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Very impressed with your willingness to do the extra work enabling higher cognition for the buyer. Think it’s something that more breeders should be engaging with.
I gave my royal a 10sq foot enclosure and he uses all of it. Also he comes out around an hour or two a day to explore (supervised). And he definitely learns and has a bold attitude. Always eats never strikes, great video as usual
I'm considering buying my first ball python, and I'm glad I found this. So many breeders and even an exotics specialist veterinarian told me that a dark tub is what's best for them but after doing some research I found this video which seems to be one of the most educated opinions on the matter that I can find. I'm now looking into a 120 gallon enclosure before I bring a snake home.
Bravo you guys 👏🏼 this was such an informative interview that should help change some minds. Both of my royals live in 120 gallon vivariums with lots of climbing opportunities and enrichment and they are doing great at transitioning from the small tubs they were kept in at their previous homes. I am finding exactly what Lori mentioned happening with both of them. They were both at least a year and a half when we brought them home and they are learning to climb, explore more confidently, and aren’t as food driven as before. We give them choices as when to eat and have completely abandoned the “schedule” of feed them on Sunday with the lights down low, after sundown. They tell us when they are hungry and they have gotten more muscular and lean. So happy with their progress. Lori’s channel has been such a factor, as well as yours and Bob Bledsoe, the person Lori mentioned. Great information done in a very playful manner. You are all doing such wonderful and important work at educating people about how these animals should be kept. We are supposed to be here to help enrich the lives of our animal family members not just put them in a box in the corner and toss a bit of food at them once per week. We wouldn’t do that with our dogs, cats or other living beings we being into our homes.
This is a wonderful and insightful video and offers science based, concrete information on what we can do to upgrade captive management of captive ball pythons to make their lives better. Kudos to Liam, Lori and Ellie. ❤
I wish this video was required for everybody looking to buy their first pet royal python. It needs to be shared far and wide! I was also wondering if Lori could post this on her TH-cam channel so it would reach her audience as well.
I’ve learned more in this interview than I have in many hours of sifting through papers and blogs and Reddit and asking people who “know for a fact”. I’m a first time royal owner and this not only answered a lot of questions I had and cooled me about things Ive been nervous about. It really has got me very excited! Just spending the last month with my adopted 5 y/o I knew undoubtedly that most of the limitations people put on these snakes cannot be true. No way. They are complex creatures as all living things are. I won’t try and teach her to ride a bike or anything but exploring her cognitive abilities with some safe activities and exercises will be a blast for the both of us I think. Thank you!
When I got my first ball python I was told get him onto rats right away keep him in a tub and all the usual things to bulk him up . I also had a carpet python which I rescued from a bad situation , the carpet would eat anything and the ball would struggle with rats snd go off his food regular . One day when we were cleaning out the tanks I put the ball python into the big viv to see how it would react and I was amazed at the transformation he moved about like a garter even climbed up onto the carpets perch so I tried a day old chick and he pounced like a rattlesnake , I ditched the tub and never looked back . Thank god there are people trying to drag the hobby into the 21st century , remember breeders are trying to get snakes up to weight fast so thay can breed them instead of mimicking wild feeding where the only time they would get regular meals is if they raid chicken coups
This has inspired me to improve my python's enclosure and provide more stimulation. I have realized I have been underproviding for him and I will fix this right away.
I was new to reptiles and I had just about given up on believing that they could be ethically kept as pets based on the keeping styles of most “experts” when I found Lori’s videos. It changed my whole perspective on how snakes could be kept and I love following her advice my snakes are capable of amazing things!
I love that you had Lori on I've been watching her for a while now and she inspired how I care for my royal. I've been target training and he's progressing quickly, she gave me an excellent tip to get my snake eating frozen thawed and it worked the first time. My snake is happy and active I'm so glad I watched her before getting my ball python(Salazar.)
@@ReptilesandResearch no I've been watching Lori for a good six months now she did a video about how to select your snake and I got my royal about two months ago
It's one of the best interviews I have seen and very informative I actually watch Bob Bledsoe and lori Torrini and have gained so much information with my my ball python which is newly acquired and use the information I have learned through lori to target train my chahoua gecko to get him shift out of his cork bark hide to feed him insects out onto an limb and now started target training my python as well with the enrichment that bob uses and it has made such a huge difference keep up the great conversation and very informative content very thankful to have such great channels to learn from
This changed my whole approach I was about to go full rack systems but now I wanna keep my collection small 💪🏻. Great work everyone needs to watch this
My sand boas climb quite well, however I have given them very gentle and supportive climbing opportunities. I can imagine that they might fall otherwise.
