If a Martian or other race suddenly usurped power and somehow enslaved Humanity as pets, how would I want to be kept & treated? With one hide box and a water dish - our equivalent of a tiny closet with a wash basin? On paper towels? With minimal accessories? At the very least, I'd want to be kept in a small gymnasium, with many accessories and much space to exercise. I'd absolutely need a variety of diet, clean (not tap) water and exercise to be happy. (If I also had the option of interacting with a more intelligent, more powerful Being, expanding my sphere of understanding and increasing my home range - I'd jump at the chance, and would establish a mutually beneficial relationship right away!)

RIGHT NOW, my boa is climbing all over her biome. She has been active for hours. She refused food yesterday, so she's not hungry. She has both a warm & cool area, and a rock pile with a concealed cave cavity. She does NOT stay still. She is NOT waiting for her next meal (like a Veg Head on a couch, watching television). She is actively exploring her home, and enjoying it, because my basic design allows & encourages her to.

In conclusion, I was mostly challenging the myth that having water in the enclosure would cause a knee-jerk regurgitation. So far, my soak pool has had no effect. The benefit is that it provides a place for my snake to purge itself of all mites or ticks, if ever infested. (Mites & ticks breath air, via their exoskeleton "skin". A 30-minute soak in water drowns them and completely disinfects the soaking snake itself.)

I look forward to your future pots & replies, and I appreciate your time & engagement.

Don in Vancouver, WA
Network Engineer, 55 (Explorer, Discoverer, Herpetologist, Naturalist, Writer)

1.0 Lampropeltis getula splendida
1.0 Terrapene carolina carolina
1.0 Terrapene carolina triangus
0.1 Lichurana trivirgata trivirgata

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