You said, there are things we will never know about them. Well, not true. Or at least hopefully not true.

All we have to do is ask the right questions, in the right way. And that is what this thread is about.



If you set up the right nesting, they will teach you so much. And by their behavior. With poor nesting, they are telling you, its poor by the fact they become egg bound, or weak or lose too much weight(body mass)



I mention "naturalistic observation" because it a tool to learn what these animals do. In captivity. Its all about setting up tests that express certain behaviors. That coupled with observation, watching them in the field, plus participant observation, can reveal a whole lot of what they do.

Interfering with them in nature, or setting up boxes that do not support behavior is not going to teach us much.

I entertain the idea that many keepers work from a FEAR based approach, that is, they are afraid to do anything because something may go wrong. My guess is, that is what you would call a beginner, as we learn, we should become comfortable with our husbandry and our understanding and that will allow us to test more and more without fear of failure.

Most people treat their animals as if they are sick and about to die. I remind those people, these animals are naturally extremely strong and very hard to kill. They have an incredible immune system and an outstanding ability to heal from massive injuries. They take in parasites with every meal and are still strong and healthy. If your animals are not like that, you/we should ask why not?

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