Is my tank too big?

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

I personally dont think theres such thing as "too big" of an enclosure as long as temps/humidity are where they need to be and hides are available. I keep my larger females in 4x2x1.5ft cages and theyre perfect. For newbies we try to shy them away from using larger enclosures (especially glass) because its more challenging to get temps/humidity right. Many newbies dont even know the basics 100% which is fine but trying to get eveything where it needs to be is challenging and even more so in a large glass tank. I still use a 40gal but I have a whole room set to the right temps/humidity so it doesnt really matter.

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I agree completely! There's no such thing as too big... I mean, Africa is rather big, isn't it ;)

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Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

I agree completely! There's no such thing as too big... I mean, Africa is rather big, isn't it ;)

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And in a Ball Pythons life it might utilize 1-1,000,000,000,000 of Africa's available space. :gj:

On top of, what a wild animal does in its home, and what a captive animal does in my living room are to totally different things. We keep 20 foot Retics in 6x3x2. Maybe something that large needs a whole house? You could give that Retic a whole house and it wold still find a corner of a room and curl up and stay there.

Same with a Ball Python, or most any other ground base snake.

By the way. I have seen BPs fast and stress out due to being in to large of a cage.

In my opinion there can be to large of cages.

Just my two cents.

I know I dont have a large sample size with only 11 snakes but all 11 are in enclosures that are deemed "too big" and I have had no issues. Do I think that there may be snakes who would be stressed by a larger enclosure and not eat? Yea im sure there are some but I would also bet that theres more to it than just the size. Just bc an animal can be kept alive and healthy in a small space doesnt mean its most beneficial. I like to give all my animals the best life possible and to me being stuffed in a 6inch high tub thats got just enough room to move around isnt considered the best life. I dont hold anything against those people who choose to keep their animals like this its just not my style.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

I know I dont have a large sample size with only 11 snakes but all 11 are in enclosures that are deemed "too big" and I have had no issues. Do I think that there may be snakes who would be stressed by a larger enclosure and not eat? Yea im sure there are some but I would also bet that theres more to it than just the size. Just bc an animal can be kept alive and healthy in a small space doesnt mean its most beneficial. I like to give all my animals the best life possible and to me being stuffed in a 6inch high tub thats got just enough room to move around isnt considered the best life. I dont hold anything against those people who choose to keep their animals like this its just not my style.

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Well, if you believe that its not the best of life, does that mean that we are wrong?

How do you know an animal is thriving? When it eats, grows well, little to no illness and finally, BREEDS.

Snakes WILL NOT breed if they are uncomfortable or not in the best circumstances they perceive. This can be due to many things like weather patterns, food availability, security.... I think the best compliment for any BP keeper is when their snakes breed and reproduce little ones. This has been working for decades, and will continue...

Its not a matter of right or wrong... your animals are alive and healthy so its obviously not "wrong".... is it wrong to keep a dog in a cage? No its not wrong but I also personally dont believe in using them. If you feel your giving your animals the best life possible then who cares what I think? My goal with keeping animals is to give them the best possible life. In reference to snakes that includes proper humidity/temps, snug hides to sleep in, and room to move when theyre awake. I dont believe that just because you get your snakes to breed they have the best life possible. Yes they are healthy but there are plenty of people in this world who are healthy enough to have babies but that doesnt mean their lives couldnt be better.... do i make any sense haha

Jumping right in...;)
I believe that differences are good because differences allow research to happen and new knowledge to be gained about these boids. I have some balls in tubs and some balls in reptile cages and I can tell no differences in eating, sleeping, stress levels, etc. All snakes have ample room to move around and all snakes have hides. It will be interesting to observe the snakes as they grow older and compare behaviors of older (larger) snakes in tubs to the older and larger snakes in the cages.
I believe there are correct husbandry methodologies that have been proven wise to follow (temps, humidity, hides, prey size, etc), but I have not ever been exposed to any research that suggests these requirements can not be met in enclosures other than tubs.
That's my 2 cents, for whatever it might be worth toward this discussion....

