cage size inquery

[TingsPaPa]

i trust you kaorta. it's been a couple months since his escape, do you think that he is sill stress from this experiencce? it just seems to me like he wants to escape again. i couldnt imagine why he wouldn't feel secure in his home. there are plenty of hiding places. his humidity box, a hollowed out log, i find him burrowed under his humidity box, under his driftwood, and he burrows in his bedding. i guess i'll keep his cage for another year or so. how do i know if he needs a lager enclosure????

[rthamilton]

i trust you kaorta. it's been a couple months since his escape, do you think that he is sill stress from this experiencce? it just seems to me like he wants to escape again. i couldnt imagine why he wouldn't feel secure in his home. there are plenty of hiding places. his humidity box, a hollowed out log, i find him burrowed under his humidity box, under his driftwood, and he burrows in his bedding. i guess i'll keep his cage for another year or so. how do i know if he needs a lager enclosure????

Too be honest sounds like he doesnt like his hides.Got any pics,that would make this alot easier.He would rather burrow than be in his hides.All my bps stay in there hide most the time and hunt from inside their hides.

[TingsPaPa]

well i know he likes his hides, but at night, he tends to wander about and climb his driftwood. he used to be in his humidity box all the time, but not so much anymore. only when he sheds do i find him in there. mostly under his hollowed out log. i can take some pics.

[Vypyrz]

i was just thinking that my ball python (ting) appears to want a bit more space in his enclosure. ever since he escaped and was recaptured, it seems as tho he wants to have more room to roam about. he also has grown quite significantly over the past year and i was thinking of construcing a new enclosure for him. the one he is in now is about 25-30 gallons and he is about 3-3 1/2 feet long. most of the information i have gathered from websites and books tell me that a ball python at adult size, (3-5 feet) only needs an enclosure that is 30 gallons. does anyone have any advice or experience with sizing an enclosure for my little pal? i want him to have enough room to climb and to hide and roam to the point where he has enough freedom. i hear that if you make a snake's enclosure too large, they may get stressed. any ideas?????

It depends on what kind of 30 gal he is in now. What are the dimensions of his tank?


Rob

[Solinger]

I keep my BP in a 20L and she is fine all week. Meaning she moved from one hide to the next and comes out to drink. I often see her with her little head poking out of the entry to the hide but that's about it.

By about Friday night though she starts roaming and trying to coax the magic tongs to bring in a mouse. I typically feed on Saturday, earlier if she starts looking hungry on Thursday and later if it's not until Saturday. After eating it's into the warm hide and off to la la land.

I had issues getting her to feed at first so now I just wait until she looks and acts hungry and I have not had any missed feeding except for shed time. Is yours constantly roaming at night or just before feeding?

[Jenn]

My point is that the size of the enclosure doesnt matter if u provide enough hiding places. Not that they need the space or that they will even use it. IF you had nothing to do, that doesnt mean ud wanna be locked in the house. Its nice to know you have freedom if u want it. Fighting for BP freedom everywhere

While it may be true that you can get a snake to feel somewhat secure in a huge enclosure, for me that's not the point. If you have ever tried to maintain a perfect 82/92 with a constant 65% humidity in a very large enclosure you would quickly long for the good old days.

[Kaorte]

i trust you kaorta. it's been a couple months since his escape, do you think that he is sill stress from this experiencce? it just seems to me like he wants to escape again. i couldnt imagine why he wouldn't feel secure in his home. there are plenty of hiding places. his humidity box, a hollowed out log, i find him burrowed under his humidity box, under his driftwood, and he burrows in his bedding. i guess i'll keep his cage for another year or so. how do i know if he needs a lager enclosure????

He may not be stressed from that particular experience, but he could be stressed out from his environment.

He has two non-identical hides. Hides are very important to ball pythons as they spend nearly all of their time in hides. You need two IDENTICAL and tight fitting hides. This means low to the ground and hugging the snake on all sides and with one small opening. Half log hides do not cut it. The hide should also be completely opaque. Place one hide on the hot side and one on the cool side.

[k2l3d4]

Dude.... all depends on what you are willing to do.... I have a baby BP that was born early this year in a 50 gallon tank... but I also have five hides, a half log, a real log, and three different bushes in the tank to make sure that he can get from one side of the tank to the other with out being seen. I have had no eating issues as of yet. The hardest thing with a tank that large is the humidity. I have found that when he is going into shed I will put a wet wash cloth over his favorite hide to raise the humidty in the hide and that seems to work. I have not had any stuck shed while doing that . It is a lot easier to increase the humidity in the hide then in the whole tank. ... So what it all comes down to is how much are you going to put into it if you do increase the size of the tank? If you are not going to put a lot into it then stay with the size you have, becasue bigger tanks are more work.

[k2l3d4]

He may not be stressed from that particular experience, but he could be stressed out from his environment.

He has two non-identical hides. Hides are very important to ball pythons as they spend nearly all of their time in hides. You need two IDENTICAL and tight fitting hides. This means low to the ground and hugging the snake on all sides and with one small opening. Half log hides do not cut it. The hide should also be completely opaque. Place one hide on the hot side and one on the cool side.

I have to ask why you say the hides have to be identical. I have a larger tank and so I have six hides in it. .... Lets see two identical rock hides, two identical small rodent hides, a over turned cereal bowl that has a entry cut out, and a half log..... Now most the time he will hang out in one of the two rock hides, then the majority of the time after that he hangs out in the over turned bowl, and if he just ate he likes to hang out under the half log...... He very rarely uses the small rodent hides, and will ocasionally hang out under the bushes that are in his tank..... He still has not chosen to use the matching rock hide......

[quinten]

i must first say i am a inexperienced bp owner,only had my guy for 3 weeks.i got him and the set up from a guy who had no time for him for 150cdn!ultra cheap,the whole set up is exo-terra very pricy up here in canada.the enclosure i know is way bigger than he needs and i got a second hide for him for the cold side.unfortunatly i did not reasearch prior to getting the second hide so my hides are not the same,but i plan on fixing that.however he does use both hides,and he is quite active by times at night.the set up even had a waterfall in it witch he seems to enjoy,he climbs on it often.he is out sometimes during the day,usually when its getting close to feeding day,and i have seen him looking for a way out sometimes.heat was an issue till i got higher wattage bulbs,and i have a uth on the hot side.so far he has been feeding great,but i was concerned the enclosure was too large from alot of info i have been reading.i too find it hard to get my head around the fact that a too large enclosure can stress them out,due to the fact the great outdoors has no limits,but i want to provide my snake with the best care and lowest stress enviroment that i can.most experienced bp owners seem to agree smaller is better and they should know better than i ,but im still confused!thanks for starting this post,its good to see different thoughts and ideas.