Learning curve for BP climbing?

[Cohazard]

So as I'm typing this, Toshiro my BP is climbing a branch in his viv, looking for a way out.

Seems to like climbing the branch, but he is clumsy! I have the branch arching over his water bowl and he has fallen off the branch into the bowl at least once so far.

Should I take the branch out if he keeps falling off? Is that normal for them to fall off? I like the exercise he gets from climbing, but I don't want him to hurt himself.

The branch is very smooth, there are some pegs for him to hold onto, but not many. Maybe I should just swap out the branch for one that is 'better' for climbing and holding onto?

Check it out:

 

[Jessica Dring]

Probably to get one thats better for climbing, but at that height he is unlikely to hurt himself.

My royals climb all over their branches, plants, rocks, hides, and even onto their heat guard at times, who ever said royals never liked to climb probably never owned any!

I frequently hear them falling in the night, (NOT a great height) and after checking them over went right back to climbing again, I've gotten pretty used to it.

Its nice to see somebody else providing climbing space for royals! well done

 

[Jessica Dring]

Oh and yes its pretty normal for them to fall off. They aren't the best snakes at climbing but seem to 'enjoy' it nonetheless!

 

[Cohazard]

Cool thanks for the reassurance Jessica!

I believe they should have at least something to climb on, it keeps them healthy by exercising their bodies.

If their preferences can be judged by where they like to chill for most of the day, then little Toshiro definitely loves his branch haha

My LHS has some really nice pieces of wood, one of them I saw has a hollow center, so I think I'll go get that today for when I eventually bump up Toshiro to the 105qt tub.

 

[davo]

My friend had one that thought it was a GTP. Spent all day coiled on the top of a branch like that. Did it less and less as it aged though.

 

[Louie]

I am glad you give him branches . ALL my kings climb . I find it a shame that so many snakes are kept in small sweater type boxes and deprived of climbing.

I use thick branches like you do and they will use them if given the chance. Give a snake a branch and he/she will use it .

 

[dde1878]

in any enclosure giving your animal some where to climb just increases the room the snake has to move around it is great for all snakes in my opinion. a 105qt tub is pretty small isn't it?

 

[Cohazard]

A little small yes, I'll have to re-check the dimensions, but it looked close to the size of my 40g tank.

I'm basically trying to match the 40g tank in a plastic bin, to save on cost of the enclosure, and weight, because I want to stack the bins to save on space. Problem is finding a clear one larger than 105qt

For some reason the largest bins are the solid blue and grey ones.

 

[elevatethis]

Young ball pythons instinctively climb, they do it in the wild to avoid predators.

Their bodies aren't built to climb, though, and the activity is not required for them to be healthy. I've owned a few , don't provide any climbing equipment in any of my enclosures, and everyone is healthy as a horse.

Something to keep an eye on, though, is that if you seem to notice your snake roaming its cage frequently, especially during the day, that it might be a sign that something isn't right with the setup (too cold, too hot, bad hides, too much activity around the cage, etc). So, if you ever notice this behavior, double check your husbandry just to be sure. Balls are pretty good about letting you know when something is off if you know what to look for. A happy ball is incredibly lazy. Seemingly "playful" behavior like climbing all over the cage might actually be the snake trying to say "this area is not optimal to my health and I need to find a better place to go."

Just my .02

 

[Cohazard]

I agree, I felt something was off because he was unusually active yesterday, and when I picked him up, it hit me, he is in shed.

So I whipped up a moist hide for him, he went in, and never came out

You can kind of see his blue eyes in these pics: