Well I'll throw a few things in that I've figured out and or come across.
#1 Snakes are very tough, they have lived in and around human's for a long time and in saying that they have adapted to many things we do good and bad. Sure we all would love to give them the 'PRIME" living conditions like they would in the wild but unless you’re going to set up a HUGE enclosure (maybe a whole room or house) they will always be in less then what they would in wild, we all know that. Being practical we do what we can with the space we have. And from many post’s many pic's and much advice thru out the WWW you'll see that MOST of the owners say their snakes are doing good or great. That’s because like I said snakes are tough!
#2 Their substrate: Yea we know what we shouldn't use, everyone has their opinion of the "BEST" substrate, well in al reality whatever works best for you and the snake is the 'Best" thing. Money will always play a part in how you set your snake up, some don't have (nor will spend) the big $ to use reptibark forever, it's over priced and in my eyes not even needed to be perfectly honest. When was the last time you saw a forest floor completely covered with bark? Think about it, take a walk thru a forest some time, you'll see every type of ground covering, bark (off pine, oak, cedar, maple, redwood, depending on where you live), dirt, moss, sand, rocks, ect. Yet the snakes thrive and continue to survive, I think if you can reproduce that then you’re doing great!
#3 Food: Live verse FT/PK, to be honest the main reason is to protect our pets from damage (rat and mice bites that could get infected or alter the snake from its awesome appearance). This it a long times argument that will never stop. Some say live is more like the real thing (if they were out in the forest/jungle) yea that’s true and if you don’t mind doctoring up a wound then I say go for it. I personally go with FT for two main reasons, it allows me to keep a stock of food, and I don't have to contend with snake damage.
#4 Water Bowl or not: Really it depends on your snake! From what I have seen (experience) ALL snakes drink water, if you haven't then you've just had bad timing that all, I've seen my BP, RTB, King, and in the wild cotton mouths, rattle snakes, all sorts of snakes drinking. The water serves a few purposes. It provides liquid if they are thirsty, it provides a place to bath, it provides a place to soften the skin to aid shed, it's can help a snake "Poop" if they are having issues (told by a vet, especially if it's warm water), it also provides a place for them to soak if they have a infestation of mites (yes they are smart enough to know it drowns the mites). So I always provide a source of water (bowl, manmade stream or water fall in their tank) and I change the water anywhere from twice a week to twice a month depending on the look of the water, (just take a look at the water. Brown or darkened, floating or sunk contaminates, poop, or just a lot of bark or substrate in it).
In all reality if you keep the tanks, viv's, rooms, at the right temps, large enough for them to explore, and feed and water then you shouldn't have any issue's short of health related issues. How you set them up for a "HOUSE" is entirely up to you! The snake will get along and live in most areas up set up for them (with respect to where the snake originally came from, TEMP, HUMIDITY, and LANDSCAPE).
I usually avoid this conversation because so many people have their thoughts and insights on the DO's and DON'Ts of snake raising, care, and housing. It tends to stir up trouble, but from what I've seen you all are very smart and very open to others and their thoughts.
So there ya go, I expect I made some unhappy, others may think ok he might have a point while others might flame me saying I don't know a damn thing about snakes. To each their own, I haven't really ever had major issues with my pets, and I'm always taking advice from others.
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