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Muscle tone

strawberry_bunny

strawberry_bunny

meep
Please dismiss this if its rubbish, But recently I have been wondering a lot (I dont have anything better to do) would substrate affect muscle tone.

I found that on substrates such as aspen snakes have no real problems getting around, however on newspaper and other smooth surfaces they tend to take longer to move and struggle a bit. Could this affect muscle tone? For example if us humans went walking say up a steep hill its harder and you can feel the strain on our muscles, which can help biuld them up, sort of like those walking machines that tilit.

Did that make sense, I tend to waffle.

Sum up, would a snakes muscle tone build up better on smoother surfaces or does it do harm, (I keep mine on newspaper).
 
It makes perfect sense. Of course, any extra motion or effort is going to impact muscle tone. I don't think the extra exercise caused by non-aspen substrates would really matter if the snakes are being handled frequently, or if they spend a lot of time climbing.
 
I understand, I wasnt thinking about replacing exercise with newspaper, I was just interested as I see then take longer to move about than they did when on aspen ( I changed from aspen as I just didnt like it).
 
No, I would't think a caring keeper would say "Hey, I'm using newspaper. I don't need to get the snake out today." :laugh: Your point is well taken. It's actually got me thinking ahead to the day in the far off future when mine will be of breeding age. I'm thinking they won't be on aspen. Yes, it's easier for me and they like burrowing in it, but potential connections have been make between egg-binding and poor muscle tone. Every little bit of movement should help. Who knows? It might help enough to make a difference to that one special clutch.
 
Sorry I really didnt mean it to sound like I thought you were calling me lazy:laugh: See I was thinking a long the same lines as you only I dont have any females yet, which would really help lol. I just found it messy and our 3 year old just pushed it all to one end and in his water bowl.:awcrap:
 
I know what you mean. Aspen seems to be the bedding of choice for a lot of folks and/or their snakes. Tulip, my amel stripe, just loves to burrow and scoot it around. Yohsong and Boz never burrowed that I ever observed, so they stay on Repti-bark. I gotta admit that, in Boz's case, I prefer the aesthetic appeal of dark bedding since he's a light color. The others are sometimes one substrate, sometimes another.

The trouble with the aspen in Tulip's viv is that she clears out a path along the edges of the viv in her nightly travels. It doesn't matter how deep the aspen starts, she's going to have bare glass there by morning. Guess where she like to eliminate? Yep. I know, I ought to put some newspaper under that aspen. Maybe I'll get around to it this weekend. (Now who's lazy? :D)
 
You don't think it takes muscle to burrow through aspen? Let me bury you and see how much energy it takes to dig yourself a tunnel :D

Personally, I can't imagine not having my snakes on aspen. They are burrowers by nature and not giving them that option wouldn't cross my mind. Of course Gailleann prefers to sleep in "trees," but she's always been a strange one :)

Personally, I would think it would involve more exercise in the tunneling than moving around on the newspaper... hopefully, your paper uses a cleaner ink than our local one... my hands are filthy after I'm doing reading the thing.
 
I'm not sure moving through those tunnels really takes much muscle. Creating them? Sure. But once they're there, they look pretty easy to traverse. Of course, I have never personally travelled one of these tunnels, but Tulip makes it look easy. (I've watched from underneath the viv.)

Weebonnilass, you're right about inks on newspaper. I've used butcher paper in the past when I wanted to check on what passed through a baby. I can't find it in aspen when they're small.

You're also right about trying to make the snakes' home somewhere they can be content. After all, they're captive for our pleasure. We have a responsibility to make it as pleasant for them as reasonably possible. I have aspen for the burrower as well as another viv and the babies. Those who, like Boz, secretly long to be tree boas have Repti-Bark. I'm sure I'll switch out substrates from time to time.
 
Caryl said:
I'm not sure moving through those tunnels really takes much muscle. Creating them? Sure. But once they're there, they look pretty easy to traverse. Of course, I have never personally travelled one of these tunnels, but Tulip makes it look easy. (I've watched from underneath the viv.)

Weebonnilass, you're right about inks on newspaper. I've used butcher paper in the past when I wanted to check on what passed through a baby. I can't find it in aspen when they're small.

You're also right about trying to make the snakes' home somewhere they can be content. After all, they're captive for our pleasure. We have a responsibility to make it as pleasant for them as reasonably possible. I have aspen for the burrower as well as another viv and the babies. Those who, like Boz, secretly long to be tree boas have Repti-Bark. I'm sure I'll switch out substrates from time to time.
Click to expand...

My tree-corn is still on aspen as she occassionally burrows, but not often. I destroy the tunnels every week when I feed, so it's back to the grindstone for them once a week. I also try to keep logs and vines in each tank, so that they use muscle going up and over stuff. I think I may have gone overboard with Nicevenn though... half of the time I can't find her in her tank... too much greenery :)
 
This thread has really gotten me to think about muscle tone and my snake. Snakeypants is a growing snake, and as she gains size and weight I want to make sure she stays toned. She is very rarely out and about in her tank, so I want to find ways to keep her in shape. Does anyone know of exercises to promote snake muscle tone? (sorry it is a little off topic) I like the aspen I have in her viv, because she seems to enjoy it as an extra layer to hide under.
 
Sarcare, your baby is likely to be out and about during the night when you're not looking. Some are more shy than others. And yes, some are more sedentary than others. Most of them become more willing to be seen as they get bigger; in nature, they're less likely to become prey when they're larger. Daily handling (apart from post-feeding and when they're in shed and don't want to be out) provides exercise. That's my favorite way to work on their muscle tone.
 
Im not saying that it doesnt take effort to build tunnels, what I was wondering was that theu glide over aspen but newspaper seems to take more effort. As regard to borrowing my snakes get in between and under the newspaper, i put several layers down. I read the newspaper before I put it in and have had no problam with ink transfer
 
I understood your comparison, strawberrybunny. (Love that user name, by the way. Don't quite know what it means, but it calls up an adorable picture in my mind.)
 
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