My royal comes out a lot. He'll come out for a few hours in the middle of the day and a few hours in the middle of the night I see him all the time. Just the other day he was out from 2pm to 6pm and that's pretty normal for him. He'll go back to sleep for a while and hide and then again in the middle of the night like 10pm-2am. I think part of the reason he's out during the day is because he's been in a large vivarium since he was super little. He's very resilient and curious
I have 2 spider morphs that went undiagnosed until I got them. When asking the breeder they acted confused by this. I honestly think that the neglect of behavior issues happens because of the inherent barriers that a rack provides. On top of that, the opinion “I haven’t seen or noticed strange behavior”gets reinforced and 80% of breeders tend to follow this procedure. If you have large collections or breeding facilities, you cant possibly have the time to understand these animals on an individual basis other than this snake is fighty or this snake is flighty
I lost my beautiful bumblebee boy this week, he was 11 years old I got him at 18 months old, he became poorly in October 23 and I tried everything to get him well I spent a small fortune at the vets but unfortunately I had to take him to be euthanised on 17/05/24 I am devastated. I made my mind up that that was it I’m not having any more snakes, I’ve had 4 over the last 45 years and each time I’ve lost one I have been so upset, but having come across your channel and seeing your passion for enhancing the lives of these wonderful creatures I think I will have another one soon once the rawness of losing Buzz has passed, I am going to get a larger viv and set it up like you have done for your snake Mo, thank you for all the brilliant information and the motivation, you have given me what I needed to carry on and not throw in the towel.
On the subject of BPs as pets- I'm so glad my schedule aligns with my snake's activity patterns! When he's up and exploring, it's usually after midnight-- if I was sound asleep then, I might think that he never came out!
Awesome talk, you should make it a once a week podcast! Im so glad my royal came from a breeder that handle theyr snakes alot. She is not fearful or anything like that. She is abit shy but I think thats from going from rack to 4x2x2 viv. I have 3 hider, sticks and vines to climb, fake plants, big waterbowl and random clutter so she feels safe in that big tank😊 and she eat for me after only 3 weeks so big viv is fine for eating.
What an absolutely fantastic video - l cannot thank you three enough for doing this. This is invaluable, to say the least, for keepers and reptiles alike, and will hopefully clear the way to lifting the hobby and the mental and physical welfare our our royals to the next level!
Thank you Franka that is our plan, it should be every keepers goal to push on from where we entered the hobby. If we are not advancing we are stagnating
This was a great video and truly a must watch for snake keepers. Thank you for talking about the habitat situation and hopefully keepers will provide species specific environments for them. I also think that the wild caught snakes that are taken from their natural habitat to live the rest of their lives in a rack must come to an end. We have enough captive bred snakes to choose from and if there isn’t a species from captive bred breeders that you want then too bad. Leave the wild ones alone
This may be stating the obvious, but listening to Lori talk about snakes changing environments, and specifically the stress of moving from a complex environment into a more simplistic one... I can't help but think about wild caught animals and the dramatic reduction in both complexity and agency in its environment when it's brought into captive management.
I have kept pet snakes for most of my 58 years, no breeding, no large quantities. I learned a lot watching this video and it explains a lot of things that I discovered with certain snakes that went against everything the "Reptile Community" had accepted as being fact. I would be very interested what folks that keep large amounts of snakes in rack systems would think about what is stated in this video. She mentioned Bob at Green Tree Pythons that he is doing a lot to get the word out that snakes aren't on the same level as a nightcrawler. I began attempting to prove him wrong like letting the snake decide if it wants to come out and be handled by opening the door and see if it comes out on its own. I was shocked to find the more I tried to prove him wrong the snake proved him right. Videos like this has changed the methods I use with my snakes. I believe they have taught me more than I have taught them. It is a very steep road when it comes to changing the majority of snake keepers and how they house and interact with their snakes. But if I can change my mind anyone can change, it's not going to happen overnight, it's going to change 1 keeper at a time. We need to help this change take place by spreading the link to this videos and other like it in as many places as we can. I can't thank y'all enough for making this video. God Bless.
This is absolutely fascinating and is great information and advice. I am a huge fan of Temple Grandin's animal awareness, welfare, and care work, and this rings true along those same lines. Definitely using this information to care for our two BP's.
Good news is that many educational content creators are starting to look into ball python behavior and give solutions for both simple rack keeping style and the complex terrarium keeping style. I chose to keep only one ball python as my first and only pet and give him as much enrichment as I can. It’s magical to see the lil dude learning how to climb and even eat like a tree python. And it’s extremely fulfilling to see him to be curious and trying to get into every no-no zone in my apartment during his monitored roaming time 😂 Yes he does refuse a meal or two, and yes he did do those dancy dances in front of the glass door during my work hour to beg for outside. It’s inconvenient for sure, but that’s what you will encounter when keeping a pet.
To add to the previous comment: choosing a snake based on temperament is the best choice I’ve made. I walked into a reptile store that’s about to shut down and the owner was trying to sell his overpriced blue eye Lucy to me. I held her but she was a solid ball all the time. I then walked around the aisles for a few times and found a normal lil dude who’s pushing the lid and doing those long tongue flicks. I literally locked eyes with him and he was trying to reach me. I held him and he was busy but relaxed. He’s now in a well-enriched terrarium, has a cat tree and a bunch of plushy toy-hides. I do not want to have another one in the near future unless I get a larger apartment to have a dedicated snake room.
