ball python caging questions ( please answer) for any year of experience

Hello ball python owners
i am asking the ball python community ( you) a few questions to determine the best enclosure for a ball python. And it will be much appreciated if you can answer as many questions as possible. Any answers can be as long,short, complex or simple as you like. And if you can, please ask fellow owners to answer too. Any age of experience, number of pythons, age can the questions. And fill free to ask me any questions you have, I will do my best to answer them all.

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

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1. coming up on three years this november.

2. 3 beeps and a corn snake

3. Yellow: AP T8, ReptiChip substrate, RBI large hides

Spaghetti: 20gal glass tank, ReptiChip substrate, RBI medium hides

Coffee Bean: 15qt Sterilite tub, ReptiChip substrate, RBI small hides

4. AP T8 PROS: PVC enclosures are wonderful in how they maintain temperatures and humidity; simple to put together and AP will customize the enclosure however you need it; CONS: it's big and difficult to move!

glass enclosure PROS: you can create a lovely looking enclosure with plants and decorations that look nice being seen through the glass; CONS: can be difficult to maintain steady temperatures and needs constant monitoring and adjustments

plastic tub PROS: light-weight, portable, can customize ventilation to suit your needs, holds humidity and temps well; CONS: not the prettiest of my three enclosures

5. Yellow: my first beep. my lovable, shy yet easy-going old boy (he's almost 3 LOL he's still young); he's the one i let friends and family hold and interact with because i trust him so much; my picky eater but he's been doing wonderfully these past few months

Spaghetti: calm but always alert, likes to do her own thing; not the biggest fan of handling but she's just over a year so we're working on it. GREAT eater.

Coffee Bean: my confident and feisty new addition! i've only had her for 3 weeks so i don't know her personality yet, but she settled in RIGHT away (ate two days after i got her, and on the same day i changed her entire set-up) and has been doing so well! i can't wait until she has some size on her so she can relax and enjoy handling!

6. i chose the T8 for Yellow because he'd gotten entirely too big for the 20gal and really seemed like he needed the room. Animal Plastics makes amazing PVC enclosures that hold temps perfectly and their customer service is ABOVE and beyond. once Spaghetti gets bigger i will be looking into purchasing an AP T8 for her as well.
i chose the plastic tub for Coffee Bean because she's 90g+ and a tiny lil' thing!!! i think i'll be using plastic tubs for her until she's full-grown, and hopefully get her own T8. the plastic tubs are very practical and easy to set-up, keep and maintain. we recommend new owners use tubs for their ease of set-up and care.



hope my answers helped!!! :cool:

I will answer solely based on Ball Pythons, though I have other species, have kept BPs as well as other species in the past as well...

1. about 5-6 years
2. Just one BP, for now...
3. 20 gallon Long glass enclosure with eco earth and repti bark substrate blend
4. pros: visually appealing, relatively inexpensive
cons: doesn't hold heat and humidity as well as other types of enclosures
5. happy, healthy, generally stays hidden and explores a bit at night.
6. I chose this setup based on what I had used in the past as well as cost.

That being said, when I have the cash I will be building a PVC stack of enclosures. I am also in the process of refurbishing a wooden enclosure that I got free and my plan is to move my BP to that for a while since he is outgrowing his 20 gallon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Hello ball python owners
i am asking the ball python community ( you) a few questions to determine the best enclosure for a ball python. And it will be much appreciated if you can answer as many questions as possible. Any answers can be as long,short, complex or simple as you like. And if you can, please ask fellow owners to answer too. Any age of experience, number of pythons, age can the questions. And fill free to ask me any questions you have, I will do my best to answer them all.

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

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1. Only a couple months. I just got my first Ball Python in may but I've had lots of experience keeping reptiles

2. One, for now ;)

3. He's in a 40 qt Hefty tub. He's on coconut fiber bedding. I try keeping hot spot at 90-94 and ambient around 80. Humidity between 60-70( I learned that I'm the Ball Pythons natural range in Africa the average humidity can shoot into the 80s so I like to keep it at 70) he has two hides

4. Cages are good for viewing animals. They're relatively cheap and readily available. But They're a pain to maintain humidity and heat, and they're heavy and hard to store.

