Enclosure sizing confusion

[highlands]

I am currently in the research phase of adding a Ball Python to our household. I have sifted through the various threads comparing glass, tubs, racks etc. and I have some remaining questions. The snakes I am currently looking at are between 150g - 450g currently. I am leaning towards either one of the Animal Plastics set ups or a tub set up. What would be the appropriate size for a snake in this size range? I see alot of people talking about the T8 enclosures but am not sure if I have room for a 48" wide enclosure.

Secondly, can someone explain to me the differences in why someone would choose acrylic or glass doors?

[JoshSloane]

Hey there, welcome to the forum, and good job for doing your research before purchasing the snake. You are right, there are MANY options and even more opinions about how to house BPs. An Animal Plastics T8 enclosure is more than enough to house a BP throughout its entire life. I keep my full grown female boas, which are much bigger than even the biggest BPs, in a T8 sized cage. The issue though, is that you will be putting a small BP into a giant enclosure. BPs are prone to stress, and having a large living arrangement can cause issues and prevent routine eating on their part. If you decide to go with a T8, you can always go with a divider to make the cage smaller to accommodate for the young BP. You will also need to fill the enclosure with hides and plants to help the animal feel secure.

Tubs are a great way to economically house snakes. However, unless you plan on having multiple snakes, tubs can be difficult to use if you don't have a rack setup. You would need to either wire flexwatt heat tape yourself, or order it pre-wired from a company like RBI. This isn't too difficult, but it just requires pulling together multiple different resources that you might not have experience using or working with. If you feel comfortable wiring your own heat tape, there are many youtube videos out there, but if you don't feel comfortable with it, I would recommend just having it sent to you pre-wired. The single tub option is definitely less aesthetically pleasing, but does hold heat and humidity well. The only issue is having to order all the supplies and get it put together.

Another option I have discovered mixes the glass tank with the tub idea. Basically you buy a 20 gallon long fish tank, a 6qt or 15 qt tub, and an appropriately sized commercially produced heating pad. Attach the heating pad to the underside of the tank, and then you put the tub, complete with the lid inside the tank, with about a 1/3 of it sitting on the heating pad. You can easily use a lamp dimmer to regulate the temperature output of the pad, if you have relatively steady ambient temps in your room. This option just makes putting an enclosure together a bit easier. I rigged this system up a while ago when I had to make do with the supplies I had.

Keep in mind that whichever system you use, you MUST use either a rheostat/dimmer or a thermostat to regulate your heat output.

With regards to glass or acrylic, there are a few factors. People who house lizards and clawed reptiles in an enclosure always opt for glass. Acrylic scratches very easily and will become a mess if used with something like a monitor. Tempered glass is generally very strong, but can get some cracks if a large snake strikes at it. I believe that some people with aggressive large snakes prefer acrylic as it wont shatter as easily. Either way, it doesn't matter for a BP.

[EL-Ziggy]

I have (4) T8s with sliding glass doors and I love them. As Josh said, you could add the divider while your snake is younger and smaller and remove it when the snake grows. A T3 could work for your BP as well. I was torn between the acrylic and glass doors initially. I was worried about breaking the glass but after talking with a few other keepers who had the glass doors I felt comfortable that it would be strong enough. I had a few of my snakes in tanks before and figured if I didn't crack or break any of those then I'd be OK.

[JoshSloane]

Ironically a T3 is going to be more expensive than a T8. T8s seem to be permanently on sale and are a quick ship item from Animal Plastics.

[LittleTreeGuy]

The above comments are great advice. I was very seriously considering a T8 enclosure to house one or maybe two snakes in (with the divider of course). For me, it came down to how many snakes I want and the sheer cost involved.

If you decide to keep two snakes in one single t8 enclosure, if you use flexwatt and RHP's, you are looking in the neighborhood of $600 for the enclosure setup, plus the cost of your snakes.

I just built my own rack system that can hold 2 young and 2 adults or 6 young, or 4 young and 1 adult, depending on tub configuration. Including a Herpstat II thermostat, I have about $350 in this project. So for me, who would like to have mroe than just one or two snakes, it seemed better and cheaper to have a small rack and tub setup.

If money were no object to me, I would likely have 5 or 6 T8's stacked on top of each other, as I just really like the look of them.

It comes down to what you like, and what you are willing to spend. I think there are small pros and cons to all the systems, but I have talked to folks here on this forum that have about any kind of setup you can think of, and have happy, healthy snakes. Some setups are just a little trickier then others.

[highlands]

Thanks for the great replies guys, I am leaning towards starting out with my first snake in tub set up for ease of set up/cost for initial set up and then eventually graduating into something like the T8. For the size BP I am looking at what would an appropriate sized tub be?

[Jordan H]

Thanks for the great replies guys, I am leaning towards starting out with my first snake in tub set up for ease of set up/cost for initial set up and then eventually graduating into something like the T8. For the size BP I am looking at what would an appropriate sized tub be?

I would suggest a 15 quart with some hides and water bowl of course. Might be a little big at first but the size your looking for is kind if in the line between baby rack and juvenile. This way you won't have to change your setup in three months. Just my opinion

[highlands]

I would suggest a 15 quart with some hides and water bowl of course. Might be a little big at first but the size your looking for is kind if in the line between baby rack and juvenile. This way you won't have to change your setup in three months. Just my opinion

Thanks Jordan, I think I am going to roll with the 15qt to start, I'll post pictures soon as things start to come together.

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

+1 for the 15qt. I have started all of my BPs in these even the ones at 55g and never had an issue. Really cheap to setup. I have some at 400g in these and they still have plenty of room and have not given me any trouble.