Gravid ball python Rubbermaid container: help needed!

I was wondering if a Rubbermaid container
measuring 29x18x6 in, 41 qt. would be large enough for a gravid ball python to lay her eggs in and incubate them in, and if not, what would be an appropriate size? By the way, this is with a lid on. Not in a larger enclosure or anything. So the Rubbermaid container will be her entire enclosure starting right before she's due and ending after the eggs start to hatch. Is this large enough for her and the eggs? Thanks

You arent using a incubator. Going el naturale. I never hear of people doing it this way so I dont know. Gonna depend on her size

She is about 4ft. 3in. last time I measured her. I figured she would know what she's doing more than I would. I've never tried breeding before and only came across this because I was told she was a male when I got her (about 5 years ago) and I decided to get another male. Then I noticed them locking up.

facepalm right there.... not only did you decide it was ok to keep the snakes together... you put what you thought were 2 males together?

Also, from what I've read, maternal incubation is extremely difficult to get down as the conditions must be perfect.


A 41qt is plenty big enough for most bps.

Sometimes two males can lock up so there is a chance that she is still a he. Unless you actually feel eggs in "her".

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Originally Posted by crusher

facepalm right there.... not only did you decide it was ok to keep the snakes together... you put what you thought were 2 males together?

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I dont do it personally but I have seen multiple balls housed together many many times. If you are not breeding or anything like that I dont see why it is a huge no no. If you just have them in your living room to show off and they eat fine and are healthy what's the big deal? Is there actually something wrong with it? I dont know thats why I'm asking. Im not trying to be a smart ass.

The main problems are stress and illness being easily spread. Putting a male and female together even without trying to breed them can give you an unexpected surprise. It only takes once ;)

The issue here (for me at least) is thinking it is ok to house two males together knowing that males can be very territorial and fight/dominate each other, especially this time of year.

That being said I'm not against experienced/knowledgeable keepers choosing to keep multiple snakes together and I have seen it done successfully by others for many years.

I'm so going to get yelled at (again) for this, but I've had three males together for about six months now. I had two unfortunate accidents with two of the three tanks, and had an extra 40 gallon sitting around, so they're all in there until I can get some nice new cages or a rack. They all eat fine, never had one miss a meal, and have tons of places to hide, and none of them exhibit stress. However, the oldest one is just about a year, so they're not too concerned with breeding yet, so maybe that helps? So, it can be done, and it can be done well, but you do have to be a careful.

There have been cases of hatchlings eating one another. Just thought you should know.

The 41 quart is large enough, but you're going to need some sort of arrangement that will allow you to keep he humidity up at 80% or so in the cage while she's incubating. If not, the eggs won't do so well with her.

It's much easier just to buy a $40 hovabator and a $40 thermostat, and a bag of vermiculite. You could shell out $100 for a GOOD thermostat if you wanted the best success rate.

It's even possible to use the wafer thermostat that comes with the Hovabator, but you have to...well, hover over it. <lol> Set it up a month in advance and make sure you have it in a place with stable temps night and day, and use a min/max to be certain you have it set right. You may need to adjust it whenever the room temperature changes. It can give you white hairs, but it can work.

People use artificial incubation because you get a better hatch rate, and it's hard to keep conditions in the mom's cage right for eggs. She can try her best, but she's stuck with the environment you provide, and can only raise the temperature and humidity around the eggs a little bit.