# Royal Python burrow



## StuG (Nov 4, 2009)

So for a while I’ve been trying to think of better ways to replicate a burrow in a royal Python viv. 
One of the major stumbling blocks had been think of something that could be easily cleaned but I came up with an idea a few weeks ago that I think might have cracked it, interested to hear people’s thoughts. 
Next year I’m looking to add a hatchling male to my existing collection. It will be going into a 4 x 2 x 2 viv heated with a halogen bulb and a 7 per cent Arcadia shade dweller for UV. I will have the viv custom made so that it has a deeper front lip for drainage layer and substrate. 
This is what I came up with to replicate a burrow. 
Please excuse my horrendous diy skills, this is the prototype but I’m hoping to get a PVC or polypropylene version made. 































The entrance hole will sit towards the halogen bulb end of the viv. 
The snake will have the option of climbing, traditional hides and ‘the burrow’. 
At various times I will add mice/mammate/rat bedding into the burrow to replicate a real rodent burrow. 
The two catches on the front make it easy to open for cleaning etc. 
whilst the snake is a hatchling I’ll add a much smaller hide inside the burrow to help it feel secure. 
I’m quite excited to find out whether or not the snake will utilise it or if I’ve wasted a Sunday afternoon but if nothing else it kept me occupied for an hour or two!






















Any criticism welcome, so long as nice lol! 


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

I'm intrigued Stu. You mention you are using a spot lamp to provide the hot spot, which presumably is turned off at night to give a photo period. Is the room the viv will be housed kept at a warm (circa 25c) temperature or are you leaving the viv at ambient room temp, which may get as low as 18c during the winter months. I'm not criticizing the set up, just that it different to the norm of CHE's on 24/7, and I'm looking at using mats which whilst they provide access to a hot spot 24/7 they won't heat the air so the air temps in these vivs will be the same as that in the room they are housed, or within a degree or so.

Novel idea to add a burrow element to the enclosure. Be interesting to see if you get the same results that Robert Barraclough got when he conducted a similar experiment


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## Saladmander (12 mo ago)

I've done sort of similar (though not quite as fancy or competent) for my file snakes. Opaque hamster tubes linking a hidden tub full of moss to a cosy cave under rocks, with logs and other bits on top for climbing around on should she choose


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## StuG (Nov 4, 2009)

Malc said:


> I'm intrigued Stu. You mention you are using a spot lamp to provide the hot spot, which presumably is turned off at night to give a photo period. Is the room the viv will be housed kept at a warm (circa 25c) temperature or are you leaving the viv at ambient room temp, which may get as low as 18c during the winter months. I'm not criticizing the set up, just that it different to the norm of CHE's on 24/7, and I'm looking at using mats which whilst they provide access to a hot spot 24/7 they won't heat the air so the air temps in these vivs will be the same as that in the room they are housed, or within a degree or so.
> 
> Novel idea to add a burrow element to the enclosure. Be interesting to see if you get the same results that Robert Barraclough got when he conducted a similar experiment


Hi Malc,

In the pics you can see that the hot end is a halogen spot bulb. In the cool end is a ceramic on a pulse stat. The probe for that is roughly in the middle of the viv and the thermostat is set to 78. When the Halogen goes off I’d the temp dips low enough the ceramic kicks in, the hot end temp gets to about 84 at night and 75/6 in the cool end. 
I’ve never seen the Robert Barraclough experiment, what happened?


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

StuG said:


> I’ve never seen the Robert Barraclough experiment, what happened?


He set up an arboreal vivarium to basically debunk the "royals like to climb" study, and then added a rub under a divider connected with a clear tube (like a hamster tube) to give the snake access to an underground "burrow". He basically found the snake spent all its time in the tube, with its upper third outside the entrance ready to ambush any prey... trying to justify the keeping of these snakes in small rubs because they like "tight spaces". There are three videos so best to browse his channel to view here


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