BP New Home ? (Size vs Cage Size) 4 ft & 3 ft

[Viper0hr]

I am going to look at some cages local next week to move my 2 Bps into. I have 1 larger 4 ft and 1 thinner 3-3.5 ft BPs and was wondering if I could get some advice on which cage to go with. (They are currently housed together so I am going to be getting 2 "new" used cages (Maybe 1 extra for future too), one for each.

The person I am going to meet has 2 types, with 2 left of each, and I was on the fence on which i should get, I want to get 2 matching if possible to run both off my Herpstat 1 for now.
(I have not seen the wood one in person yet so i do not know overall quality of build, but I will be checking them ahead of time)

I am mainly wondering which size would be best for both snakes, for now and the future. I read that an adult female BP can live it's whole life in a cage 30x18x12, but also that you want something 2 times the length of their body in area.


Thanks for any help!


2 available of each


4ft x 24in x 19in

Has heat panels and lighting installed



30x18x12
Just unit and lock

[Regius_049]

This is a bit of a tough one because normally I always recommend 4' cages for adult ball pythons, but I do not really love wood enclosures. They hold heat, but unless they are well finished on the inside, they are difficult to clean and porous. These are also used, which will make them difficult to sterilize from their last inhabitants.

Also, as you state, people do keep all sizes of adult ball pythons in CB-70 style tubs (34" L x 18" W x 6" H) for their entire lives. However, if your BPs grow large enough to need "X-large" size hides (usually around 2400g+), you will find this is not really enough room for two hides and a water dish. In a rack system you don't need the same hide setup, so you gain some extra floor space, but in display cages, I really feel 4" is the ideal. Not too small and not too large. Granted, some extra width on a 3' enclosure can help out quite a bit.

Depending on the construction of the enclosures -

For now: Either plan is better than having your two ball pythons housed together. I am never a fan of this practice for multiple reasons.

In the future: If you trust the guy and think you can clean out the 4' wood cages well then both ball pythons could be housed in these for their entirely lifetimes without issues. I do not know the age of your snakes, but as previously stated, 30" may be cutting it close if they end up on the larger side.

If it were me, I honestly probably wouldn't take either. I would go buy 2 IRIS CB-70 tubs for like $20-$30 for now, then save up the $300 for two AP T-8 cages (better yet T-10s).

[Eavlynn]

I'd say go with the 4 ft enclosures. I have a 4 ft guy as well, and he requires two XL reptile basic hides which wouldn't fit well in a 3 footer. The wooden enclosure looks to be melamine on the interior, but I'm not sure what's on the bottom.

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[AKA Dave]

2 things to consider really IMO. I have several 4 footers and several 3 footers. I keep my males in the 3 foot units. They're just smaller snakes in general. The big girls get the larger spaces and the 4 footers are nice for breeding in if you do that down the road. If you plan on stacking them, get two of the same size. The sides take the weight and the tops won't sag over time. Just my two cents.

Dave