Ball python in 120 gallon?

I have a 48 by 24 by 16 inch tank, it has the same floor space as a 120 gallon. Can I house my adult female in there? Is it too much? I can also house her in a 35 gallon. Will can I get those big heat mats?

She'll be fine. The tank is only a little taller then a AP T8 48x24x12.

That's a good size tank for a BP, but it can work.

I'm not sure where you live, but heating it and maintaining proper humidity may prove difficult. Heat mats aren't designed for ambient temps, they're just there to provide a hot spot. So you'll need additional heat sources if you don't live somewhere warm year round. That will make humidity control much more difficult.

I personally wouldn't waste the space or the electricity if it were me.

Can you? Yes, the question is can you provide the right husbandry in something that big, and that is gonna be the real question.

Glass is the worst material when it comes to keeping animals that require a certain amount of heat and level of humidity.

A PVC cage would be a lot better.

I will do some test, if it doesn’t work, then I will use the 35 gallon tub.i live in Canada and during the winter temp in my house is 68.

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Originally Posted by Ooo

I will do some test, if it doesn’t work, then I will use the 35 gallon tub.i live in Canada and during the winter temp in my house is 68.

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Oh jeez, it would be a nightmare come winter. Keeping a 40 breeder in New England requires extra effort and enclosure modifications come winter. For the money it would cost to heat the thing you could save up for a PVC enclosure.
I'd personally try to sell the enclosure and put that towards PVC too.

I used glass for many years, still do with a few smaller enclosures, but switching to PVC was a game changer.

If you've got an adult, 35 gallons is acceptable if you have no other options, but it's too small. Keep her in the 120 gallon.

That's the size I want to upgrade my female to eventually. I've had tons of success with tanks that size in the past, but as others have said, glass can be finicky.

In my opinion, though, the aesthetics are worth the small amount of extra work.

Heat mat size is somewhat subjective, I've found. You want to provide a hot spot at least as big as she is when she's curled up. But not so big that she can't get off of it without having to go to the cool side.

But for the love of all that is holy, thermostats are your best friend. Those tanks are expensive and unregulated heat mats can overheat and crack that glass before you even realize what's happening (which I learned the hard way. Replacing my retic's tank was not fun).

My husband keeps our house between 71 and 75, so I need to provide more ambient heat than the heat mat. And that can cause problems, too. But I think it'll be easier to manage in Canada than in the desert where I live.

But CHEs dry the air out. So you've got to make sure most of the top of your tank is covered, and monitor the humidity carefully. If you live in a more humid area, just spraying the inside walls of the tank once a day might be all you need. I spray twice a day, and that's enough to keep my humidity hovering around 40-45%.

Or, one of the biggest benefits of a large tank, you can create a humidity box on the warm side of the tank, beside her regular hide. I've had incredible success with humidity boxes, even when I've struggled to keep the ambient tank humidity up. And (since I'm a sucker for aesthetics) in a larger tank, you have room for a beautiful, naturalistic-looking humidity box alongside the regular warm hide.

And with larger glass tanks, it does take some trial and error with the CHE thermostat to get the ambient temp right.

Glass doesn't hold heat like other materials, so you have to take that into consideration. You want to go with the largest size CHE that is reasonable for the tank size, and keep the thermostat lower, as opposed to a smaller, more concentrated CHE set at a higher temperature. You want the heat from the CHE to be spread over a larger area instead of concentrated in one spot.

That should also help keep your cool side in the correct range, but if it doesn't, you may want to go with a second UTH for the cool side and set it to 78 or so. I've never had to do that, but I also live in a warmer climate, so that might make a difference.

Also make sure you give her some fake plants or branches or twigs, etc. So she still feels like she has cover when she moves around her tank (also, it looks better). I just use fake plants from the dollar store (make sure you wash everything before putting it in the tank) and my female is very happy with those. I change them out every few weeks, and every time I do, she loves coming out and exploring her new digs. It's super cute to watch.

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Thanks, I will move her in once it’s set up. What bedding should I use for that sized tank? Don’t want it to be too expensive. I am using paper towel right now.

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Originally Posted by Ooo

Thanks, I will move her in once it’s set up. What bedding should I use for that sized tank? Don’t want it to be too expensive. I am using paper towel right now.

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Just keep I mind, you're literally only weeks from fall and winter will be right behind it. I honestly think you're wasting your time. But it sounds like you've got your mind made up.

I started using glass about 20 years ago, and upgraded for a reason. Heating that enclosure is going to be a nightmare, humidity will be a nightmare and your electric bill is gonna skyrocket. Deb from Stewart Reptiles is also extremely experienced and one of the most knowledgeable people in the hobby, as well as a successful breeder.

Just saying....

If it work then I will use it but It doesn’t, then I wii just have to keep her in the 35 gallon.

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Originally Posted by Ooo

If it work then I will use it but It doesn’t, then I wii just have to keep her in the 35 gallon.

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Ok..... Keep that 35 ready. But also keep in mind BPs stress easily, so musical enclosures isn't a good idea either.

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Originally Posted by Ooo

Thanks, I will move her in once it’s set up. What bedding should I use for that sized tank? Don’t want it to be too expensive. I am using paper towel right now.

