Glasscages.com 20gal acrylic vs. Visionarium...or other options?

[jimbus]

Doing some research and gearing up to get my first BP...owned a corn snake for about 4 years but gave him away when I went to college. My interest in snakes has somehow manifested itself again a la Ball Pythons and I can't wait to get one.

Looking around I have been impressed with the 20 Gal. Long Granite Acrylic from glasscages.com which has a sliding front and also the Visionarium which is a bit pricier from vision cages.

Here are the facts....
-I am a college student with limited cash flow (yet I am willing to splurge here and there for quality/something too legit to pass up)
-I intend to buy 1 hatchling BP from the All Ohio Reptile Show on Dec. 14th in Columbus which is where I go to school (Go Bucks)
-glasscages.com is delivering in Columbus on Dec. 5
-I anticipate trying my hand at breeding 3-4 years down the road & thus wanted to get a female first
-I'm willing to spend ~$100...don't think I could float the money for a 40gal now

I have researched each and am leaning towards the glasscages model b/c I really like the sliding front, have read positive feedback, and it is more affordable.

My questions are...

-How long will a 20gal cage sustain a BP? (my guess was ~2.5 years?)
-Would you recommend either of these options?
-If not, which make/size cage would you recommend?

Sorry for the longevity of this post, just so many thoughts/options running through my head right now! Also, if anyone will be at the All Ohio Show in Columbus in December, let me know, I would love to make some contacts. Possibilities to just get a cage there too maybe? Cheers.

[Kaorte]

If you are planning on breeding snakes at some point, I would just start out with a tub setup. I am a college student as well and plastic housing is the most cost effective option.

Glass cages are really hard to heat and keep correct humidity, not to mention they are a huge pain to clean.


If you really want to go glass, then go for it. Ball pythons are very shy snakes though and you will rarely see the snake out and about. A 20g will be fine for a male ball python for its entire life. It is not recommended to keep a hatchling in a 20g though, they are a bit on the big size.

Personally, I would go with tubs and then spend a little more money on a morph Maybe a pastel or a spider girl.

Here is my little bit on tub setup: http://bp.kaorte.com/tubsetup.htm

[jimbus]

hmm, I hadn't thought about going that route, but taking a look at your setup it is appealing. Although the first cage I mentioned is all acrylic with only glass front so I don't know if that would be any easier to keep heated than all glass? Thanks for the advise!

Does anyone here own one of the granite acrylic glasscages.com models?

[Bleepr]

A tub set-up isn't the cheapest route, but if you plan on having mulitple snakes (and it only takes one to get the herping bug started...) its a solid investment.

A 40 gallon is FAR to big for a single hatchlig ball python. If you plan on only keeping one, I would suggest getting a 20 gallon long, use aspen bedding, get 2 hids, a water dish, and fill it with fake plants. More plants, the better as it'll make your little girl feel secure.

I too am a college student, and have a tub set up. Cost me close too 150 after all the heat and tubs. I also have 5 snakes, with babies on the way, and have a seperate rack for the little ones, which is costing me about 60.

It really depends on where you wan to go, and how long it'll be till you get there.