishings and cover to get my royal active! :bash:
 
#17 ·
At present I have 10 royals, I have kept Royals for about 20 years. Lately I have increased the size of their vivs( upgraded from tubs) added branches and multiple hides, both at ground level and arboreal. The snakes are a lot more active and show no signs of stress, if anything they are eating and shedding better than before.
From my experiance I can only deduce that all the advice I have read/recieved in the past is not necessarily correct.
Please note that all my Royals are adults, not neonates.
I would still keep younger snakes in smaller enclosures, however, I have found that ' Royals do not climb' to be untrue.
When I first starting keeping snakes I remember some advice ' read everything, believe nothing' this was before the days of the internet. I think this still holds true.
 
#22 ·
I've got a 6 month old royal in a 32" x 27" x 15" (L x H x D ) viv, and a while back placed a few off cuts from a fallen bamboo cane, and she immediately took advantage of this



I have also found her sitting right at the top of the viv on a loop of cable running to the strip light used to illuminate the viv, sort of doing a GTP impression !

Given the opportunity Royals love to climb, they just aren't always that good at it !
 
#23 ·
i always think it's best to let the snake decide what it wants to do, by trying to force them to conform to what you wish is, imho, twoddle.

snake keeping is far more of a complex art form than a one fits all approach. deck them out in the basics, keep an eye on them and they will tell you what they want. also by practising environmental enrichment we can at least attempt to make sure they box that they are trapped in becomes a bit more stimulating for them.

may sound like a bit of a hippy approach but it really works
 
#27 ·
Yes royals like to be kept in shallow drawers with nothing but a water bowl and no room and little light. Because in the wild they never move out of holes and wait for prey to come to them. Also they like to be bred so they have hideous health issues. Very strange species. Almost like they're designed to live in racks and be bred just for money. Nature is strange.
 
#28 ·
I like to think my royal is pretty 'happy'. She doesn't fast, she's active dawn and dusk and often at night but not frantically glass surfing or nose rubbing the viv doors. She has branches to climb, hides to use and substrate to burrow in. I also allow for a temp drop at night.

Maybe if I moved her to a 33L RUB with no hide and kitchen towel, she'd be even happier. We will never find out though :whistling2:
 
#29 ·
You're a monster giving your royal that much room. It must be scared to death. Disgusting.
 
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#32 · (Edited)
Just seen this post on the same website .....

"Moved from a tank to a rub . The tub is about 2 feet long, 1 foot high and 1 foot wide "


I was disappointed to read the following post by a SuperModerator .

"That's one of the tall ones , you don't need that much height "

I despair . :(
 
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