10 gallon tank

[James K]

Hi, I was wondering how long a young ball can be kept in a 10 gallon tank (an approx. age would be nice). If he can only use it for a few months then I might as well start him in something bigger. Thanks in advance.

[Argentra]

Well, I started my girl at 2-3 months old in a 20 gallon long and she liked it fine since I added plenty of greenery and low branches in addition to the hides for cover. My little @3 month old rescue is in a 10 gallon, but that's because he's been mistreated and needed a good small enclosure. I think a big part of it is the snake itself. If your snake really freaks out with open space, then the smaller enclosure is the best.

As for when to move them, the basic rule of snake enclosures is length of tank = 1/2 length of snake I believe.

[eel88]

Best advice of all. Don't get any tank. Your ball python spend 80 to 90% of their live crammed in burrows in africa that they can barely fit in. They very rarely come out other than to poop or to find something to eat. But usually wait to ambush. I do have some active snakes. But trust me i've tried both. Tub setups are very cost effective, snake friendly, human friendly (easy to maintain heat humidity, and cleaning), plus snakes like ball pythons thrive in them. Check out the DIY spot on here and see what you think. No tub don't look pretty. But if you want to see the beauty of youre snake take it out to look at it. Now on the other hand to anwser youre question i believe it could stay in a well secured tank for a year maybe a year and a half depending on how big it is when you get it and how fast it grows. If you do end up going with a tank don't get anything bigger than a 30gal long not tall with plenty of hides. And with any glass tank setup use some tape and some tin foil to cover up about 2/3 of the screen lid to keep in the heat and humidity. If you are using a ten gallon make sure you are using an under tank heater with a thermostat. A heat bulb will make the whole tank hot with no room for the snake to thermoregulate. Good luck.

[Reptilian]

Don't get any tank.

It's competely up to you what you want to use. eel88 gave some good reasons to use a tub, but it you want to use a tank go for it. Yes, it may take some work to get temps and humitidy correct, but that should be done before aquiring a snake (or anything for that matter). Tanks are prone to humidity issues and even heating issues, but it it do-able to work thru them. It may cost more and be alittle more time consuming but it workable. I have a hard time with tucking away my pet in a tub in the corner of a room, but that's just me. I understand that if one has more than one or two snakes you need to do it the most space saving way. I'd do a search and look up the pros and cons of using a tank or tub and make a decision for yourself.

Best of luck!

EDIT: Oops I forgot to answer your question. I got my bp at about 2 weeks of age, he hadn't even had his first shed. I kept him in his 10 gallon for about 5 months. Once he was able to climb the lip of the top and stretch out I got him a new tank. He's in a 20 long now.