cage upgrade?

[mainbutter]

So I'm compiling my x-mas wish list and am thinking about asking for a nicer cage for my BP.

Right now she's about 5 months old and 2 feet long. She's feeding like a champ, seems 100% happy and healthy.

If I was to get one of those real nice side-opening cages(like from reptile basics or similar places), what size would be good for her? Is it too soon to move her to a rest-of-her-life sized cage? What length should she be before considering upgrading her from her 20G long? I assume that adult BPs would be kept in the 2x4 reptile basics. I don't want to move her into something bigger too soon, she seems happy and behaves just as I've read BPs should behave, which I can only interpret as her being happy and not stressed.

What kind of stand do you use for your reptile basics cages? Are the pedestals that they sell decent? They look pretty short to me, but I guess if you're stacking a bunch of cages floor-to-ceiling it makes sense, but at the moment I only have one snake and will probably be keeping it that way for at least another year.

Also on those reptile basics, is heat/humidity easier to maintain than screen tops(treated with aluminum foil over most of the screen)? I'd assume so since they look like they would leech less than a screen top would.

Are there any other places than reptile basics that I should be looking at?

[Argentra]

Reptile Basics is a great place to get cages, no contest.

However, I think your snake is still too small. I have my 18mth old girl in the 20long tank she's always been in and she's only just starting to look cramped. (I got her a 40g breeder tank to move into, since she hates tubs and I can't afford an RBI). She's around 600g and small for her age as well, so she won't be moving for a while.
The general rule is to have an enclosures length+width equal to the total length of the snake. But BPs often like things a little more snug than most snakes.

Also, only the BIGGEST of BPs should go into that 2x4. It's HUGE! A 2x3 RBI cage is just perfect for most adults.

I would wait until yours is at least around 1.5-2 years old and of a good size before considering the 'adult' home.

[ohyeahnow]

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/cages.html
http://www.animalplastics.com/
http://www.visionproducts.us/htm7/cages.html
http://www.animalplastics.com/

These are some companies I have heard of, perhaps memebers can relate their experience with these. There is another company that I liked their cages but cannot remember the name.

General speaking you want a gage whose perimeter is twice the size of the snake's length. If you got a bigger cage, by filling it with hides, and plenty of things to fill up the empty space, your snake should still feel comfortable in a larger cage.

[starmom]

Depends on your snake.

I've had several of my ball pythons in RBI's 3x2x1 cages since they were the age of your snake. This size cage will be there forever home- even for my large females