I actually also have a young ball, Seymore. He is only about 7 months old, but he is spoiled! I have a 75 gallon terrarium with a hoge log, vine, 6 hides, 2 water bowls and tons of moss. The hides are all different and provide different functions, they aren't all just rocks or whatever. One is a giant rock pile or "outcropping" as they call it. It really radiates with heat. It has an open bottom and heats up real nice for when Seymore gets chilly. I then have a half log on his hot side. I have a small rock cave in the middle for those tight-hide days. I have another log on the cool side. He loves to switch between the two logs since they always stay real humid and warm. I then have a really neat hobbit-house looking thing. It's a strategically stacked pile of rocks with grass and things growing out of it. It looks awesome and has moss in it for a shed box. I then also have a huge tree with leaves and stuff (fake of course). it has like 6 different entry points and under the roots is the hide. It also has moss in it and really burrows down. Seymore is currently in there enjoying his evening.

I have a plexiglass top cut to 2/3 the length of the tank, keeping in a lot of humidity and heat. I can regularly keep the cool side at 80 and the hot at 92. Humidity was a bit of a problem until today. I built a homemade misting system. it has a 5 gallon resevoir, so I only have to fill it once every month or so. It has a submersible pump that pumps to 1/2" clear tubing. that tubing runs up along the back of the tank, along the top and down back into the bucket. along the way, three smaller tubes (1/4") split off the big tube and are attached to the top of the tank. They terminate with a 90 degree misting nozzle. the downward tube was stealing pressure from the system since it didnt require pressure to fall. So, I used a double clamp and kinked the tube restricting waterflow substantially while still allowing it to return to the bucket. Then I plugged the pump into a 7 day programmable timer. I have the pump turn on every three hours for one minute at a time. that's 8 times a day, 8 minutes a day. With this system I am able to keep the tank at 85% all of the time. The timer allows me to set it to turn on up to 14 times a day...that's just too much. BTW, this whole system is under my tank and 100% invisible. And there are three nozzles hooked up currently, but only two are on. the two at either end of the tank actually cover 95% with no trouble. so everything gets misted and everyones happy! no more bad sheds or upper RI!

I can also hook up additional nozzles for my rack system and water all of my other snakes (nonpets, breeders).

I'll build you one for $200 if you want, it all ships inside the 5 gallon bucket. I would post pics, but they don't show much...just hoses running here and there.

Dane

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! lol I really think there is no such thing as too big, but there is such a thing as too much OPEN space. I have my baby in a 25 gallon but is absolutely covered in artificial plants and hides, he loves it and Im sure he feels safe. When hes bigger hes getting a humongo tank for sure as the center piece of my living room, but of course he will have so much foliage in the tank he will not feel insecure. I love designing new ways to make him a jungle and I sit and think what else I could add or change to make his home more realistic and comfortable for him.

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Originally Posted by missi182

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! lol I really think there is no such thing as too big, but there is such a thing as too much OPEN space. I have my baby in a 25 gallon but is absolutely covered in artificial plants and hides, he loves it and Im sure he feels safe. When hes bigger hes getting a humongo tank for sure as the center piece of my living room, but of course he will have so much foliage in the tank he will not feel insecure. I love designing new ways to make him a jungle and I sit and think what else I could add or change to make his home more realistic and comfortable for him.

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im the same way, if you like doing it with your bp you might try getting a hamster or something too its fun building them jungle gyms to run threw with 3 and 4 storys and bunch of differant rooms to go into and if you build it out of cardboard it does 2 things opens up what you can make alot and gives you a reason to build more as they chew up the cardboard and mess it up using it as a bathroom too

Big enclosures are not for novice BP owners and that unfortunately how most people start off... with huge cages.

The problem I have with large spaces is the regulation of husbandry aspects. The bigger the enclosure, the bigger the challenge to regulate things appropriately ESPECIALLY in glass. When I see people bragging how they have their ball in a 75gal in makes me shudder at what expense the snake is suffering from incorrect husbandry. Some put in the hundreds of $$ to make the enclosure suitable, but most don't .There are also cages that are made from better material than glass.