Thinking about snake #2, opinions?

[DennisM]

An adult common BCI or Dum is not going to fit well in a 55 gallon tank as it's too narrow. One of my adult BRB's came with one, and he did fit in it, but he's a slender boa. A dwarf dum that tops out at 5', an adult male BRB, or one of the smaller locality BCI's like a Sonoran or Tarahumara would also fit.

The problem with all of these is screen top = problems maintaining humidity. There are threads where people have shown how they altered their 55-gal tanks to be used on their sides, with plexiglass drop-doors installed on the top (which is now the side), to give the snake more floor space and improve heat and humidity retention. Here is a recent one: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...a-tank-on-side

Agreed, the 12 inch width is not appropriate for a heavy bodied snake. At one time I kept larger Honduran milks in 35 gallon tanks turned on their side, it worked out reasonably well. Obviously not heavy bodied snakes, but the 36x18 size was nice for them. I hate the weight of glass tanks and no longer use them.

As for the OP's original question, I would like to add sumatran short tails to the list of candidates. Not too long, heavy bodied and very we'll mannered. An adult could be kept in a 55 gallon tank on it's side, but not upright.