Yes, I would say definitely use the locks.

While I don't keep BPs, I do keep boas, and a retic in APs, and a small-bodied carpet in a very similar PVC cage, and without using door locks, the pythons WILL and HAVE escaped. Each python has escaped one time each, with no gap left open on the edge. I haven't kept a BP since the 90s, so I'm not exactly sure of their dexterity, but for sure my pythons are active and determined enough to open their doors if the locks aren't in place. The time with the retic I simply forgot to put the lock on one night after a water change, and with the carpet, I simply didn't believe she'd be able to open the doors if they were closed all the way until I found out that yes, in fact she could... Luckily my snakes are kept in their own locked room without any real places to hide, so each time one got out, I saw them immediately in the morning crouched on top of others' cages. My retic is so crafty with his nose that I had to remove the basically-sealed light fixture in my retic's AP cage because he kept completely taking it apart (every single piece) on his active nights.

Anyway, through lessons learned, I am a firm believer in the sliding door locks and am totally OCD about making sure they are locked every time I close a cage for the day/night. I also don't find them to be a pain at all, as was described earlier in the thread, and think that the version AP uses are nice and streamlined-looking as well.

As for the need for door handles, I use these from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/C-R-LAURENCE-S...pr_product_top They are subdued, blend in with the glass, and help eliminate the fingerprint issue. Work really well for me.