5. Pua is relatively friendly, curious too but likes to hide. He tries to act tough but he's just a goofball

6. I don't have enough room to house a vivarium or tank and tubs are cheap and easy to clean. Also keeping heat and humidity is easy too. Being in college and my living situation is subject to change, I need something I can easily move



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1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons - Just shy of or close to 20 (my baby is coming up on 7 years now)
2. How many pythons do you own - Just the one now
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, ) - Glass with front sliding doors and partitioned screen tops blocked off, reptile prime substrate
4. pros and cons of cage - Pros: it allows for access through the top of the enclosure as well as sides. Cons: glass is harder to keep conditions under control
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc) - Sweet as can be. I got a defensive strike once in 6 years and that was after moving the enclosure to a new room and changing around the decor stupidly while he was in shed. Likes to hide during the day, stretch out at night and has never been a problematic feeder. He does not mind being handled and loves to be walked outside (I never let him on the ground outside however... to many bugs living in a wooded area)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up - Honestly it was the best looking enclosure I could get back then and I just haven't swapped it out because I have never had a problem with his health or sheds. If I did ever need to swap out I would most likely choose an AP enclosure or vision cage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Hello ball python owners
i am asking the ball python community ( you) a few questions to determine the best enclosure for a ball python. And it will be much appreciated if you can answer as many questions as possible. Any answers can be as long,short, complex or simple as you like. And if you can, please ask fellow owners to answer too. Any age of experience, number of pythons, age can the questions. And fill free to ask me any questions you have, I will do my best to answer them all.

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

---

1. I have 5, almost 6 years of experience with ball pythons

2. I have 21 ball pythons

3. I have wooden vivariums for a few of the adult royals and two big RUBs for two adult male royals, all baby royals are also in RUBs, I use kitchen roll in the enclosures for the ball pythons

4. PROS:
RUBs are easy to clean and maintain and they come in all sizes so it suits the snake a little more individually (some like lots of space to explore and some like feeling more secure etc), RUBs are also inexpensive, ventilation holes can be added easily to control humidity and they're secure so no escapees, they also seem to have not great visibility through them which might add to the secure feeling for the snakes.
Wooden vivariums look really great, can have locks on the front which adds to security, they hold heat and humidity really well and you can make them really beautiful inside and they're spacious for snakes that like to explore which is great.

CONS:
RUBs in all honesty do not look great, sure they come in different colours but they still don't look like much of a display for such beautiful creatures, they also make it hard to see the snakes colours through the plastic but this is probably good for the snake so it's more of a pro than a con
Wooden vivariums can be a pain to clean and with the bigger vivariums you have to really get in there to do it properly, also it's hard to put ventilation in a wooden one unless it's done at the place you order it from otherwise it gets way too humid in there, I've also had a ball python rip out one of the vents and go for an adventure (luckily I found her before she got very far), they're also really not cheap where I get them

5. Every single snake (or any pet) has a different personality and I won't list them all since that'd be an extensive block of writing to read through but some that stand out would be that my very first ball python named Susie (she's a normal, coming up to 6 years old) is the nicest most docile snake I have ever come across and I can do anything with her and I trust her completely, she doesn't jump or hiss and has never struck at me and if anyone ever wants to handle one of my snakes I get her out first and she has helped a few friends to get over their fear of snakes and a couple to actually admire them, Susie is however a very picky eater.
Another to note how drastically the personalities can differ is my stinger bee named Beast, and she is just that, when I first got her she was very aggressive and would strike out if I passed her enclosure with all the huffing and hissing of a hognose, she has now calmed down a lot but is still not without her huffy attitude but she now doesn't strike out and I can handle her for short amounts of time without it being an issue, hopefully with more work and time she'll continue to calm down.
There's two royals I have that have a wobble, Nugget, a bumble bee and Salazar, a queen bee dinker paradox (he's a little bit worse than nugget as he really waves around sometimes and has really bad aim whereas nugget likes looking at ceilings and has bad aim as he's a bit wobbly) and despite the extra effort at dinner time they are both sweet and easy to handle and even with this they both eat very well and are both big or are going to be big respectively.
Quite a few of the baby royals enjoy exploring their enclosure when it starts falling dark so I like to change it every now and then and they all get to come out for some adventures sometimes, especially so a little albino male named Tesla, so far it looks like he's going to be a big boy so some bigger branches will be in order it seems!

