Overprotective snake mom/total noob question about enclosure size

[Maymay]

My BP is about 3 months old and about 19 inches long. Not sure her weight. She's currently in a 19qt tub, dimensions 16L×10W×8.5H (inches.) I'm worried this is way too small for her? I read that you guys typically put juveniles in 12 or 15qts, but the underbed type, which has more floor space than height. I know she needs floor space, which is why I'm concerned that this is too small. But I also put some branches in her cage and and although balls are a ground species, she really seems to enjoy climbing and wrapping on them, so I will be steering away from 6inch underbed tubs because I want to give her some room to climb. Right now she bumps the top of the tub like she wants to get out, and it makes me sad to think she might feel confined in there. I have a 56qt tub. Dimensions are 23L×16Wx12H. Is this way too big?? It's roughly the size of a 20 gallon tank, yes? I read that some people put their juvenille BPs in 20 gallon tanks, which are way bigger than 15 qt tubs, but I don't want to stress her out putting her in something she doesn't feel secure in. Sorry if this is a totally idiotic question, but there's a lot of conflicting information. Thank you guys!

[Snake_Newb]

I have my juvenile in a 20 gallon and he is perfectly comfortable in it. I've heard a lot of people say 20 gallons is way too big, but I've also heard a lot say it is just fine. In the end, I think it boils down to how your snake responds to a larger enclosure. If she seems fine with the larger space then I'd say go for it. Just my opinion though, I'm still pretty new to this myself.

[Maymay]

Ah, so maybe I should just put her in there and see how she reacts. I'm just very limited on space so if its not necessary/in her best interest to upgrade to the 56qt I don't want to. Good to know other juveniles are doing fine in 20 gallons if I do need to upgrade!

[Zincubus]

Any chance of some dimensions ?? Sorry , gallons means nothing to some people ( me ) size wise ..


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[StillBP]

19qt is fine for a hatching my adult females are in 42qt and males are in 32qt unless s/he grows to be huge I personally wouldn't use the 56 qt s/he doesn't need anything that large .

[Maymay]

Any chance of some dimensions ?? Sorry , gallons means nothing to some people ( me ) size wise ..


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A 20 gallon tank is 30L×13W×13H. I don't have one of those, I have a 56qt bin that is 23L×16W×12H. The size is around the same which is why I was comparing the two.

[Zincubus]

A 20 gallon tank is 30L×13W×13H. I don't have one of those, I have a 56qt bin that is 23L×16W×12H. The size is around the same which is why I was comparing the two.

Good to know ..... re gallons / qt / inches ...


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[Maymay]

19qt is fine for a hatching my adult females are in 42qt and males are in 32qt unless s/he grows to be huge I personally wouldn't use the 56 qt s/he doesn't need anything that large .

Yes, that was my consideration, the quart size is huge. I know you guys don't even use that much for your adults, but I also considered that those are the underbed type which are only 6in in height. I want mine to have a little more room to climb just because she seems to enjoy it even though she doesn't need it, hence the 12 inch height instead of 6, which is why the quart size is huge.
I know 19qt is fine quart wise, but what about the actual dimensions of the floor space? Measuring from the bottom she only has 13×8.5 to roam around in. Is that enough? I guess my real queston here is how much floor size do hatchlings/juveniles need, dimension wise.

[Regius_049]

If your snake is ~3 months older, I would guess he/she is somewhere in the ballpark of 100-150g. Your enclosure size is not really "too small" per se, but keep in mine enclosure size is something of a relative term. For example, some people keep adult BPs in 41 qt tubs and others keep them in larger plastic enclosures like a T8 from animal plastics. It is impossible to say which is truly better as I don't think reptile "happiness" can be accurately measured, assuming they have an emotion akin to happiness at all. Thus, I would say as long as your snake is eating well, growing appropriately, and shedding properly you are probably fine.

Generally speaking, many keep BPs around your snakes size in anything from ~5-6 qts up to 30 qts. Could you upgrade her to your 56 quart tub? Sure, it would probably be fine. Could you leave her in what she is currently in? Sure, that would probably be fine too. As long as the aforementioned husbandry criterion are met, you can pretty much do as you wish. I will note that some BPs are far more active than others, some may really get a lot of use out of the extra space, while others (more or less) stay in their hides all the time. It kind of sounds like you want to give her a larger enclosure, so don't be afraid to do so. If you start having issues like her not eating, add more cover/hides/terrain and the problem will likely go away. BP hatchlings clearly have tons of space in the wild, so any size cage with sufficient hides should work fine. The only caution against something too large is making it difficult for the BP to easily move from hot to cold areas, but you are unlikely to run into that problem with a 56 qt tub as your describe it.

[Maymay]

If your snake is ~3 months older, I would guess he/she is somewhere in the ballpark of 100-150g. Your enclosure size is not really "too small" per se, but keep in mine enclosure size is something of a relative term. For example, some people keep adult BPs in 41 qt tubs and others keep them in larger plastic enclosures like a T8 from animal plastics. It is impossible to say which is truly better as I don't think reptile "happiness" can be accurately measured, assuming they have an emotion akin to happiness at all. Thus, I would say as long as your snake is eating well, growing appropriately, and shedding properly you are probably fine.

Generally speaking, many keep BPs around your snakes size in anything from ~5-6 qts up to 30 qts. Could you upgrade her to your 56 quart tub? Sure, it would probably be fine. Could you leave her in what she is currently in? Sure, that would probably be fine too. As long as the aforementioned husbandry criterion are met, you can pretty much do as you wish. I will note that some BPs are far more active than others, some may really get a lot of use out of the extra space, while others (more or less) stay in their hides all the time. It kind of sounds like you want to give her a larger enclosure, so don't be afraid to do so. If you start having issues like her not eating, add more cover/hides/terrain and the problem will likely go away. BP hatchlings clearly have tons of space in the wild, so any size cage with sufficient hides should work fine. The only caution against something too large is making it difficult for the BP to easily move from hot to cold areas, but you are unlikely to run into that problem with a 56 qt tub as your describe it.

Thank you thank you!! This is very informative. Helps me understand why there's so much conflicting information out there, it's apparently subjective. So as long as she's eating fine and not displaying signs of stress she will be just fine in either. I suppose I'm just super paranoid about screwing up and stressing her out, which I never want to do to a captive animal. But this gave me peace of mind. If I upgrade her I'll be cluttering the crap out of it with leaves and branches anyway, so she will probably feel just fine in there. Thanks again!