I just got my first ball python last week. A beautiful firefly leopard boy, he’s about to be three months old and he’s in a 15qt bin for quarantine rn. This week he was out all hours of the day two days before feeding literally all day every time I went in there he was pacing and pushing on his lid and I think it was because he was hungry because on feeding day he struck immediately and ate it immediately but I felt so bad for him. Can’t wait to get his next enclosure ready he’s going in a 40 glass temporarily until I have enough for his 4x2x2 PVC
When I bought my snake, I never had a intent to breed him, I got him @ 1 year, he is and has been VERY GOOD as far as temperamental, he's adjusted very well w/everything.. My next stage is to get him into his bigger home, he's currently in a 29 gallon fish tank , He's due for a move shortly, But he also has his own room 4 roaming, as well as w/me and all over, but I feel he's adjusted now, and it's time for a bigger space 4 him.. Been look9ng on line but haven't found the one I want to get yet.. Godda be the perfect home 4 my Dominic 🐍💚🐍
Love your advice Lori, I've been watching your uploads since I got DOMINIC 🐍🐍 You have been very helpful 2 me, aswell as BOB Bledsoe Ur both Awsome, Not only ur words of advice help, but I always watch in the background 2c what kind of things I should/can keep 4 him.. Thx again Lori 💚🐍💚 Tami
My question is "Does a more simplistic, but more than adequate enclosure setup provide more chances for interaction with you than a big "complete" enclosure with all the furnisshings to stimulate them without you?" I'm asking specifically for a more shy snake. I feel like putting my snake into a tub with a nice deep substrate layer and just a few hides has kind of enabled their fear/escaping behavior. I've only had them a week so far, they are a Mexican black kingsnake, we've had a handful of great interactions, one stellar bonding moment, but he always ends up fleeing by the end. Am i being to pushy? Do y'all think placing MORE things in the enclosure is the answer? We have had an exceptional first target training session, but to get him interested I had to find him in the substrate layer. Here's a perfect example: I saw him out for the first time after feeding yesterday and went to slowly put my hand up to the front of his enclosure and he backed off looking defensive, so I backed off calmly, and he ended up burrowing back into his substrate. 😅
I live in Europe and I don't keep reptiles. Seeing these animals in racks and loveless terrariums is terrible. And then to hear these fates is heartbreaking! That snakes don't come out of the boxes for months because they don't know anything else and don't know that they could go out.... sad 😢. When I was little I only saw large snakes in large terrarium rooms in Europe. If someone didn't have the space, then he just didn't keep one. So easy. But now you can see racks and sparse enclosures even with our breeders and "collectors". Unfortunately, that spills over to us. I also don't understand why you keep 6 or 7, or even more snakes in such enclosures instead of just one snake, and allocate enough space for it. This collection frenzy among reptile keepers strikes me as negative! I feel terribly sorry for the royal python. Because the owners make the excuse that they don't move much anyway. Then they stuff these animals into racks where they do nothing more than just exist.... I'm actually against prohibitions of any kind, but reptile keepers have lost such a sense of the needs of these creatures that I'm not sure about prohibitions are not the only solution!?
First time Ball Python keeper here (I've kept several healthy colubrid snakes before)... I decided to start with a full-size enclosure so that I won't have to keep upsizing as my snake grows. I ended up getting a beautiful female, about 1.5 years old, 500 grams... She seems to be doing well, I provided 3 hides, lots of fake plants and vines, and some climbable structures... In the 3 weeks I've had her I saw that she uses all of it. Now I specifically know what to watch for behavior wise. The only advice I had before this video was to keep the enclosure very cluttered for small snakes and remove clutter as the snake grows.
Hi, I made this change too quick I believe. I have an adult ball python raised in a tub and put her in a simple tub but within a few weeks moved her to a complex environment and she stays hidden almost exclusively in her hide and is going off feed. I am looking for advice on how to re-work this process. Do I put her back into the simplistic tub and re-work the process? Please help.
Are these practices useful towards raising different snake breeds? Not sure if there are exercises/training methods better for different snakes. Asking because i have a ~6 month old king snake
11:24 If someone observes humans for the 8 hours we spend asleep, and think we only spend our lives in that one space, it’s a bias that doesn’t reflect the whole day to day activities of any animal when trying to understand what they do. I think this point may be the key to helping pet owners not fall into the rhetoric of ‘ball python = pet rock’ we see from rack breeders. Most people are suspicious of anyone championing keeping an animal in an empty draw, but might be sucked into that pipeline of folklore husbandry if they observe what appears to be inactive pythons day to day (putting aside obvious brain development issues for those who spent their lives in racks beyond when they would naturally have left the site they hatched from an egg in the wild and lost years of brain development); but haven’t had enough education on their biology and natural history to know that they do rest during the day generally speaking. Then of course there’s the impact of UVB, heat and light properly arranged to simulate a basking spot lit by the sun, and the lack thereof or mixed signals being given. Temperature, UVB and heat in the form of sunlight are some of the biggest factors in how they decide what to do at a given part of the day and how they plan to meet their needs. Their circadian rhythm and the accessibility of those resources simulating a basking spot lit with sunlight is also essential to their behavioural rhythm so to speak, of what they do during their active hours of the day. I know I’m going to be referencing this video and others like it for years to come, so thank you all for making this information accessible and readily available. Lori Torrini has so much scientific knowledge and experience and learning about her through the reptiles and research channel a couple of years ago has been the best thing for finding resources about behaviour and husbandry in understanding the needs and perspectives of the animals I could have to learn from.
