Soon to be BP newbie - choosing a cage

[gruneaugen86]

Hello everyone! I'm in the process of adopting a 4 year BP from a friend of mine - the poor guy has been constantly harassed by my friend's cats and is need of rehoming. I've always wanted to have a pet snake, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help put this snake into a more comfortable home. I got the chance to meet him yesterday, and he is a complete sweetheart. He was very comfortable with being handled (my friend informed me that he was captive bred and has been handled constantly since she got him as a baby) and was quite curious about me. My friend told me that he has had no health problems and has only ever tried to bite her once, which she admitted was her fault because she had just recently handled a mouse (she was still learning at the time). He's currently eating f/t rats (I'm not sure what size) and tends to be a bit weird about eating, which I understand is fairly common with BPs.

I'm completely new to keeping snakes (I do have a Russian tortoise, but being a diurnal vegetarian, he doesn't have much in common with snakes) and therefore I have been scouring the internet for as much information as possible. This particular forum is full of very helpful info, for which I thank you

Anyway - the BP I'm adopting is currently housed in a glass aquarium. He has just recently reached 4' long and is now slightly too big for the tank size he's currently in (my friend was unsure what size the tank was in gallons, but it has a 36" x 12" base). I'm interested in upgrading him into a PVC style tank, likely from Animal Plastics, because the humidity in my apartment is usually low enough that it would be a pain trying to keep everything constant in a glass tank. I've seen that many people on this forum suggest getting the T-8 style cage from Animal Plastics for a single adult BP. However, that seems contrary to other information I've seen on the care sheet and other forum posts - if I'm understanding correctly, the ideal cage size for an adult BP is 36" x 18" x 12" or somewhere close to those dimensions, which makes me think that the T-3 style cage is actually a better size. Is there a reason that people prefer the T-8? It seemed like some people like it because it can be easily divided into two parts to house more than one snake. I'm really truly only interested in housing for one snake - I understand that these little guys can be addicting, but I am currently limited in terms of space and plan on strictly keeping to one snake for at least the next 5 years.

Thanks in advance for your advice! I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions while I'm learning all I can about BPs

[Vypyrz]

Hello, and to BP.net. A 3 X 2 or a 4 X 2 with a height of 12"-18" will be fine for an adult Ball Python...

[Vypyrz]

Animal Plastics is not your only option, when shopping for PVC and plastic caging:

Here are all of the cage manufacturers that I know of...

http://www.boamaster.com/

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/cages.html

http://www.animalplastics.com/

http://www.repti-racks.com/index.php...&id=1&Itemid=1

http://www.pvccages.com/new/?page_id...&product_id=49

http://www.constrictorsnw.com/cagess...ssiccages.html

http://www.visionproducts.us/htm7/cages.html

http://npicages.com/index.html

http://www.showcasecages.com/

http://www.cagesbydesign.com/t-majesticreptile.aspx

http://www.sentecreptilecages.com/

http://powerhousedisplays.weebly.com/

http://monster-cages.com/custom-gallery.php

http://www.jworlds.net/units.html

http://www.lstplastics.com/

Hope this helps...

[gruneaugen86]

Thanks for the input! I spent several days researching the pros and cons of each of the websites Vypyrz listed, and decided to go with Animal Plastics anyway due to their strong customer service, the many positive reviews I read regarding the cage construction, and the fact that they included many of the accessories I felt were necessary (flexwatt, fluorescent lighting, and cage locks). I'll be receiving a T3 from AP in about 6 or so weeks. I've also ordered a Herpstat 2, a RHP from RBI (I live in Wisconsin, so it'll be necessary to keep the cage warm enough during the winter), and I'll be buying the Acu-rite thermometer from Walmart as soon I get the chance.

The more I've learned from this site, the happier I am that I'm rehoming my friend's snake - I've quickly realized the conditions she's keeping him in are less than ideal. He's currently living in a 30ish gal tank with pine substrate and a mesh lid (that she covers with a wet towel to increase humidity). She measures temperatures with stick-on thermometers, and humidity with a cheap analog gauge. The undertank heater is not controlled by a thermostat (though the pine layer is a couple inches thick, so hopefully that insulates it somewhat) and there is only one hide, and it's a half-log type. She also says that she feeds him once a month. I'm hesitant to lecture her on any of this because really, I've only learned about snake care in the last couple of weeks, whereas she's kept her BP for 4 years now and he's been in apparently perfect health. However, I'm looking forward to greatly improving his conditions and hopefully making his life a little better

[Kaorte]

Big round of applause for you! You sure did do your homework! What do you need us for?

[PorcelainxDoll]

I know how you feel i recently saw a bp on craigslist that is being kept in similar conditions and i want to.save him so badly, but because of space issues i am not able too!

I wish you tje.best luck! You have come to the right place!

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