My new Ball Python

[Lolo76]

Also will he really out grow this tank in six months? Everything I read online (and was told by the pet store) suggested this size tank should be good for most Ball Pythons for the most of the life. Everything I read suggested a 20-30gallon tank and my 29 gallon aquarium I have has a smaller surface area than this one. The surface area of my 29 gallon is 360 sq inches and the surface are of this terrarium is 432 sq inches.

The problem isn't the surface area, it's the height. Since Ball Pythons generally hang out on the ground, your snake will only use whatever the floor surface is - and that won't be enough as he grows. A simple rectangular glass aquarium (like you'd use for fish) will be more useful, and a 10-gallon should last up to a year.

The soil I'm using is also made for reptiles, it is Exo-Terra Plantation soil that is actually made from coconut husks.

I don't know about that specific substrate, but I imagine it will be messy and hard to clean... plus others have mentioned the danger of ingestion, which is more likely to happen with soil-like flooring. I recently switched over to paper towels (from Carefresh) for my BPs, and it's so nice! I find they're much cleaner looking, don't smell or create dust, and are seriously easy to change out.

Btw, welcome to the forum, and your snake is beautiful. Does he have a name yet? I joined this forum in February when I got my first BP, and it has been a WEALTH of information... really, you won't believe how much you'll learn here! You also won't believe how addictive BPs are, and how quickly you will want another - and another.

[Lolo76]

P.S. Even if it's not right for a Ball, I think that tank you have is really nice... maybe you can get a chameleon to live there?

[sg1trogdor]

Babies are quite scared, makes them feel a bit more secure, your tank is very "open" per say, and it could scare him.

EDIT:
Plus with that sort of tank, a lot of vertical space is unused, especially with a primarily terrestrial snake. I know the cage is nice though, maybe you could always fill it with another herp

I dont know what the dimensions are on his exo terra but it look like i has more floor space or the same as a 10g

[N1GHTRA1N]

I dont know what the dimensions are on his exo terra but it look like i has more floor space or the same as a 10g

Like I said before I has more floor space than my 29g aquarium. It is very deep, 18" to be exact. It is 24" wide as well. So the floor area is pretty good. I have a 10g which I plan to use for feeding, so he is much less likely to ingest any substrate when eating since that 10g won't have any substrate, I may put down some artificial grass turf. Anyway my 10g fish tank is 9.5"x12" so I'm sure if a 10g aquarium would last a year then I'm sure this Terrarium would last long since the total floor space is equal to almost four of my 10g tanks. Even my 29g has a surface area of 29.5"x12" so again my terrarium has more floor space, no it isn't as long but it is deeper.

I looked at a 30g rectangle aquarium and it was 30"x12" which is a surface area of 360 square inches. I figured a 24"x18" tank with would be suitable since it has 432 square inches of surface space making it bigger than a rectangular 30g tank. My tank is 18" high and since just about every 30-40g rectanglar tank I've seen are around 16" high I don't really see me have all that much extra height.

Everything I read, and I did a lot of reading, before buying a snake said a terrarium like the one I bought would be suitable for a ball python when compared to a similar sized rectangular aquarium would be fine since ball pythons love to curl up in a ball. The capacity of my 24x18x18 tank is actually 36g so if you only factor in height then 36g and 18" high means that if I were to fill this with water every 1" would be 2g of water. So if I reduced the height to 16" like most aquariums in the 30-40g range I would be able to hold 32g of water. This is a pretty big tank, I think it may just be deceiving by its looks in a picture.

I considered a 40g tank too but just didn't have the room to accomodate the 36" width. The 40g tanks are 36"x15" so they have 540 square inches of surface area on the floor. This is 108 more square inches on the floor than my tank, which is a nice bit of room. However my tank as 72 square inches more space than the average 30g rectangle aquarium so that is a good difference too. I could understand if this was a 24"x12" tank (the size of a 20g rectangle tank) the space being too little to the extra 6" in depth certainly makes a difference. In fact it makes the surface are 50% bigger than a 20g rectangular tank.

This terrarium is actually the 3rd largest Exo-Terra make according to their website. Mine is 24x18x18 but they also make a 34x18x24 and a 36x18x18.

Everything I read online suggested a 20-30g would be fine for most ball pythons for their life, infact more places recommended against going larger than 40g so I though I was right in the sweet spot the a more squarish tank with the surface area larger than a 30g rectangular tank. If I ever feel this tank isn't suitable for him I'm buy a bigger one but I'm certain it should last sometime.

Now I do have one more question, I'm just wondering what dimensions are of all your tanks. The width and lenght should be all that matters since height isn't a big deal for these snakes, although mine can't stop climbing up the back wall of the tank, he seems to really enjoy doing that. He is doing it right now and I'd take a picture if it wasn't so dark. He stretches his full length (about 16-18") and almost makes it right to the top, which is why I want to get him a tree.

Anyway I'd really apprentice the dimensions of your tanks guys so I can compare how mine really stands up. Also like I said if I ever need to I'll just buy a bigger rectangular tank I have a wall that could fit a 60 or 70g tank in my basement den if I moved a few things around.

[N1GHTRA1N]

P.S. Even if it's not right for a Ball, I think that tank you have is really nice... maybe you can get a chameleon to live there?

Not a good space for a chameleon, they really need screen enclosures since they need the air flow. Glass terrariums are a bad idea for a chameleon. Sometimes the reflections of themselves in the glass can also cause them to be stressed.

[N1GHTRA1N]

I dont know what the dimensions are on his exo terra but it look like i has more floor space or the same as a 10g

Thanks, please seem my post below, my exo terra actually has almost exact four times the floor space of my 10g and even more than my 29g tanks.

BTW I have the Exo-Terra PT-2610. More information can be found here. http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products..._terrarium.php

[mrshawt]

I think what they're saying is that this terrarium with a larger area will stress a baby bp out more than say, a 10g.

I have a 40g, which is 36x18x14ish?

[N1GHTRA1N]

I think what they're saying is that this terrarium with a larger area will stress a baby bp out more than say, a 10g.

I have a 40g, which is 36x18x14ish?

Cool, how big is the snake now? That tank is 50% larger than mine, so basically mine is 2/3 the size of yours.

BTW, I mentioned it in the first post but I'll say it again because someone asked. My ball pythons name is "DUKE"

[mrshawt]

My bp is over 3 ft now (not sure by how much) and weighs about 1200g as of last week.

[sg1trogdor]

I would keep you snakes setup how it is except I would add a bit of constuction paper on the sides so its not as open. Other then that I dont see any problems. I stated with a 20g L tank for my first and second snakes (seperate tanks) and never had any issues. Its all dependent on the snake. If your snake eats, poops, and sheds fine then leave it be.