Hello everyone! I know I have not been active in quite a while, but I just had to vent here and get some opinions from others.

So, I belong to a pit bull forum and in the miscellaneous section a topic came up about BPs. The OP had just gotten one from a friend and needed advice. I informed them of what I had learned on here when I was researching to get my BP (which still hasn't happened, hence my inactivity ), which was to have them in a 30gal tank (it's a full grown adult), as any bigger could stress them out, and to have two identical hides on both sides, as well as an UTH with a thermostat. Well, the other info was fine with the other members, except my tank statement. This one member (among many others, but she's the prominent one), who has multiple ball pythons (and she's been into them for a long time, and on forums, etc) says that the size of tank is adequate perhaps, but not ideal. She says it's not right to have a snake in a tank size that they can't stretch out their body their entire length. When I came back with them feeling more secure in a tank that size, she argued that she has a BP in a 100gal tank, and that he eats just fine. She said if BP owners could see how active they can be in a larger tank, we'd be surprised.

I then asked what she would expect an owner of a 18ft+ burmese python/anaconda/other large constrictor to do in terms of tank size, since she expects their entire bodies to stretch out. She says that if you can't build them a zoo-like enclosure by the time they are 4 yrs old, you shouldn't own one. I mean, this is getting a little out of hand, no? There's just nothing I can say that can make sense to them! I'm about to just walk away from the thread completely, because I'm really getting annoyed with it all. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Everything I have ever read says that BPs are most comfortable in a smaller sized tank, but she swears otherwise. In fact, she says it's inappropriate. And another member told me that a BP in that size tank may be living, but they are not thriving. Never mind the fact that tons of BP owners keep their snakes in these tanks, and they eat without issue, and appear to be perfectly content. But, she says that alone doesn't show that they are happy. Ugh...

Sorry, just had to vent.