I'm so sad that my new snake that I have adopted and rescued has health problems. I took him to the vet and now twice a day for the next 2 weeks I have to grab them by the head and put eye drops in their eyes and I feel so bad about it I just hope they dont hate me after all is said and done.
I remember watching this b4 I got my snake, (I watched it on my b/f's television Anyway, it's so0 worth watching it a couple/few times, because now I've seen myself how he is , I notice this and am aware, My next step is getting a bigger space 4 him, he's just over a year, but I have him just usta things now, he hasn't missed a meal, he's grown nicely I'm so0 happy I got him, they SAY you can't quit @ just one... 🐍 🤔 🐍 But I KNOW I couldn't care 4 over 3 nevertheless over 100 🤭 Although they aren't much maintenance at all... Less than a aquarium anyways, I have fish aswell.. But good advice and thank Lori 🐍🐍
I love your content and all you do for these animals, but I started thinking a lot about if it’s ethical to keep royals (and other reptiles) in terrariums at all. I have been breeding and keeping snakes in tubs with enrichment for years,then I went from tubs to naturalistic enclosures. All of my snakes are also allowed to free roam if they want to, but lately I keep thinking that there is no way to keep snakes ethically. I mean they would never live with us in a confined space if they had a choice . They will probably never be domesticated like cats or dogs , even if they can learn and reproduce that doesn’t mean they thrive ?I’m sorry for sounding so negative, I really love keeping my snakes, it’s just some thoughts that came creeping up lately, especially since hearing the German marine biologist and conservationist Marc Lehmans take on keeping animals as pets. I hope this thoughts will disappear, your content definitely makes me feel better about keeping snakes!
Woah that was a lot of information, might have to listen to this a couple of times. Been an aquarium keeper for 25 years, dart frogs for the last 2 and recently my partner bought a ball python. The whole concept of a tub is just weird as hell to me; aquarium fish in multi species tanks with plants, logs, etc and dart frogs I add various plants, clean up insects and then the pythons get a plastic box with a plastic box in it to hide in... seems odd, especially since their native habitats are very interesting. We're exposing our new ball python to a whole world, she does enjoy climbing but is clumsy but I can see why now after realising she probably was raising for the first 6 months in a plastic tub.
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Great interview! Honored to have two of our snakes in Lori's program, love watching her updates on them.
Very impressed with your willingness to do the extra work enabling higher cognition for the buyer. Think it’s something that more breeders should be engaging with.
I gave my royal a 10sq foot enclosure and he uses all of it. Also he comes out around an hour or two a day to explore (supervised). And he definitely learns and has a bold attitude. Always eats never strikes, great video as usual
I'm considering buying my first ball python, and I'm glad I found this. So many breeders and even an exotics specialist veterinarian told me that a dark tub is what's best for them but after doing some research I found this video which seems to be one of the most educated opinions on the matter that I can find. I'm now looking into a 120 gallon enclosure before I bring a snake home.
Just make sure you have more than one hide and keep them close. Enjoy💯
Bravo you guys 👏🏼 this was such an informative interview that should help change some minds. Both of my royals live in 120 gallon vivariums with lots of climbing opportunities and enrichment and they are doing great at transitioning from the small tubs they were kept in at their previous homes. I am finding exactly what Lori mentioned happening with both of them. They were both at least a year and a half when we brought them home and they are learning to climb, explore more confidently, and aren’t as food driven as before. We give them choices as when to eat and have completely abandoned the “schedule” of feed them on Sunday with the lights down low, after sundown. They tell us when they are hungry and they have gotten more muscular and lean. So happy with their progress. Lori’s channel has been such a factor, as well as yours and Bob Bledsoe, the person Lori mentioned. Great information done in a very playful manner.
You are all doing such wonderful and important work at educating people about how these animals should be kept. We are supposed to be here to help enrich the lives of our animal family members not just put them in a box in the corner and toss a bit of food at them once per week. We wouldn’t do that with our dogs, cats or other living beings we being into our homes.
Thank you hopefully we can move forward with education and leading by example
This is a wonderful and insightful video and offers science based, concrete information on what we can do to upgrade captive management of captive ball pythons to make their lives better. Kudos to Liam, Lori and Ellie. ❤
Glad you enjoyed it! Our Pleasure!
