Can I Be Completely Honest?

Can i be completely honest?

I wasnt sure the display enclosures I built were the best choice. Even though i am pro enrichment and larger enclosures, i had my doubts that a ball python would use all that space.

The behavior im seeing is so awesome though. Like Khaleesi, who is 6-7 years old now, raised and bred entirely in a typical rack system for most of her life, is a very different snake. She would hide pretty much exclusively, even in my larger tubs. If you check the past posts- i believe i excitedly posted a photoset seeing her out for the first time ever a few months back. That alone was amazing to me. Now, my mind is blown. Youve seen the pictures, but im not sure you know how proud of her i am.

Look at that. Confidently chilling up top where the hotspot is about 95.

Part of me wasnt going to put her in a display. Not because ball pythons do poorly in large enclosures, but because i was certain she wouldnt use the space, whereas the animals i raised with enrichment would put it to better use. It sounds funny but i was scared i would find out animals treated like breeder would never take advantage of enrichment and thusly would not “need” it. That would make all of my efforts pointless.

Despite all that, I intuitively felt that she needed to be in the first completely finished display enclosure.

You can see, that was the right choice and she has expanded her behaviors.

I see her out and about, but shes also more confident. For example:

She started to periscope when the door was closed, and i was able to open the door and snap this picture without having her shirk away in fear or immediately seek a hiding spot to escape.

Watching her and the other females use their enclosures to perform different behaviors has encouraged me again.

And now, when i get responses like this:

I can smirk and laugh, because my animals are healthier.

Oh i also saw Asteria and Prometheus mating out in the open 🤷‍♀️

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Artuš Scheiner (1863-1938), “Lustige Blätter”, #15, 1901

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Look At My Baby! Her Name Is Khaleesi And She's A Butter (aka Lesser) Pastel Ball Python, She's A Big

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Tags

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leafyfern

4 years ago

hand over the cursed Sphenodon facts.

sure, but PUT THE GUN DOWN.

the Tuatara is a medium-sized reptile native to New Zealand.

it looks like a lizard but it IS NOT- the Tuatara is actually a very basal reptile related to snakes and lizards but belonging to an entire different branch of the tree of life, of which it is the sole surviving member.

and it may look like a lizard on the outside, but the inside is what really counts! and on the inside, the Tuatara is basically a reskinned amphibian.

they only have a single lung, their heart is the most basic of all reptiles, and their nervous systems shares more in common with our friend the axolotl than with its lizard kin!

so if you happen to see one at the zoo, take a moment to stop and really appreciate the uninterrupted 240 million years of reptilian history you’re lucky enough to be looking at!

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leafyfern

3 years ago

Hyperfocussing on fish is great until you spend all your money on fish and also nobody wants to hear you talk about it anymore

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leafyfern

2 years ago

In ‘Wild Design,’ Vintage Illustrations Expose The Patterns And Shapes Behind All Life On Earth

In ‘Wild Design,’ Vintage Illustrations Expose the Patterns and Shapes Behind All Life on Earth

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leafyfern

5 years ago

why don’t you stare back into my huge eye

why don’t you set my wings on fire

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leafyfern

3 years ago

this is superior humor

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leafyfern

4 years ago

life speedpaint of the blue death feigning beetle that lives on my desk. They don’t reach adulthood in captivity, so they are wild caught. I wonder if they miss the vast wilderness and majesty of the mojave… probably not.

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leafyfern

5 years ago

21 and Pinch, natural history enthusiasts 🐤

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leafyfern

5 years ago

i love it when i have the opportunity to teach little kids about bugs. theyre usually grown up with parents that spew the typical “all of them are nasty” mindset, but there’s a lot that are still curious

ive just had 4 young girls and their mom watch as i handled my tarantula gently on my floor and educated about them; what they eat, differences between old and new world, their anatomy, etc. most of the girls claimed to be afraid of bugs but willingly looked very closely at her when i pointed out her eyes!! she also had a leg sticking up and the kids gave her a gentle high five. she was very docile and chill during the entire experience. shit like this just makes me so happy

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