Newbie with some questions

I agree that the OP's tank is NOT too large for an adult, provided there is enough tank decor to provide cover. They key with larger tanks is to make sure there aren't big open spaces between warm and cool side. If there are enough plants, driftwood, extra hide or two, to provide cover, then I think a little extra space is ok.

Also, RestlessRobie's insulating technique is fantastic, and serves another great purpose. If the snake can't see out three of the walls, it will feel more secure, another added bonus. That is one of the benefits I love about vision enclosures, keeping a secure, dark environment is great for ball pythons.

I agree that a baby shouldn't be in anything that big, but an adult should be ok with the proper adjustments.

You will also probably need a very large water dish for an enclosure that size. There are some nice ones that fit into a corner. I am thinking about getting one of those when my girl gets a little bigger. She likes to soak in her dish right before she sheds (even though my humidity is perfect AND she has a humid hide) she just seems to like it, so I always want a dish big enough for her to get it. If you have the space for it, and you sure do, I would recommend providing a big soaking dish. Some snakes will never get in it and some will all the time, but regardless, it is a fantastic humidity solution, which is always more of a battle in a larger space. Your tank is probably even big enough to use something like a cat litter bin (unused of course) at one end as a water pool. I would not do that until the snake is an adult, but I always think big water container is better than constant misting. Misting works, but keeping a wet environment is never good. You cat get a small UTH to put under the water dish, whatever you use, and set the thermostat low, around 78-80 and just gently warm the water to help boost humidity.

Just tricks that CAN be done, find what works for you. A big tank always means more work, but that doesn't mean they can't work.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Idk, I respectfully disagree with you but I dont really want to fight because they're your snakes not mine. If it is a baby spider that he got then that is too big of a tank. But I'll just explain my reasoning for saying it could be too big for an adult: Im almost positive that most bp breeders keep their adults in 41qt tubs. 41qts=only 10.25 gallons. I also know bps are terrestrial so thats what counts more but I just wanted to explain to you where I was coming from with my comment :)

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I'm not trying to argue either and I'm not being critical towards you at all. And you are right that the proposed tank is too big for a baby. But there is no way on God's green earth my adult female would EVER fit in a 10gal tank! She doesn't fit in a 20gal either. She is in a 40gal breeder which measures 36x18x16. She is about 46" long and weighs about 2000 grams and is 3 years old - a fully grown adult female BP.

You're mixing up quarts to gallon ratios with floor space. You are right that 41qts = 10.25 gallons. BUT a 41qt tub measures 35"x17"x6". 35x17 is almost the same floor space as a 36x18 40gal tank. BP owners and breeders recommend a 41qt tub OR a 40gal breeder tank for adult BPs because they BOTH offer the snake about the same, and correct, floor space. The 40gal tank becomes bigger only because of it's height. You are also right that BPs are primarily terrestrial and that IS more important - and that's why the 40gal tank works just as well as a 41qt tub - they have the SAME floor space. :gj:

Yea i gotcha, i know you werent being critical :) Just for the record I have my bp in a 30gallon long tank just to make sure nobody thinks I have him in a 10 gallon tank lol.
I did the math conversion in my head from quarts to gallons without thinking about the floor space that each has, but youre right theyre the same.

OP you do have a smaller snake right? I believe that you can make a secure space in the tank you have it just takes lots of 'stuff' in there especially over head. However I do have a suggestion. There are two issues you are facing, cool room temps and a very large space to heat. My suggestion is until the snake grows some placing a partition inside the tank say 2 foot by 18 by 18. This will make it a bit easier to heat. The height is the killer heat rises and you are loosing lots just to the height.

A fluorescent light actually kicks off more heat that most realize this might be an option to help with the cool end temp if you can figure a mounting system so it is inside the enclosure.

Here is a thought for the future, it takes a bit of effort but is not too bad really. I took ages for the first one but only 2 or 3 hours for the second one.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...arium-Solution