I wish this video was required for everybody looking to buy their first pet royal python. It needs to be shared far and wide! I was also wondering if Lori could post this on her TH-cam channel so it would reach her audience as well.
That would be a great thing for many snakes. I think she shared via her feed
I'm thinking of getting my first ball python, and I'm glad I found this!
@@Ali-kf5bd Same here! I am doing research to be well informed and prepared.
No
I’ve learned more in this interview than I have in many hours of sifting through papers and blogs and Reddit and asking people who “know for a fact”.
I’m a first time royal owner and this not only answered a lot of questions I had and cooled me about things Ive been nervous about. It really has got me very excited! Just spending the last month with my adopted 5 y/o I knew undoubtedly that most of the limitations people put on these snakes cannot be true. No way. They are complex creatures as all living things are.
I won’t try and teach her to ride a bike or anything but exploring her cognitive abilities with some safe activities and exercises will be a blast for the both of us I think. Thank you!
When I got my first ball python I was told get him onto rats right away keep him in a tub and all the usual things to bulk him up . I also had a carpet python which I rescued from a bad situation , the carpet would eat anything and the ball would struggle with rats snd go off his food regular . One day when we were cleaning out the tanks I put the ball python into the big viv to see how it would react and I was amazed at the transformation he moved about like a garter even climbed up onto the carpets perch so I tried a day old chick and he pounced like a rattlesnake , I ditched the tub and never looked back . Thank god there are people trying to drag the hobby into the 21st century , remember breeders are trying to get snakes up to weight fast so thay can breed them instead of mimicking wild feeding where the only time they would get regular meals is if they raid chicken coups
This is the best ball python video I’ve ever seen.
I'm really stoked Lori gave Bob a shoutout!
This has inspired me to improve my python's enclosure and provide more stimulation. I have realized I have been underproviding for him and I will fix this right away.
I was new to reptiles and I had just about given up on believing that they could be ethically kept as pets based on the keeping styles of most “experts” when I found Lori’s videos. It changed my whole perspective on how snakes could be kept and I love following her advice my snakes are capable of amazing things!
A lot of snake knowledge between the both of you, keep up the great work.
Thanks, will do!
I love that you had Lori on I've been watching her for a while now and she inspired how I care for my royal. I've been target training and he's progressing quickly, she gave me an excellent tip to get my snake eating frozen thawed and it worked the first time. My snake is happy and active I'm so glad I watched her before getting my ball python(Salazar.)
I took Lori's advice to ask the breeder about personality and it absolutely paid off I couldn't be happier with him
That’s great! Did you get him today?
@@ReptilesandResearch no I've been watching Lori for a good six months now she did a video about how to select your snake and I got my royal about two months ago
@@luwildy sounds like a good home
This was utterly fantastic. I can’t believe the view count. This video needs to reach more people 1000%.
It's one of the best interviews I have seen and very informative I actually watch Bob Bledsoe and lori Torrini and have gained so much information with my my ball python which is newly acquired and use the information I have learned through lori to target train my chahoua gecko to get him shift out of his cork bark hide to feed him insects out onto an limb and now started target training my python as well with the enrichment that bob uses and it has made such a huge difference keep up the great conversation and very informative content very thankful to have such great channels to learn from
This changed my whole approach I was about to go full rack systems but now I wanna keep my collection small 💪🏻. Great work everyone needs to watch this
Glad it was helpful!
I would love to see video examples of the food seeking behaviours and how Lori distinguishes them from other behaviours.
Her channel has entire videos on it
My sand boas climb quite well, however I have given them very gentle and supportive climbing opportunities. I can imagine that they might fall otherwise.
Very inspiring work and precious knowledge sharing! This channel deserves to be a top one in the world of snake-keeping!!
Wow! Glad you think so!
My royal comes out a lot. He'll come out for a few hours in the middle of the day and a few hours in the middle of the night I see him all the time. Just the other day he was out from 2pm to 6pm and that's pretty normal for him. He'll go back to sleep for a while and hide and then again in the middle of the night like 10pm-2am. I think part of the reason he's out during the day is because he's been in a large vivarium since he was super little. He's very resilient and curious
I have 2 spider morphs that went undiagnosed until I got them. When asking the breeder they acted confused by this. I honestly think that the neglect of behavior issues happens because of the inherent barriers that a rack provides. On top of that, the opinion “I haven’t seen or noticed strange behavior”gets reinforced and 80% of breeders tend to follow this procedure. If you have large collections or breeding facilities, you cant possibly have the time to understand these animals on an individual basis other than this snake is fighty or this snake is flighty
I lost my beautiful bumblebee boy this week, he was 11 years old I got him at 18 months old, he became poorly in October 23 and I tried everything to get him well I spent a small fortune at the vets but unfortunately I had to take him to be euthanised on 17/05/24 I am devastated.
