Hello everyone. I have been reading your forum for a couple days now, and what a great plethora of knowledge you guys have here. I have already learned a lot, and now have a couple of specific questions that I would like to get some input on.

First, I have read on here that starting out a new ball python in a large tank can lead to the snake not eating due to the large amount of space. However, I have also seen places that say large tanks can work if you use a couple "larger" hides, and just sort of clutter things up a bit. So I know that about a 20 gallon tank is good for a juvenile but for an adult a 36x18x12 tank works well. So I would like to save a bit of money if I could, and instead of buying successive tanks as the snake grows, buy the largest one that would do the job. So would buying the adult size tank work if I just used a couple hides, slightly larger water bowl, and used some branches and plastic plants to make the space not seem so open or should i just buy the 20 gallon tank and trade it out for a larger one when the time comes.

My one last question is about heating. I want to make sure i have the right concept down. So using a UTH on the cold side to get it to about 80, and a infrared heat bulb on the hot side to get it to about 90, and monitor the heat in the middle of the tank not down by the heat pad or up by the lamp. Do I have that right or is there something I am missing?

I have ordered a couple items online from amazon that I can get cheaper than buying from a pet store, and am looking to assemble the complete setup mid next week, and work on getting the temperatures constant before the ball python is purchased. I also have a ball python manual ordered so I can read up on care. No use getting the snake killed because I try to rush things instead of doing it right.

If you guys think of any suggestions, or criticisms to what I wrote above, I would love to hear them.

TheChemist