Toxic Plastic--What A Gas!

[WingedWolfPsion]

I'm sorry Bruce, but I don't know her. Her point was valid, so I provided supporting evidence, as it seemed people were quick to dismiss due to some personal bias (which is always a mistake when we're discussing animal husbandry--this isn't a popularity contest, lol).

In defense of plastic cages for ALL ball pythons:
These cages hold heat and humidity far better than a glass tank. The biggest challenge in keeping ball pythons healthy over time is providing them with proper, even temperatures and correct humidity. Humidity is often the BIGGEST challenge, and there are many ball pythons surviving in a near-constant state of low-grade dehydration, because their owners don't understand that misting during the shed cycle is not enough.

What's more glass cages are generally put together with siliconed joints, which provides areas where debris and bacteria can hide out. Plastic cages can be far more thoroughly disinfected. Due to their weight, glass cages are less likely to be frequently cleaned.

The trade-off may result in better health for pythons kept in plastic cages, whether they outgas some toxins or not.

Keep in mind that snakes kept in glass tanks are still being exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals. The water coming from your tap is the culprit. Use bottled water? What is it bottled in? What was used to process it? The answer is plastic--plastic, and more plastic, right back to the source, which is loaded with plastic. Remember, remarkably low amounts of endocrine disruptors cause big changes. Keeping the animals in plastic tubs--or not--may very well make no difference at all, because they have constant exposure from other sources.

If truly non-toxic plastics are created to replace those now known to be harmful, I will certainly jump on the bandwagon to replace the tubs and racks I'm using. In the meantime, I believe that keeping these snakes in plastic makes superior husbandry feasible for most people.

It's true, mammal studies cannot be extrapolated directly to reptiles, but chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system of mammals will also disrupt the endocrine systems of other creatures that HAVE endocrine systems. This has proven to be true so far. That was my point when I said that "It is better to error on the side of caution while awaiting more concrete data".
The rat studies are the first done.
HOWEVER...they aren't the last. Endocrine disruption due to BPA has now been confirmed in fish.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es000198n

I was going to say they hadn't been done in birds yet, but I found this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC227031/

If it affects mammals, birds, and fish in the same way...chances that reptiles are immune are next to none.