Honestly I could go on for hours about them [emoji5]

6. I chose the vivariums at first as I thought I would only get one ball python (oh how long ago that was) and as the numbers increased (okay only one more, no more than 5, but this one is special, no more than 10 etc etc) I realised that it would be much simpler and easier to go with RUBs on a rack (after the third royal).
Now I started with the thought that I would never breed reptiles as I didn't know they were so loved by so many people but soon realised that of course they were look how great they are and will be this year starting my first breeding project (yay) and with this it's pretty clear that RUBs is the way to go for me due to the expanding collection.
I would have preferred to have them all in amazing naturalistic matching vivariums but it's not that great when you have so many. (Even with the reptiles having a whole room in the house, I figured a rack would be the way to go)
I did put a lot of research into a rack system with RUBs before hand before I got more snakes as I wouldn't have any more if it was going to cause issues for them being in RUBs and they were shown to work even if they aren't the prettiest enclosure.


Wow that's long, sorry I tend to ramble about them once I get going [emoji28]
Here's a free young Salazar:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...341375414c.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

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1. 4 years
2. 3 BPs (soon to be 4-5) but 7 other snakes
3. Racks for my BPs, use pvc cages for other snakes and have used tubs in the past
4. Racks- Pros- Great humidity and temp retention (closed-sided unit) and easy to clean
Cons- Visibility is poor
Tubs- Pros- Hold humidity well, semi-transparent for visibility, easy to move and clean, cheap
Cons- Do not hold temp well, especially ambient, cannot place heat source (lamp or CHE) directly on
tub and must use a lamp stand to do so, Visibility is not perfect. MUST secure lid with other
means (i.e. bulldog / binder clips, luggage straps, etc.)
PVC- (have used for other species, not BPs) Pros- good temps, humidity, visibility, and security (locking
doors). Cons- Expensive, can be heavy / hard to move
5. Not much effect. I give my BPs hides both when they were in tubs and even now when they are in the rack. Not much change in personality or activity level. I have some that are shy / defensive and others that like to explore. With my other species, they increased activity when given a larger pvc cage and places to climb.
6. Really just see the pros and cons. I used tubs until I knew I wanted multiple BPs, then purchased a rack to house multiple snakes in the same footprint as a single tub. I purchased pvc caging for my other species when I had the money and space to do so. I may purchase a pvc cage for one or more of my BPs down the road as well.

[QUOTE=bmeza2;2557617]Hello ball python owners
i am asking the ball python community ( you) a few questions to determine the best enclosure for a ball python. And it will be much appreciated if you can answer as many questions as possible. Any answers can be as long,short, complex or simple as you like. And if you can, please ask fellow owners to answer too. Any age of experience, number of pythons, age can the questions. And fill free to ask me any questions you have, I will do my best to answer them all.

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

1. 1 month
2. Getting a female normal on sunday
3. Plastic bin. Pros temps easy to control. Took a day to get it going at proper humidity and temps.
Cons. Not sure maybe not as nice to look at.
5. Not sure yet
6. Again. For me a novice I wanted something I wouldn't stress about. Like I said it has been easy to set up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

