Hello everyone!

I have had a single ball Python in the past but that is about the extent of my knowledge with snakes.

I have a gorgeous female IJ jag sibling yearling on hold with a breeder, feeding well on f/t rat pups and puppy dog tame. She is paid for; he is justwaiting for me to give the okay to ship her.

I have a drilled 60qt Ziploc weather guard bin (23x17x11.5 approx) with paper towels for substrate, a couple of hides, a water bowl, and some climbing branches. I also have a medium heat mat with a thermostat for the temperature gradient.

I have read evey care article I can get my hands on but would like clarification on a few things. Now on to the annoying questions!

I have read a lot of debate on back heat vs belly heat for ball pythons but haven't really seen it discussed for carpets. Should I Mount the heat mat on the bottom of the enclosure or on one side since she is semiarboreal? Or should I ditch the heat mat and go with a radiant heat panel? I didn't think those were safe for bin cages but if they are, I would be happy to go ahead and get one.

What size should she be before I look into a more permanent enclosure? Or should I ditch the bin and get one ASAP?

She is over 90%. IJ blood, so I am anticipating (read hoping) that she tops out around 5 ft. I have been looking at an animal plastics cage as her permanent enclosure. They have a specialty cage for carpet pythons, but it seems a bit small to me and is only 15" high. I could be off base here but I would think that a semiarboreal snake would need more height. I would like everyone's opinions on an appropriate cage size, height included. I do not plan on getting more snakes (famous last words) so a display cage is preferred. I would also like brand suggestions.

I have read that carpets don't need a water bowl big enough to soak in. The thought of going with a smaller bowl makes me uncomfortable but it would give her more floor space.

When it comes to feeding, inside the enclosure or in a separate tub? If inside the enclosure, does anyone have suggested methods for getting her to differentiate between feeding time and handling time?

What substrate is currently the most highly recommended? Something like ecoearth? Repticarpet or newspaper? Keep the paper towels?


Thanks for taking the time to look at this and I am sorry for the stupid questions.