Cage Size

So I keep hearing about cages that are too big and can't help but wonder, how? I could understand if it was talking about floor space in your home but I don't understand how it could be bad for the snakes. My argument is this, in the wild they have ALOT more room to move around than anyone could ever provide in their home. So how exactly is a 75 gallon tank "too big"?

It depends on the species... Ball pythons are VERY different in that they PREFER small homes.. Here is why.

In the wild they live in either termite mounds, or abandoned/stolen rodent burrows. They spend most of their life in this mound or hole and rarely come out.. Males have been observed hunting, and even being in the low branches of trees at time. They also travel looking for females burrows during breeding season. Females will often stay in their home indefinitely as long as enough food happens by the entrance. They have no want or need to go anywhere.

The species is a solitary, terrestrial, nocturnal, and very timid snake. They often stay coiled in their "ball", and prefer to be touching the sides of their enclosure, hide, or in the wild, their mound or burrow. Or buried under something like bedding, newspaper, whatever.

It is simply a fact which is known through years of keepers noting their animals behaviors and habits. Especially those of hatchlings. They simply do better, eat better, etc, in a smaller enclosure. A larger enclosure can be heavily cluttered up to fill all the extra space with tight hides, crumpled paper, etc.. Really though, the proper sized cage is always better.

We're not talking about a boa or Retic. BPs are naturally nervous and want to remain enclosed and hidden. Sometimes you end up with one that couldn't care less either way, but it certainly does not require the extra room like some other species do.

You can keep an adult in a fairly large cage, as long as its decorated and offers multiple hiding spots and coverage.

I had my female in a 4' boaphile. I wouldn't put a baby in the same cage though, as it would probably become stressed out.

The problem with keeping a ball python in the home in an aquarium which is not great on its own is that your taking the snake out of the wild and into a very different environment. So in order for them to thrive and feel comfortable in such an environment you must make them feel secure in tight places. Since they typically stay balled up in termite mounds (if my research is correct) then the tighter space is where they're comfortable. A huge glass aquarium would provide the exact opposite IMO.

So basically it's fine as long as there's plenty of places to hide? Cause I was looking at getting a 75-120 gallon tank to put in the living room as a display cage. I would be sure to put 5 or 6 hifes in it just to make sure they're comfortable. As far as heat and humidity, I've got the equipment to make sure it stays where it needs to.

A 75 gallon is perfect to lay on it's side, divide it in the middle, build a plexiglass front door, and house 2 BPs at once. Now there's your display cage. I know this because it's a future project of mine.

An aquarium that size is way too tall. You'd never be able to get the heat and humidity to hold. It is however, a great idea to put it on its side. Let me find the pics and ill post them on making a tank like that.

Here ya go. Some plexi glass, hinges, rivets and sealant, a latch to close it, and a drill for the vent holes.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/25/uhe5upy9.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/25/emezuqan.jpg

This way you'd have an enclosed cage. You get an under tank heater that takes up about 1/3 the bottom on one side, a good thermostat to control it, a digital thermometer with probe to monitor it, and there ya go. No issues.

I guarantee if you use such a large fish aquarium you will be miserable. You'll never be able to keep it the proper temps or humidity, and you'll get tired of trying to reach all the way to the bottom to clean it.

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Originally Posted by Brad91

So basically it's fine as long as there's plenty of places to hide? Cause I was looking at getting a 75-120 gallon tank to put in the living room as a display cage. I would be sure to put 5 or 6 hifes in it just to make sure they're comfortable. As far as heat and humidity, I've got the equipment to make sure it stays where it needs to.

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They? From your photo post, you have four snakes. You're not putting them in the same tank are you? Even if it's a huge tank, that's a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by Artemille

They? From your photo post, you have four snakes. You're not putting them in the same tank are you? Even if it's a huge tank, that's a bad idea.

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Agree!! It's not a good idea to keep multiples together.