- Registrado
- 10 de Feb, 2021
This is kinda old but I’ve just caught up on the thread and this picture made me seriously MATI. I’m a huge reptile sperg and long time snake keeper. I’ve never had a ball python specifically but am pretty aware of their care requirements. If you need a refresher on my opinion of Pissa’s snake care, here’s a post I wrote ages ago:
Here is a list of everything wrong with this picture:
1. NO HIDES! This is the worst one IMO, snakes absolutely need adequate hiding places to feel safe, and balls in particular are know for being shy and timid. It’s hard to explain how cruel this is if you don’t know much about snakes but trust me it’s super fucked up. Keep in mind that this tank is constantly surrounded by cats, which are terrifying predators to a ball python. Imagine being forced to live in a little glass box surrounded by hungry lions with no place to hide at all. This could be fixed for little to no cost. You can easily make snake hides by cutting a hole in some plastic box or bowl (both easily found at any dollar store) and if you’re really desperate you can use a cardboard box (just be sure to replace it if it gets moldy).
2. No cover or enrichment at all. It looks like there’s some kind of rock but it’s hard to see because of the angle. I can’t see the substrate (if there is any) for the same reason.
3. Dirty water in a plastic dish that looks easy to knock over.
4. The tank is too small. Some ball python people would say that this is an ok size but at best it’s bare minimum.
5. Salazar is obviously trying to escape. Most snakes do this occasionally even if they’re in large setups with hides, water, enrichment, etc but I get a special sense of desperation from that picture. Even if she did escape, I don’t like her chances of even getting out of the trailer with so many cats around, and then the winter would probably kill her anyways.
6. Josh is so oblivious to how bad all this is that he publicly posted this photo.
7. Most of what I said in the old snake post still stands. The air quality might be even worse than it was then, and that’s saying a lot. Reptiles have fairly delicate respiratory systems so the air (if you can even call it that at this point) in the trailer is a serious concern. I don’t even light scented candles in the same room as my reptiles.
Balls don’t need basking rocks or UVA/UVB. Some people argue that all reptiles benefit from UV lighting but snakes don’t need it to be healthy the way a lot of lizards, turtles, etc do. Ball pythons are mostly nocturnal and spend much of their time hiding under something so IMO they don’t really get much out of having UV. In Salazar’s case it could actually be bad or at least unpleasant because she has no way of shielding herself from a hypothetical UV bulb. It’s hard to see what the heating setup is, so hopefully there’s a heat pad under one side of the cage. An underbelly heat pad with a thermostat is a completely serviceable heating setup for a snake like this, and they don’t need any kind of special lighting. You’re right about how awful this though.
Edit: actually wrote the main part of the post (I hit the post button early)
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