Didn't research enough. Mistake? Help needed.

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

Idc what anyone says no animal is happy in a tub 24 hrs a day...mine is in a tank and I'm buying another BP sunday and he is going in a tank as well.... This whole collecting snakes and putting them in seled up tubs where they can't see anything or explore there homes is totally wrong.

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Granted that ball pythons spend 90% of their time in the wild in underground rodent burrows and termite mounds, I would have to say that a tub probably feels very spacious to them. The only time they leave is to breed, eat, and find more burrows to hide in.

Thats in regard to ball pythons.
If we're talking about a species that does prefer open spaces and is active, then yes. I think it should be given a proper enclosure that includes open spaces and room to move. And I do exactly that with my colubrid. But my ball pythons? No. Because they won't take advantage of the space. Ive given them nice pretty decorated spacious glass tanks in the past and all it did was make some of them go off feed and have terrible sheds. They were holed up in their hide almost constantly and I only saw some of them come out only to feed.
I got a rack system and wham! Everyone starts feeding regularly! Perfect whole sheds. And they still spent the majority of their time in their tight hides which is about 1/16 of the size of the tub. Yup. They preferred their little hide than stretching in the larger tub space. Go figure.


I personally keep my animals in enclosures based on the species. I've personally found that tubs work great for ball pythons, but certainly not all other animals. I'll be getting a boa and they'll certainly not be in tubs. I know they are a more active species that will utilize as much space as I give them.

And note that not all tubs are small. There are some lovely display tubs out there that that people decorate as much as a pvc cage or tank. People use tubs because maintaining heat and humidity is easier than a tank and the ball pythons seem to drive. I know I wouldn't be using them If they were bad.

In the end, they hide in cramped spaces. That is what ball pythons prefer. Sure you get the occasional odd ball that is active, but as a species, I wholly disagree with you. Activity generally means stress in BP.

And one last thing. Tanks are for fish. I learned that early on in my BP keeping.

In the end, do what you want to do. Its your animals and your decision. But in regards to what you think they prefer, I disagree in general. Maybe if I had a ball that doesn't hide regularly, I'd put it in a display. But I don't. A hiding ball is a happy ball.

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I don't use glass tanks because I've had under tank heaters crack the glass bottom. That's a bad situation all around. The safety of my animals is more important than aesthetics. This is why I don't ever recommend fish tanks for reptiles if a UTH will be used.

Only animals that work as display animals (arboreal snakes and tarantulas) get display enclosures here. Anything that wants to spend most of it's time in hiding gets a tub or Kritter Keeper because that's where it's happier. That's my advice to anyone asking what to keep an animal in.

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Bugmom, if your glass cracked from a UTH, it makes me really question either the temperature, or the glass itself (most likely the glass because you sound pretty experienced).
:S Most (or all?) UTH are made specifically FOR glass, that is why that would be worrisome. But I can totally understand if that were to happen to you why you would switch to tubs!


Sorry, I don't mean to overtake this thread from the OP! But I am wondering, do BPs relax when they get older? I've got just a little 3 month old, and he moves around his tank a lot! I love it, but a few of you say they don't use the space... except he's out like clockwork every night, all night - and definitely uses the space! Every snake is different though...
Thanks! Hopefully my question will help aid the OP as well :)

Great glass tank write up from doing a search.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ht=glass+tanks

I did one someplace too but Aaron really has it together.

Read up!!

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Originally Posted by Gio

Great glass tank write up from doing a search.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ht=glass+tanks

I did one someplace too but Aaron really has it together.

Read up!!

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Thank you so much! This is way too helpful, I appreciate it.
I'm going to be going to the store to pick up eveerything that I don't have, that was mentioned on that link.
I've got a few places to go! Usually Repttile stores don't have the humidity gauges right?
And would they have mulch at the store? I feel like I've never seen it, and then again I haven't looked very hard.
Thanks again!

I just checked the bottom of my tank and it's fine and been for a month. I have a 29 gallon high and I'm only using a 10-20 gallon zilla UTH for his hide,since he is still a baby. Plus what I use for day time heat,which is a 100 watt bulb...no problems,with using the bathroom or shedding or eating..he hides most the time but likes to poke his head through the bushes and just look around and sit with half his body on the rock and look around...temps and humidity is good..so I have no problems so far,if anything arises then I'll change..for now,I say if it ain't broke don't fix it....

Honestly, I've used the glass tanks as well as the racks with plastic tubs, and I've kept perfectly happy, healthy snakes in both. I've been keeping ball pythons in glass tanks since 2007 with absolutely no problems at all. Never a single RI, very rarely do I get a bad shed.

I know tons of people who've kept snakes in glass tanks for 20+ years. I think the importance of humidity is exaggerated among enthusiasts. Not to say it should be completely ignored, but frankly, in my experience, the only snakes that come down with RIs are the ones in extreme conditions, such as being housed directly in the path of a central heating vent or constantly being allowed to sit in spilled water. For the most part they're fine as long as they're not stressed. Sometimes people will change their snake's environment trying to act in its best interest, only to have it respond to the change by getting stressed and coming down with something.

Don't worry yourself too much over this. These little guys are a lot hardier than we give them credit for.

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Originally Posted by NH93

Bugmom, if your glass cracked from a UTH, it makes me really question either the temperature, or the glass itself (most likely the glass because you sound pretty experienced).
:S Most (or all?) UTH are made specifically FOR glass, that is why that would be worrisome. But I can totally understand if that were to happen to you why you would switch to tubs!


Sorry, I don't mean to overtake this thread from the OP! But I am wondering, do BPs relax when they get older? I've got just a little 3 month old, and he moves around his tank a lot! I love it, but a few of you say they don't use the space... except he's out like clockwork every night, all night - and definitely uses the space! Every snake is different though...
Thanks! Hopefully my question will help aid the OP as well :)

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Yeah, I have used glass tanks for years with no problem, but this one cracked good. I just don't want that hassle/loss of money again.

My theory is that water spilled which led to a rapid change in temp of the glass, causing the crack. If the glass was already compromised somehow (manufacturing defect) then I can see how it would crack easier. I never noticed any temp spikes in the UTH.

I find tubs to be more convenient these days since I only have so much room. Having a 40 gallon set up for one snake like I did years ago just isn't practical for me. At least not one that is horizontal vs vertical. I have room to move UP, but not out. Plus accidentally dropping a glass tank if I need to move it for any reason would be a big, possibly fatal, disaster. Only the geckos get a glass tank these days, and it's just a 10 gal. Oh and one tarantula cause she's spoiled.

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