Making my first rack, have a tub size question

[euphuistical]

I noticed a lot of people put their snakes through a lot of different sized cages. I was planning when I made my rack to have most of the levels devoted to 41qt Sterilite with maybe one or two levels for hatchlings consisting of 7qt and / or 15qt cages. Do I really need to take my hatchlings from 7qt to 15qt to 30qt? Or can I be pretty safe in moving them up to something like a 30ish/41qt tub right from their hatchling tub?

My general plan was around 6 or so 41qt cages (I currently only have 4 ball pythons at the moment) each taking up a full shelf of my rack, with their longside facing outward. Is there a better idea? Is 41qt overkill for all but the largest females? Should I go a slightly smaller size (say 34qt or so) and put their short side facing outward, and only add a a 41qt when one of my females is over 3kg or so?

My snakes aren't full grown yet, I have two females in the 1250 range, a 500g pastel male and a 150g pastel female. All of them are in 40qt rubermaids and doing fine.

I am planning to have around 8 levels in the rack, and after a ton of research on this forum and other places I can't quite decide which the right course is.

tl;dr: Should my new rack just have 41qt tubs or should I have some stepping stones in between hatchling cage and adult cage?

Thanks

[xdeus]

Wow, a lot of questions.

The basic rule of thumb is one square foot of space for every foot of snake.

I found what works for me is to upgrade to the next largest size bin when the snake outgrows its current one (7/15/30/41). I wouldn't recommend stuffing a large snake in a small bin because I think they do need enough room to thermoregulate, and it would be very difficult to get a decent temperature gradient for a large snake if the enclosure is too small. On the other side, placing a small snake in a large bin might add additional stress.

All of my breeding females are placed in 41 qt. bins. I keep some of my small adult females in 30 qt. bins, but I also have some active males that I keep in 41 qt. bins. I wouldn't recommend going from a hatchling 7/15 qt. bin directly to a 41 qt. bin as the size difference could overwhelm and stress out the snake. Small changes in cage size have worked well for me, but even then I get the occasional sensitive snake that will stop eating when I go to the next size.