ball pythons are naturally found living inside of termite mounds, and would rarely see the surface. If you were to keep them in viewable enclosures, the hides would be of most importance to reduce stress in the animals. In which case, yes you will be looking at a pretty tank that you snake would likely only explore during the night time hours. So does having that big spacious enclosure make sense?

Well, since we enjoy relating animals to humans instead of the other way around, we think that the animal would feel more comfortable in such an exhibit. However, the truth rests somewhere in the middle. Because of the very nature of ball pythons, most if not all, thrive inside a tub enclosure - it's secure, its dark, and can hold humidity extremely well. Inside a larger display, your animals may feel more vulnerable, stop eating, stress, lose weight, or they may thrive and be active all the time. It can come down to a per snake basis, but by and large most folks notice the best result in a rack style system.

Now, don't let our friends in Europe read this, or we may get the good ole "poor americans torture animals in racks" speech like they do in the retic community, helodermia community, and ball python community. . . sigh.