New Enclosure Coming - which BP?

[The Night King]

Hi everyone


I currently have 4 ball pythons. I’ve ordered 4 new enclosures from Animal Plastics but obviously they take a while and I’ve come across a really great deal on an animal plastics T12 (4x2x2) off craigslist that I’m buying - already has radiant heat panel installed and LED lighting. Just a really great deal too hard to pass up. I’m trying to figure out which of my ball pythons to put in it.


Currently, my 4 BP’s are in 33 quart tubs secure with undertank heating & thermostats, and all of the temperature and humidity is good.


BEL - Female about 6-7 mos old - around 300g eating f/t great handling snake and good eater.
I have a T11 (4x2x15”H) coming for her and I’m actually going to build it out in homage to the alien movie franchise. I’ve done enclosures in the past with similar custom designs on the inside and they turned out really cool so I’m gonna do one like that with lots of clutter, the really dedicated towards the Alien movie in 1979 so I’m not really considering this new one for the BEL - her name is Ripley by the way .


My next snake I have I got it about two months ago from reptile store and it’s about six months old. Also it’s a freeway male about 300g very very sweet also great eater. F/T never refused and great to handle. Pretty active exploring etc.


#3 BP is probably four months old, around 270g and she is a fire pied very sweet, beautiful colors, a little shy, but easy to handle. She ate live her first time then I switched her over and she ate frozen rat pup right away. She did refuse this week for some reason that I’m not concerned about that at all. She is more active and I do have a Climbing bar in her tub that she seems to like.


#4 is a bigger girl… Around 770g. Yellow Belly Enchi Blackhead. A very pretty dark snake. It’s also very sweet, but super super shy. She has a big hide -!; a water bowl and I just put a little more clutter fake plant in her enclosure, but she likes to burrow under the paper that I have her in. She doesn’t really go in her hide too much. I don’t see her exploring hardly at all and she seems a little big for her tub. Her temperature and humidity are fine. Ambient temperature stays around 80° and humidity stays in the mid 60s but I can raise it easily if needed.


She has refused to eat for three weeks straight now I got her from a show about a month ago and I let her get settled and the Breeder told me she was eating live small rats so I put one in there and she refused the rat- it seemed too big to be honest and now we have a pet rat, but that’s another story. I tried a frozen thawed rat pup the following week, and she actually struck at it but didn’t take it and then went away and then this past week. I try a frozen thawed rat pup again and she struck at it but didn’t take it almost a defensive strike. I added more clutter to her tank, but it just seems really cramped in there, so I’m leaning towards putting her in the big enclosure to give her more space.


With this new enclosure that I’m buying off craigslist is a cut out from animal plastics with mesh at the top (see pic below), but the seller of this enclosure said they used it for a BP and never had a problem retaining humidity as they used a large water bowl under the heat source. This has been my experience too, so I’m not as concerned about the humidity I’ll cover that mesh opening if need be, but I’m thinking the bigger enclosure might get the bigger snake to relax a little bit and hopefully eat.


Does this sound reasonable? My only thought was that this tank is actually 2 feet tall where is my other ones will be closer to 15 inches. The bigger girl this one doesn’t seem like much of a climber or explore but maybe that will change in the bigger enclosure? I just wonder if the bigger tank would be wasted space on her if she stays hidden all the time.


Just wanted to see if there was any feedback… We also plan to get a new juvenile Brazilian rainbow boa soon so I don’t know if the bigger tank would be a better fit for that species I do know they need higher humidity so I would probably most certainly need to cover up the mesh opening so that there’s no air flow if I used it for the rainbow boa.


Thanks in advance for any feedback… Here’s a pic of the tank, but I’m picking up:

[/url] [url=https://ibb.co/YRdZHZ1]

[Homebody]

I'd move #2. #1 is destined for another enclosure, so no point in moving her twice. #4 hasn't settled in yet, so you don't want move her. It's a toss up between #2 and #3, with the edge going to #2. Because he's slightly older and larger, I think he'll handle the move to a larger enclosure better.

[Armiyana]

What size tub is #4 in right now? If her hide is BIG and she's burrowing I would try giving her a smaller and tighter hide. I think the burrowing my be her way of saying she's not feeling well hidden. It feels a bit odd to say she's big for her tub but also has a big hide AND clutter. I have a very shy super enchi pastel mojo around that size that I had to put in a short little hide her back touches so she feels snug enough to eat regularly.

I agree on trying #2. It'll be easier to work with a bigger snake in a bigger home. Not every snake feels comfortable in something that large. Also, if they're defensive, you may need to cover the front for a couple of days to get them used to it. If they continue stressing and bopping noses on the glass at any movements, you may just need to go back to tubs so you don't risk injuries to the teeth or jaws. Same thing if they refuse to eat, may need to clutter more of just go back to something more snug.

I LOVE that people are being more adamant about larger enclosures overall, but the majority of 'my snake isn't eating' posts lately have been small BPs swimming in large homes. They can definitely be one of those size up enclosures with the snake type and not the they'll grow into it type.

[Malum Argenteum]

We also plan to get a new juvenile Brazilian rainbow boa soon so I don’t know if the bigger tank would be a better fit for that species

Yes, though not necessarily right away. I had a few BRBs in my last clutch that resisted larger enclosures to the point that I needed to shift them back to their previous tubs.

The tubs you are currently using would likely be valuable for QTing new additions away from the established collection, and for growing out smaller snakes until they're ready for larger quarters.