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I always use coconut husk, and it's been great. Holds in humidity great, but it's also more humid where you live than where I live, so you may not need that as much. Paper towel may end up still being fine.

I honestly don't know what the supposed issue is with winter. I live in the desert. No ambient humidity. And my snakes have been fine every winter. Takes me 60 seconds twice a day to spray the tank, and it's great. If nothing else, you can always make a humidity box out of a tupperware container and damp sphagnum moss.

It's literally not hard.

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Originally Posted by ApathyAngel

I always use coconut husk, and it's been great. Holds in humidity great, but it's also more humid where you live than where I live, so you may not need that as much. Paper towel may end up still being fine.

I honestly don't know what the supposed issue is with winter. I live in the desert. No ambient humidity. And my snakes have been fine every winter. Takes me 60 seconds twice a day to spray the tank, and it's great. If nothing else, you can always make a humidity box out of a tupperware container and damp sphagnum moss.

It's literally not hard.

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Winters here, and in Canada, get very cold. So we rely on artificial heat to warm our homes. The artificial heat dries the air out like crazy. Relative humidity drops drastically. Our enclosures also need artificial heat. Again, dries enclosures right out. So the combination makes things more difficult and more expensive.
Your dessert climate is very different. That's why there's no "one size fits all" answer to many questions regarding husbandry.

I'm by no means saying it's not possible. I'm just saying there are easier and more economical ways.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

Winters here, and in Canada, get very cold. So we rely on artificial heat to warm our homes. The artificial heat dries the air out like crazy. Relative humidity drops drastically. Our enclosures also need artificial heat. Again, dries enclosures right out. So the combination makes things more difficult and more expensive.
Your dessert climate is very different. That's why there's no "one size fits all" answer to many questions regarding husbandry.

I'm by no means saying it's not possible. I'm just saying there are easier and more economical ways.

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You're right, it is very different. And unlike Canada, our winters are more humid than our summers (I think January is our most humid month, we average somewhere around 20% if I remember correctly).

Though we also artificially heat our homes. As well as artificially cool them in the summer. Both sap ambient humidity.

(Funny, somewhat unrelated story, I literally didn't know that there are people who don't have air conditioning in their homes until I was 21 years old.)

My house is kept between 71 and 75 year round. Regardless of whether the outside temp is 110 or 30. Ambient humidity in my house hovers around 3-5% year round. I honestly don't think it's ever gone above 10%, or at least it hasn't since I started paying attention to it.

And I agree that PVC is better, and much easier to maintain than glass. And if you're a breeder and/or have a large collection, glass is just impractical.

But heating large tanks in a dry home is easy if you only have a couple of animals. All you need is a large CHE kept on a thermostat, spray the tank each day, and provide a humidity box.

Daily maintenance of that is a breeze compared to my dog and my fish.

And that was just as true for my big retic tank (before he outgrew it and I had a custom one built) as it is for my little 40 gallon ball python tank.

No one is saying glass is the best option. I'm just saying that it can be done, and that it can be done well.

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Oh I hear ya. It can be done and done well. I'm just thinking based on my experience that a 120 gallon would be tough. I used 40 breeders for a long time and had great success. I have advocated for glass plenty and still use glass, just small enclosures now.
I'm thinking a 120 with that footprint would likely need more than one lamp of different wattages to achieve a gradient, as well as multiple UTHs, also set to different temps. But I could definitely be wrong.

And had I known years ago what I know now I would have upgraded my larger enclosures years ago. They're literally a game changer.
I don't have a large collection by any means, but if I could I'd have gone all PVC by now except for my Hognose and KSB, but they're tiny.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

Oh I hear ya. It can be done and done well. I'm just thinking based on my experience that a 120 gallon would be tough. I used 40 breeders for a long time and had great success. I have advocated for glass plenty and still use glass, just small enclosures now.
I'm thinking a 120 with that footprint would likely need more than one lamp of different wattages to achieve a gradient, as well as multiple UTHs, also set to different temps. But I could definitely be wrong.

And had I known years ago what I know now I would have upgraded my larger enclosures years ago. They're literally a game changer.
I don't have a large collection by any means, but if I could I'd have gone all PVC by now except for my Hognose and KSB, but they're tiny.

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Yeah I know what you mean. When I upgraded my retic to his custom enclosure, it was so much easier than the glass tank was. I don't remember what size his tank was (this was a little while ago, he's since passed away), but it was huge.

I never needed two CHEs in larger tanks, but I can imagine that might be the case in colder houses. The lowest I keep mine is 71, so the big CHE is plenty. If someone keeps their house at a lower temp, I could see the potential need for a small CHE on the cool side, but even then, I can't imagine needing to set the thermostat higher than 75 or so.

I can't really see the need for a second UTH, either, since those don't really affect ambient temps, but as you said, one size doesn't fit all. Lol, I fully admit that glass can be finicky, so I won't say that you'd never need a second UTH.

What I really, really want is one of those "critter condo" stackable PVC enclosures. I've been considering getting a gopher snake, and that's my dream setup.

But yeah, I'm definitely on Team PVC, but being a broke teenager with a retic (yeah, I was the 18-year-old idiot who got a retic as her first snake. Turns out, there's a reason why literally everyone says that's a bad idea) in glass tanks taught me all the little cheats and hacks to keep things right.

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