---

1. 5+ years
2. 2 common beeps (1 male 1 female), California King Snake, Sand Boa, BCC RTB
3. Glass, Repti-Bark Substrate (Sand boa on aspen)
4. My beeps are very docile, handle well, Hide a lot during the day, more active at night. Old saying says a hiding beep is a healthy beep.
5. Chose glass because I have the time for the extra monitoring and I enjoy watching them instead of just "keeping them"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythonsI have 4 years experience with Ball Pythons and another year for Boas.
2. How many pythons do you ownI sold both of my Ball Pythons roughly 4 months ago
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )I keep all my snakes in plastic storage totes until they are matured. I then switch them over to PVC enclosures. I will also be switching over to aspen bedding because my humidity is doing so well and I have no way to help the air flow without lowering my ambient
4. pros and cons of cage-Plastic Storage totes
   Pros: Easy to maintain and clean. Relatively zero tweaking involved. Humidity is kept well and no insulation issues compared to glass. Inexpensive. Can be stand alones or made into a rack system for space.
   Cons: Ambient temps can be difficult to raise if you live in a cooler climate.
   -PVC Enclosures
   Pros: Also easy to maintain and clean. No tweaking required. Humidity is great. Ambient temps can be achieved no matter the climate. Insulation is beast.Cool LED light fixturesas well as it looking neat and having the ability to stack.
   Cons: Can be pricey.Although some spend the same on tanks with all the add-ons.
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)Ball Pythons should be hiding and only cruising out during dusk and night. Since I have Boas now, they tend to be more curious and lounge about in the open. When I had Ball Pythons, they were hiding about, never missed a meal and shed perfect.
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set upBecause I like simplicity and catering to my snakes needs instead of making it visually appealing to myself. :rolleyes:

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
2. How many pythons do you own
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
4. pros and cons of cage
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

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1. 11 years of owning ball pythons, 5 years of working with all shades of snakes and other reptiles (colubrids, pythons, boas, monitors, alligators, etc.)

2. Currently own 9 snakes, but might (probably will) have a few more by the end of the year. I just recently came into the space, time and money to grow my collection so I'm on a roll!

3. When I first started, I used vivs. I've always used reptibark or coco substrate, and when they were in vivs I'd bake safe to use branches and make things as pretty and as natural as possible. I switched to a DIY rack when I got my 3rd bp, because space and time. In the last few years I've been using RBI and TGR racks and while I may not be able to see my snakes on display, they're happier and it's much, much easier for me. I still use reptibark substrate, and they have hides and fake plants in their tubs, too. The whole nine yards. I really, really miss having a display animal though, so I've been toying with the idea of getting a BRB or GTP and a nice, custom, fancy cage to go with it.

4. Pros for rack: space, faster cleaning time, snakes seem happier. Cons for rack: Not as fancy as a beautiful display cage, and on average more expensive. Installing heat tape can sometimes be a pain in the pooper, too. At least for me, anyways.

5. My albino is an anxious snake, never defensive but he stresses very easily. I feed him, clean him, make sure he's healthy and leave him the heckin' heck alone. I don't even like to take pictures of him. He's only ever been in a tub for as long as I've had him and I don't think he'd do very well in a viv at all. Before he came to me I have no idea what kind of space he was in, but he was in piss poor shape.

My pewter, enchi firebee and my super emperor pin are defensive and like to try and kill you when you slide out the tub, but once they're out they're ok. The only one that's ever tagged me is the enchi firebee, but it was one time when I unboxed him and didn't realize he was feisty. The pewter was my 3rd snake ever, and he was the catalyst for the rack system. He wouldn't flourish in a viv no matter what I tried. He was 5 years old when he came to me, and was in a rack for those 5 years so I think the change to a viv was just too drastic.

Spider, super pastel, fire pastave, and super mojave are all as docile as can be. Super pastel and spider were just fine in a tank, and are just fine in a tub. This new bamboo something-or-other seems pretty laid back too, but I just got her today so who knows if she'll stay that way or end up being sassy once she's settled in and eaten a few times.

They all hide 99% of the time, unless they've just pooped/shed or decide to take a stroll at 2 in the morning, but for as long as I've had a rack system I've never had a snake pace out of stress. Even in the quarintine tubs when I first get them, they've never really paced out of stress. The bamboo girl I got just this morning ran to the hide and has stayed there as far as I know. I've only peeked once since she went in but she was still in the same spot.

