Snakes are among the most commonly kept reptiles globally, but their welfare needs are frequently misunderstood, resulting in chronic suffering from inappropriate housing and husbandry.
Snake welfare suffers from the same misconception as fish welfare: the assumption that a simple or unfamiliar nervous system means a limited capacity for suffering. Research increasingly challenges this view. Snakes show stress responses to chronic inadequate thermoregulation, social isolation from conspecifics that naturally co-aggregate, and housing that prevents normal locomotive expression. The widespread practice of keeping ball pythons in small vivaria without adequate thermal gradients, hide options and enrichment opportunity creates chronic welfare deficits in millions of animals. Improved husbandry guidelines, better pre-sale information and consumer education about snake needs are achievable welfare improvements.