I made my mind up that that was it I’m not having any more snakes, I’ve had 4 over the last 45 years and each time I’ve lost one I have been so upset, but having come across your channel and seeing your passion for enhancing the lives of these wonderful creatures I think I will have another one soon once the rawness of losing Buzz has passed, I am going to get a larger viv and set it up like you have done for your snake Mo, thank you for all the brilliant information and the motivation, you have given me what I needed to carry on and not throw in the towel.
On the subject of BPs as pets- I'm so glad my schedule aligns with my snake's activity patterns! When he's up and exploring, it's usually after midnight-- if I was sound asleep then, I might think that he never came out!
Awesome talk, you should make it a once a week podcast! Im so glad my royal came from a breeder that handle theyr snakes alot. She is not fearful or anything like that. She is abit shy but I think thats from going from rack to 4x2x2 viv. I have 3 hider, sticks and vines to climb, fake plants, big waterbowl and random clutter so she feels safe in that big tank😊 and she eat for me after only 3 weeks so big viv is fine for eating.
There is a podcast episode once a week
What an absolutely fantastic video - l cannot thank you three enough for doing this. This is invaluable, to say the least, for keepers and reptiles alike, and will hopefully clear the way to lifting the hobby and the mental and physical welfare our our royals to the next level!
Thank you Franka that is our plan, it should be every keepers goal to push on from where we entered the hobby. If we are not advancing we are stagnating
This was a great video and truly a must watch for snake keepers. Thank you for talking about the habitat situation and hopefully keepers will provide species specific environments for them. I also think that the wild caught snakes that are taken from their natural habitat to live the rest of their lives in a rack must come to an end. We have enough captive bred snakes to choose from and if there isn’t a species from captive bred breeders that you want then too bad. Leave the wild ones alone
1:28:40 Bob Bledsoe!!! @GreenRoomPythons ! We love you
This may be stating the obvious, but listening to Lori talk about snakes changing environments, and specifically the stress of moving from a complex environment into a more simplistic one...
I can't help but think about wild caught animals and the dramatic reduction in both complexity and agency in its environment when it's brought into captive management.
She ends up talking about differences shes noticed in behavior between color and morphs, I hope she ends up studying it, it's very interesting.
That would be very cool
I have kept pet snakes for most of my 58 years, no breeding, no large quantities. I learned a lot watching this video and it explains a lot of things that I discovered with certain snakes that went against everything the "Reptile Community" had accepted as being fact. I would be very interested what folks that keep large amounts of snakes in rack systems would think about what is stated in this video. She mentioned Bob at Green Tree Pythons that he is doing a lot to get the word out that snakes aren't on the same level as a nightcrawler. I began attempting to prove him wrong like letting the snake decide if it wants to come out and be handled by opening the door and see if it comes out on its own. I was shocked to find the more I tried to prove him wrong the snake proved him right. Videos like this has changed the methods I use with my snakes. I believe they have taught me more than I have taught them. It is a very steep road when it comes to changing the majority of snake keepers and how they house and interact with their snakes. But if I can change my mind anyone can change, it's not going to happen overnight, it's going to change 1 keeper at a time. We need to help this change take place by spreading the link to this videos and other like it in as many places as we can. I can't thank y'all enough for making this video. God Bless.
This is absolutely fascinating and is great information and advice. I am a huge fan of Temple Grandin's animal awareness, welfare, and care work, and this rings true along those same lines. Definitely using this information to care for our two BP's.
Came across this accidentally. Thank you so much for creating this video/podcast! It is very interesting
Does Ellie have a youtube channel or anything? I'm always looking to follow more better breeders and keepers on here.
instagram.com/banoffeepiepythons?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Excellent interview! She brought up so many points i hadn't thought of.
Thank you!
Well done!
Thanks 😊
Good news is that many educational content creators are starting to look into ball python behavior and give solutions for both simple rack keeping style and the complex terrarium keeping style.
I chose to keep only one ball python as my first and only pet and give him as much enrichment as I can. It’s magical to see the lil dude learning how to climb and even eat like a tree python. And it’s extremely fulfilling to see him to be curious and trying to get into every no-no zone in my apartment during his monitored roaming time 😂
Yes he does refuse a meal or two, and yes he did do those dancy dances in front of the glass door during my work hour to beg for outside. It’s inconvenient for sure, but that’s what you will encounter when keeping a pet.
To add to the previous comment: choosing a snake based on temperament is the best choice I’ve made. I walked into a reptile store that’s about to shut down and the owner was trying to sell his overpriced blue eye Lucy to me. I held her but she was a solid ball all the time. I then walked around the aisles for a few times and found a normal lil dude who’s pushing the lid and doing those long tongue flicks. I literally locked eyes with him and he was trying to reach me. I held him and he was busy but relaxed.
He’s now in a well-enriched terrarium, has a cat tree and a bunch of plushy toy-hides. I do not want to have another one in the near future unless I get a larger apartment to have a dedicated snake room.
