Some questions

[Gliven]

Hello all I'm new to the forums and to ball pythons I just got a baby yesterday who weighs 88 grams. Anyways I've been keeping him in a tub that is 39 inches long and 18 inches wide. Can I keep him in there for his whole life or will he need something bigger later on and is it okay to keep him in a tub of this size right now. Also, I have one that is 23" by 15". Thanks

[Alexandra V]

You could probably keep him in there for a good part of his life, but that also depends on how big he gets. You may have to play it by ear when he starts to get a bit too big. Also, if he is small, you may want to throw in some clutter for now to make him feel safer, or use the smaller tub for now.

[Gliven]

Ok thank you very much for your help.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

This is an VERY big tub for a very tiny hatchling, this type of tubs is usually used to keep adults.

I would recommend keeping a 88 grams hatchling in a 6 quarts (15 at the very most) and upgrade as needed.

If you want a stress free BP that eat with consistency the key is to keep him warm and tight.

[Gliven]

Wow, well on what basis would I use to determine when to move him to a larger enclosure the smaller one I had is a 38 quart by the time he needs to move him would that be his next step up?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Wow, well on what basis would I use to determine when to move him to a larger enclosure the smaller one I had is a 38 quart by the time he needs to move him would that be his next step up?

To me it's on a case by case basis, the more animals you own the more you come to realize they differ, I have some that I have house straight from 6 quarts tubs to 41 quarts and others that I moved to 15 than 32 than 41, it really depends on the animal and how well he does.

This is something you learn as you go as you see your animal grow and learn his behavior and recognize whether the animal is stress or well adjusted to his environment.

Now if I was giving general advice I would say

6 quarts untill it reaches 250 grams
15 quarts until 500 grams
32 quarts until 1500 grams
41 quarts for anything over 1500 grams

Again depending on your animal you might be able to skip some step

[Gliven]

Well I found a 15 quart storage bin laying around so I switched him to that he seems to like it more but hey what do I know. Hate to be a bother but I'm thinking about switching my heat pad to flex what if I got the 11 inch and let some overhang from the side of the cage will that be fine so that way I can use it for progressively larger enclosures as he grows. Again thanks so much for the quick responses and your help.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Well I found a 15 quart storage bin laying around so I switched him to that he seems to like it more but hey what do I know. Hate to be a bother but I'm thinking about switching my heat pad to flex what if I got the 11 inch and let some overhang from the side of the cage will that be fine so that way I can use it for progressively larger enclosures as he grows. Again thanks so much for the quick responses and your help.

You do not bother asking question that's how you learn

You can perfectly use 11 inches flexwatt just lay it Dow flat on a surface and place 1/3 of your new enclosure on it.

You'll be ok and you will learn as your animal grows we all did

[Gliven]

Ok now I'm having some problems my house is pretty cool and I have the snake in the basement the temp is 74 degrees the hot side in my container is 90 degrees and the cool side is only 76 and I can't get it any higher.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

As long as the cool side does not fall
Below 75 you'll be fine, if it does consider moving him in a warmer part if the house or consider getting a second uth with a second t-stat to maintain proper temps on the cool side.