Whenever I have gotten a new snake from a pet store or other source, they typically come from a 20-gallon setup with one hide box and water dish. (No hard surfaces to rub against to aid in shedding.) When placed into my naturalistic vivarium setups, with rocks, branches, soak pool and space, they seem DELIGHTED! They explore for hours, usually for about 3-5, the record is over 8 hours.

I change my vivarium setup often, moving some rocks or branches - or doing an entirely new setup that I enjoy even more. When I make any changes, my snakes notice right away. They go to that spot and sniff for as long as 30 minutes. They are keenly aware of additions, removals or changes to their setup, and they like variety. (Just like we do.)

* In general, reptiles & other animals are much more intelligent than most people think. Elephants communicate via low-frequency sounds in a structured language. In ideal conditions, they can communicate for up to 150 miles. Kingsnakes have been seen luring birds out in the open, exposing themselves to temporary attack, to learn in which trees the parent birds nest. They then immediately seek that tree to attack the nest, saving themselves much time away from ital-and-error stalking. Horned lizards have been found sleeping under the sand with their arms around each other. Rattlesnakes have complex social relationships; at favored den & basking sites they have separate areas for each sex or age group. I've seen a juvenile Russian Ratsnake learn an escape route down a large shrub with many branches within seconds. He then duplicated that exact route when placed back in that shrub later. *

Enclosure size & setup? That is a VERY individual decision. I'm not any better than any other Herper because I use a naturalistic setup. Rather, what I try to convey to other Keepers (Breeders have other needs & considerations, I understand) is that I defer back to the Golden Rule: Do unto other as you would have them do unto you.

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