I just got my first ball python last week. A beautiful firefly leopard boy, he’s about to be three months old and he’s in a 15qt bin for quarantine rn. This week he was out all hours of the day two days before feeding literally all day every time I went in there he was pacing and pushing on his lid and I think it was because he was hungry because on feeding day he struck immediately and ate it immediately but I felt so bad for him. Can’t wait to get his next enclosure ready he’s going in a 40 glass temporarily until I have enough for his 4x2x2 PVC
When I bought my snake, I never had a intent to breed him, I got him @ 1 year, he is and has been
VERY GOOD as far as temperamental, he's adjusted very well w/everything..
My next stage is to get him into his bigger home, he's currently in a 29 gallon fish tank ,
He's due for a move shortly,
But he also has his own room 4 roaming, as well as w/me and all over, but I feel he's adjusted now, and it's time for a bigger space 4 him..
Been look9ng on line but haven't found the one I want to get yet..
Godda be the perfect home
4 my
Dominic
🐍💚🐍
Love listening to her about the enrichment.
This was amazing to watch! I have learned so much and cannot wait to start working with my babies
You guys are amazing every tip and guidance you have given works for my 3 burmese pythons and its incredible
Our pleasure!!
Fantastic!
Glad you think so ☺️
Okay where are these tubs shes talking about with the clear front? I tried to Google them and I don't think I found the right thing
Love your advice Lori, I've been watching your uploads since I got
DOMINIC
🐍🐍
You have been very helpful 2 me, aswell as
BOB Bledsoe
Ur both
Awsome,
Not only ur words of advice help, but I always watch in the background 2c what kind of things I should/can keep 4 him..
Thx again
Lori
💚🐍💚
Tami
Best info on TH-cam, thank you for all your content. Where can I find the podcast?
its under the animals at home network
Thank you
Great information. I have 5 Ball (Royal) pythons. I find this helpful. Could you do a video in training and what PCV sized tubes to use?
I wish that what you guys discussed in this podcast episode was the sole focus of the pet trade, and less on collecting as many reptiles as possible.
I think through education and leading by example we can start pushing others forward with us
exactly that!
This was very informative, I love to learn more about researchers point of view.
thank you for this information. Im on week two with my first python :)
This was very informative, I love to learn more about researcher point of view.
My question is "Does a more simplistic, but more than adequate enclosure setup provide more chances for interaction with you than a big "complete" enclosure with all the furnisshings to stimulate them without you?" I'm asking specifically for a more shy snake. I feel like putting my snake into a tub with a nice deep substrate layer and just a few hides has kind of enabled their fear/escaping behavior. I've only had them a week so far, they are a Mexican black kingsnake, we've had a handful of great interactions, one stellar bonding moment, but he always ends up fleeing by the end. Am i being to pushy? Do y'all think placing MORE things in the enclosure is the answer? We have had an exceptional first target training session, but to get him interested I had to find him in the substrate layer. Here's a perfect example: I saw him out for the first time after feeding yesterday and went to slowly put my hand up to the front of his enclosure and he backed off looking defensive, so I backed off calmly, and he ended up burrowing back into his substrate. 😅
I just built my snake an interactive climbing wall she just spent 3 hrs exploring it my plan is to keep adding to it.
I live in Europe and I don't keep reptiles. Seeing these animals in racks and loveless terrariums is terrible. And then to hear these fates is heartbreaking! That snakes don't come out of the boxes for months because they don't know anything else and don't know that they could go out.... sad 😢. When I was little I only saw large snakes in large terrarium rooms in Europe. If someone didn't have the space, then he just didn't keep one. So easy. But now you can see racks and sparse enclosures even with our breeders and "collectors". Unfortunately, that spills over to us. I also don't understand why you keep 6 or 7, or even more snakes in such enclosures instead of just one snake, and allocate enough space for it. This collection frenzy among reptile keepers strikes me as negative! I feel terribly sorry for the royal python. Because the owners make the excuse that they don't move much anyway. Then they stuff these animals into racks where they do nothing more than just exist.... I'm actually against prohibitions of any kind, but reptile keepers have lost such a sense of the needs of these creatures that I'm not sure about prohibitions are not the only solution!?
Thank you so much for this video! I have never heard any of these neurological information and I am a biologist.....
First time Ball Python keeper here (I've kept several healthy colubrid snakes before)... I decided to start with a full-size enclosure so that I won't have to keep upsizing as my snake grows. I ended up getting a beautiful female, about 1.5 years old, 500 grams... She seems to be doing well, I provided 3 hides, lots of fake plants and vines, and some climbable structures... In the 3 weeks I've had her I saw that she uses all of it. Now I specifically know what to watch for behavior wise. The only advice I had before this video was to keep the enclosure very cluttered for small snakes and remove clutter as the snake grows.
i just filmed a tutorial on how to do just that! Seems you were way ahead of me!
@@ReptilesandResearch I can't wait to see it... I'm sure you have some insights that have escaped me thus far!
All snakes climb. YUP!
Yup!
