New burn doesn't want to sit on warm spot....!!

Acquired a new burm - normal male. He's a doll; very sweet and just stunning (the normal burms are probably one of my favorite snakes). Currently my collection is mostly ball pythons, BCI's, bcc's, BRB's so he's my first burm.
Hes currently housed in a PVC that's 3 ft by 2 ft by 20 inches - once he's larger, he'll be going into an acrylic enclosure that I have, which is 6ft long, 3 ft deep and 2 ft high. How long do you think this enclosure will last? And what are your thoughts on the ideal sized enclosure for a full grown male burm? I know it depends in part on how large they get so let's say he reaches around 15 ft. I've been told the length and width should equal the size of the snake, meaning if he's 10 feet long then he'd be fine in a cage that's 6ft by 4 ft or 7 ft by 3 ft, etc. Is this the general consensus? http://pbckt.com/pJ.NiL7ur

Forgot to add - he won't sit on his warm side. It's 90 degrees with a heat mat attached to w thermostat. Cage is around 82 degrees and cool spot is about 78 degrees. Hide on warm and cool and one in the middle. He's always sitting under his log where it's only 80 degrees so I'm a little worried - he always feels really cold (.Cold blooded I know) but I'm still concerned...

Not sure if my pic posted ok - heres the link of his picture:

http://pbckt.com/pJ.NiL7ur

So I don't know about burms but I've read the rule for enclosure size "for balls" but I think it refers to snakes in general, you want to multiply your L x W"depth" so 6x3 should be good for 18 foot snake..I have been up all night so I could be completely wrong? But don't think so..

no you add length and width together so a 6x3 foot enclosure is good for a 9 foot snake and 18 foot snake i a 6x3 foot enclosure wouldn't be able to move

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tlich

So I don't know about burms but I've read the rule for enclosure size "for balls" but I think it refers to snakes in general, you want to multiply your L x W"depth" so 6x3 should be good for 18 foot snake..I have been up all night so I could be completely wrong? But don't think so..

---

For BPs the general rule is 1 square foot of space per foot of snake, so 2x2 would be good for a 4 foot snake.

I don't have any personal experience with Burms, but I don't think that the rule would apply for them. They have a much heavier body than BPs. A 5 foot Burm and a 5 foot BP would probably be pretty different weight wise and would have different housing requirements in terms of size.

Just my 2 cents :)

As for the heat. Who cares? Not all snakes enjoy the heat Maybe he is happy on the cooler side? Be sure he has multiple hides.

How big is he now?

If he reaches 15 feet, the smallest I would house him in would be 8x4. 6x3 would be waaaaay too small.

Chris

I may be wrong but I thought Burms didn't need as high of temps as BP's? From what I remembered reading, the hot side should only be in the mid 80's

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wes

I may be wrong but I thought Burms didn't need as high of temps as BP's? From what I remembered reading, the hot side should only be in the mid 80's

---

Nevermind, went back and read a few different care sheets and some are saying basking spot of 90-93 so disregard what I said.

If you consider that I intend to keep my female boas in 6x2 enclosures as adults when they are 7-9 feet...I'd say 6x3 is not going to be large enough for a 15 ft burm. 8x3 at LEAST.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Becs080

Not sure if my pic posted ok - heres the link of his picture:

http://pbckt.com/pJ.NiL7ur

---

He's gorgeous! Although I know everyone has replied with the best intentions to help, I'd hold out for someone with experience with Burmese pythons. The only one I've had experience with was only 8', and was constantly trying to climb, so I wouldn't begin to compare him to my BPs' tank needs.

Note: I agree with the others who say it will not be large enough long-term, but cannot help on how far out that is, or what you'll need to end up with space-wise.

Personally I think people tend to keep their burms too warm. I keep my heat pads at around 86-88 F. It's been working fine for me.

Also a 6'X3' cage will be perfectly fine for a male.

He's just a wee guy right now - only a few ft. I'll probably move him into his 6 ft enclosure once he gets a little bigger and just see how he grows. I'm thinking the 6 by 3 should be ok for him up to 10 feet but I'll probably need to upgrade him to a 8 by 4 or 10 by 6 once he gets over 10'.

Everything I read on Burms says basking spots of around 90 but when I speak to people, I generally get a different story and am told mid to high 80's so I'm not really sure. I'm keeping his hot spot at 90 and he wont go there and normally I wouldn't be concerned but even after he eats, he still doesn't move to the warm side to digest like I would expect.

I'm probably just nitpicking....and worrying...maybe I'll drop his thermostat a few degrees and see how that works...

Thanks for the help everyone!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by takagari

As for the heat. Who cares? Not all snakes enjoy the heat Maybe he is happy on the cooler side? Be sure he has multiple hides.

How big is he now?

---

You're probably right...he more than likely just prefers the cool side. He's got a cool hide, warm hide and another one in the middle where the temp is in btw the cool and warm so he can thermoregulate and feel secure if he needs to be he just generally doesn't move the warm side. I have noticed him climbing a lot too, which is kind of cool....I keep finding him sitting in his tree at night. I guess he'll have to enjoy the climbing now while he's still little!

He's only about 3' right now and just the sweetest little guy :-)