6. I had vivs when I first started because I tripped headfirst into the herping rabbit hole and I couldn't afford a rack system. I started with only two bps so I thought only 2 snakes didn't justify shelling out a bunch of money for a rack system (at the time I didn't realize you could get single level racks, and I'm not sure if that was even an option 11 years ago.. probably was but I was younger and thought I knew all the things). When my collection grew, and the vivs got bigger and took up more space and the one snake was miserable, I shelled out the money and made my friend help me build a 6 shelf rack. I kept only the 4 snakes for a long time because I couldn't afford more than that. The DIY has since been replaced with the RBI and TGR systems. The racks have just been easier to manage. Temps and humidity are no issue, cleaning is easier, snakes are happier, and I have much more space than I would if I had 9 vivs hanging around.

Sorry if most of this is rambling. I'm really good at rambling. :oops:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons

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Been keeping snakes (including ball pythons since I was a kid), probably somewhere in the ballpark of 20-25 years experience

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

2. How many pythons do you own

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Currently have 8 ball pythons

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )

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I keep them in a combination of Constrictors NW caging (48" x 23" x 18") and tubs. Tubs for the younger snakes and the larger plastic caging for adults. I use paper towels and bio-active substrates. Currently in process of moving animals over to bioactive substrates.

paper towels:

Pros - cheap, easy to change out, do not "bread" thawed rodents in substrate, health problems easier to observe
Cons - aesthetically poor, defecation usually results in entire cage needing cleaned

Bio-active substrates:

Pros: facilitate in more natural and diverse enclosures, require less frequent cleaning, supports natural fauna and bacterial growth, some snakes appear to feed better in this type of (natural) setup, aesthetically pleasing
Cons: addition of plants usually results in them being smashed, substrate get all over prey items, substrate can get stuck in nostrils, around eyes/mouth, etc., require taller / larger enclosures for deeper substrate, more difficult to heat using UTHs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

4. pros and cons of cage

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Tubs:

Pros - smooth inside seams allow for easy cleaning, inexpensive, lightweight and easy to move around, easy to heat using UTH, can make difficult eaters eat more regularly
Cons - aesthetically displeasing, defecation usually results in entire cage needing cleaned, can be difficult to view snake when closed, difficult to raise ambient temperature without heating room

Plasic or PVC enclosures:

Pros - Can make very nice setups and great looking reptile rooms, side door entry, compatible with many heating methods while still in stacked setup,
Cons - More expensive, takes up more space, inside seams require sealing, more effort to setup

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)

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Varies from snake to snake, but are typically a mix or hiding in hide or roaming about during nighttime hours. Behavior pretty similar across most ball pythons: Docile, slow moving, unlikely to be bit unless you're holding a rodent

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmeza2

6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up

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It is hard to argue that tubs are not ideal for raising young snakes. They fit all the basic criterion and are cheap, meaning you won't have to spend a ton as your snake grows in size. A small snake can be more easily overwhelmed by a large setup. Paper towels make clean up very easy and are inexpensive to use. They also allow you to monitor the health of new arrivals more easily with the downside being that they soil quickly and can't really be spot cleaned. My #1 complaint is that if you go on vacation and a snake defecates, it mucks up the whole cage a lot of the time.

For adults, I am an advocate of large enclosures with more space regardless of substrate choice. I consider the 48" x 24" x 12"/14"/18" setup to be ideal depending on substrate. If you are using aspen or paper towels you can get away with a shorter enclosure, but for a bioactive substrate, you really need about 4" deep. This is especially critical for large, heavy animals such as ball pythons that easily displace substrate. I keep most of my animals on bioactive substrates, but admittedly, ball pythons are not the most ideal candidates unless you have an extremely large enclosure (like 5' x 3' x 3') that can accommodate very deep substrate and larger, more robust plants. My #1 complaint with particulate substrates is that you can't just throw a F/T rodent in there without substrate getting all over it. I have not personally observed any ill effect from snakes swallowing substrate, the theoretical risk just bothers me.

For my bioactive ball python enclosures, I only use substrate/soil, leaf litter, and cleaner microfauna. I gave up on live plants because they were all getting crushed, often times putting them in pots was not enough to save them.