Hi, I made this change too quick I believe. I have an adult ball python raised in a tub and put her in a simple tub but within a few weeks moved her to a complex environment and she stays hidden almost exclusively in her hide and is going off feed. I am looking for advice on how to re-work this process. Do I put her back into the simplistic tub and re-work the process? Please help.
Are these practices useful towards raising different snake breeds? Not sure if there are exercises/training methods better for different snakes.
Asking because i have a ~6 month old king snake
Burmese python applies to all this aswell
They are hyper aware and nocturnal and love to swim
perfect!
Does she speak about interspecies socialisation or anything about their social interactions in mating?
The rank system for keeping snakes, is like the American Public School system
11:24 If someone observes humans for the 8 hours we spend asleep, and think we only spend our lives in that one space, it’s a bias that doesn’t reflect the whole day to day activities of any animal when trying to understand what they do. I think this point may be the key to helping pet owners not fall into the rhetoric of ‘ball python = pet rock’ we see from rack breeders. Most people are suspicious of anyone championing keeping an animal in an empty draw, but might be sucked into that pipeline of folklore husbandry if they observe what appears to be inactive pythons day to day (putting aside obvious brain development issues for those who spent their lives in racks beyond when they would naturally have left the site they hatched from an egg in the wild and lost years of brain development); but haven’t had enough education on their biology and natural history to know that they do rest during the day generally speaking.
Then of course there’s the impact of UVB, heat and light properly arranged to simulate a basking spot lit by the sun, and the lack thereof or mixed signals being given. Temperature, UVB and heat in the form of sunlight are some of the biggest factors in how they decide what to do at a given part of the day and how they plan to meet their needs. Their circadian rhythm and the accessibility of those resources simulating a basking spot lit with sunlight is also essential to their behavioural rhythm so to speak, of what they do during their active hours of the day.
I know I’m going to be referencing this video and others like it for years to come, so thank you all for making this information accessible and readily available. Lori Torrini has so much scientific knowledge and experience and learning about her through the reptiles and research channel a couple of years ago has been the best thing for finding resources about behaviour and husbandry in understanding the needs and perspectives of the animals I could have to learn from.
I'm so sad that my new snake that I have adopted and rescued has health problems. I took him to the vet and now twice a day for the next 2 weeks I have to grab them by the head and put eye drops in their eyes and I feel so bad about it I just hope they dont hate me after all is said and done.
I remember watching this b4 I got my snake,
(I watched it on my b/f's television
Anyway, it's so0 worth watching it a couple/few times, because now I've seen myself how he is , I notice this and am aware,
My next step is getting a bigger space 4 him, he's just over a year, but I have him just usta things now, he hasn't missed a meal, he's grown nicely
I'm so0 happy I got him, they SAY you can't quit @ just one...
🐍 🤔 🐍
But I KNOW I couldn't care 4 over 3 nevertheless over 100
🤭
Although they aren't much maintenance at all...
Less than a aquarium anyways, I have fish aswell..
But good advice and thank Lori
🐍🐍
Do one on kingsnakesssssss pleaseeeeeeeee
Fun fact: the first pied ball python was found in the wild ;)
Have you heard about that man that is training ackie monitors to hunt with him using whistle
I think racks should be made illegal
🤡🤡
I love your content and all you do for these animals, but I started thinking a lot about if it’s ethical to keep royals (and other reptiles) in terrariums at all. I have been breeding and keeping snakes in tubs with enrichment for years,then I went from tubs to naturalistic enclosures.
All of my snakes are also allowed to free roam if they want to, but lately I keep thinking that there is no way to keep snakes ethically. I mean they would never live with us in a confined space if they had a choice . They will probably never be domesticated like cats or dogs , even if they can learn and reproduce that doesn’t mean they thrive ?I’m sorry for sounding so negative, I really love keeping my snakes, it’s just some thoughts that came creeping up lately, especially since hearing the German marine biologist and conservationist Marc Lehmans take on keeping animals as pets. I hope this thoughts will disappear, your content definitely makes me feel better about keeping snakes!
What is that nose rubbing?
How in the world do we find these animals when it seems like color is all that people care about
I’m getting ready to get a ball python and this video is very helpful now I can make sure I don’t rot its brain
good luck!
Commercials every 5 minutes makes this a difficult watch.
Woah that was a lot of information, might have to listen to this a couple of times. Been an aquarium keeper for 25 years, dart frogs for the last 2 and recently my partner bought a ball python. The whole concept of a tub is just weird as hell to me; aquarium fish in multi species tanks with plants, logs, etc and dart frogs I add various plants, clean up insects and then the pythons get a plastic box with a plastic box in it to hide in... seems odd, especially since their native habitats are very interesting. We're exposing our new ball python to a whole world, she does enjoy climbing but is clumsy but I can see why now after realising she probably was raising for the first 6 months in a plastic tub.
People want to feed rats because ball pythons grow faster on rats they have more fat.
i feel like my third eyes wide open... I hope @GreenRoomPythons heard this when it came out, im sure he did but still! A great conversation.