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons? 2 years
2. How many pythons do you own? 2
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )? 20 gallon and a 10 gallon glass tank.
4. pros and cons of cage?Humidity is the issue and tweaking it to get it correct.
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc) both are chill
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up? ​Easy start up cost

Salazar! Haha my BP is a Salazar also :)

Going to do this now so I'll have something to compare after I've had my girl for a few years. This will either be informative or embarrassing to look back on. lmao

How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons:
4 months of keeping, I've admired them since I was a kid though.
How many pythons do you own:
Just the one for now.
What type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, ):
50 gallon sterlite tub, dimensions 39x21x18 inches for a hatchling ball python, with plans to upgrade when she outgrows it.
Uses coco chip for substrate, with plans for bioactive when upgraded.
CHE & UVB light on hot side, UTH attached to side of tub on cold side.
Pros and cons of cage:
Pros: Lots of room to add climbing opportunities, gives space to roam around and get exercise at night, plenty of places to hide. Holds humidity well.
"Cons": It's big, so you have to clutter it up a lot more than a smaller tub. You may have to use two heat sources to keep the temps in appropriate ranges when it's colder.
Behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc):
Very calm when handling during the day, very curious and doesn't take long to start exploring around my hand.
Hides during the day, comes out at night to explore.
Never seems anxious, and tends to come towards me when I open the tub at night. Climbs right out into my hand when given the opportunity.
Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up:
I wanted to give mine room to explore and engage in natural behaviors while also providing security with plenty of hides and (fake) plant cover. She will be upgraded to a larger enclosure as she grows, as she has proven that she will use every inch that is given to her.

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons
   6 months
2. How many pythons do you own
   2
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, )
   Glass Aquariums. 20L and 10 gallon
4. pros and cons of cage
   The Pro is that I already had the tanks and that is pretty much the only pro. Maintaining heat and humidity is a challenge and the tanks had to have a number of modifications to get them stable. Coconut substrate, UTH and CHE, foam core board to black out three sides. I also have screen tops that I have covered with heavy clear vinyl with holes cut for the CHE domes with about a 3/4 inch allowance around the fixture.
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc)
   My snakes are super gamey feeders. Mostly hide but are often active in the evening. Very easy to handle.
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up
   For me it was a matter of cost and convenience. I knew basic care needs and thought that the glass aquariums would be sufficient. Turned out I was wrong about the convenient part. There was quite a bit of trial and error into getting the cages functional, which was mostly done before I had my first snake. Happily with effort my animals are thriving but I'm saving for some PVC display cages.

I have a few years under my belt!

I have nearly 50 snakes, not sure exactly how many, I'd have to go down and count them LOL. This is my first big year breeding, soon to have nearly 200 snakes including my hatchlings if all goes well, of course I'll sell and wholesale them as they hatch out.

I have them all in ARS rack systems along with two rat / mouse combo ARS racks. The ARS racks allow me to keep everything in a very small space (200 square feet!), easy to heat and clean and keep track of everything since it's all in a tight space. The ARS rack with grey tubs and coconut husk chips substrate is the ideal setup for ball pythons, they have a crazy appetite and aggressive feeding response. And since I just switched over to live feeding for all of them they all eat every time even multiple rodents as much as I can feed them, never a missed meal. I have to hold myself back from power feeding them LOL. This is also my first year breeding my big 30 pound dwarf reticulated python, hoping to get lots of eggs from her!

Questions

1. How many years (or months) of experience do you have with ball pythons5 years give or take
2. How many pythons do you own Currently, I have five, with room for one more.
3. what type of cage do you keep it in ( bio environmental, paper towel/ newspaper, soil, ) I keep my snakeys in PVC terrariums (Animal Plastics T12, T10 & T8) that are heated by radiant heat panels and controlled by two Herpstat 4s. I use coconut husk since it's easy for me to get and holds humidity well.
4. pros and cons of cage I absolutely love my setup. Everything is controlled automatically. I don't worry about keeping up temps or humidity. The only drawback is space. My three terrariums take up a whole wall of my office.
5. behavior of the snake ( calm, anxieties, violent, always out and about, always hiding, etc) Most of my snakes hide during the day and come out exploring in the evenings/night. One of my females will be out during the day waiting for me to feed her because she's a fatty.
6. Personal opinion on the reason why you choose this type of set up I love my setup because it gives my animals enough room to explore and provides them with security as well as constant heat and proper humidity.