Display Enclosures for Ball Pythons: Expectation vs. Reality

[SKO]

The way I look at it, a planted that is beautiful is still a lovely addition to the home even if the snake always hides.

That's one of the reasons I set my enclosures up the way I did. They are right in the living room and take up a decent amount of space. Not to mention that the snakes will be alive for a long time so I want something nice to look at. They do hide a lot but every once in a while when it becomes evening time, past 6 or 7, they will poke their heads out and "hang out" almost halfway out of their hides for a while. Or during the middle of the day you might catch one of them going from one hide to another. It's always fun to see them when you're not expecting to, at least to me it is.

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[Jeanne]

My bp is in a display enclosure.. in my sewing room. He is out a cpl times a week or so for an hour or so at a time, moving around. This is normal behavior for him though, hes always been like this. Even when he was in a tub. I thnk my bp is just active.

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[Kaorte]

Lol guys it was just supposed to be a joke about how destructive ball pythons can be. Was not meant to deter you all from doing your thing.

Nothing wrong with a display setup, I just think it's funny that I wake up to this mess all the time.


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[Lizardlicks]

Nice finds! I've considered some more natural hides, but I'm cheap and I like things that are easy to clean.

No way will I put live plants in with a BP.

1. They will eventually knock them over.
2. I am terrible at keeping house plants live lol.


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Okay, that's fair lol . My other hobbies include gardening and permaculture, so planted is a little better for me. Beeps aren't intentionally destructive, but they're strong, large bodied snakes, and when they go cruising if it ain't nailed down it'll get rearranged haha.

[Zincubus]

I think because of how big and heavy balls are when they go cruising, making a display enclosure with that in mind is key. So something like this:


Hides


A nice tunnel


A good, sturdy climbing branch



Water dish (this one is neat, it sits down under the substrate!) and then for your bit of green getcha a couple of these


And put reptile safe live plants in them! You'll want to get mature plants that can stand up to vigorous noofing and being slithered on, and you may want to keep back ups to cycle out so one can have a recovery break, but they'll be less likely to be pushed over than the flimsy plastic things.

Excellent suggestions ... I'd add a few more branches as well ...


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[Zincubus]

Okay, that's fair lol . My other hobbies include gardening and permaculture, so planted is a little better for me. Beeps aren't intentionally destructive, but they're strong, large bodied snakes, and when they go cruising if it ain't nailed down it'll get rearranged haha.

True ... just basic physics really ...


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[Zincubus]

I see a lot of new keepers (and more experienced ones) talk about maintaining a display enclosure so they can watch their snake cruise around. Something pretty to look at. I get it! I've kept my ball pythons in tubs and display enclosures and for me, the actual snake viewing time is the same: non at all.

So, I just wanted to share with you a funny comparison photo. Display enclosure expectation:



Vs. Reality:



I've fixed up the plants every day for the last two days and every morning I awake to this mess. Lol! I give up! If this is how she likes it, this is how I'll leave it.


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I notice that this was a tongue-in- cheek post but you did kinda suggest the snake ' viewing time ' in vivs V rubs is the same when in fact if you'd simply add a few branches , wedging them in diagonally or glueing with a hot- gun then you'd actually see a MASSIVE difference as Royals will climb for hours in the evenings given the chance .

Your display actually looked good but as someone else mentioned it simply wasn't snake proof . I've also seen some use plastic garden ties which are hot-glued in place and then the plastic / fake plants are easily removed and replaced time and time again .

All credit to you for choosing a Viv and making it look so nice though !!


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[Nellasaur]

You could always drill through the plastic of your viv and set up hooks/use wire to hold the plants up? Or get bigger, sturdier suction cups to use, I have my BP's hanging plant decor on a big bathroom suction cup and it rarely comes down, even when Yigg climbs all over it. That works for me!

[cletus]

Lol guys it was just supposed to be a joke about how destructive ball pythons can be. Was not meant to deter you all from doing your thing.

Nothing wrong with a display setup, I just think it's funny that I wake up to this mess all the time.


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Oh I def got the joke. lol My girl moves everything around. She flips her hides and before I got a heavier water dish, she would dump that too. lol she likes to wedge herself in between things and push. I just let her do her thing. As long as she isn't laying in water I don't much care what she does. Eventually she will go in a T8 or something like that depending on how big she gets but I don't plan on anything fancy. Just adequate space for her to thrive is all I care about.

[Kaorte]

I notice that this was a tongue-in- cheek post but you did kinda suggest the snake ' viewing time ' in vivs V rubs is the same when in fact if you'd simply add a few branches , wedging them in diagonally or glueing with a hot- gun then you'd actually see a MASSIVE difference as Royals will climb for hours in the evenings given the chance .

Your display actually looked good but as someone else mentioned it simply wasn't snake proof . I've also seen some use plastic garden ties which are hot-glued in place and then the plastic / fake plants are easily removed and replaced time and time again .

All credit to you for choosing a Viv and making it look so nice though !!


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Well since they are nocturnal and I am asleep for most of the night, yeah, the viewing time is pretty slim. When I do catch her awake at night, she is usually just looking at me from inside her hide or coiled in the back of the enclosure. She cruises around very little. I'll consider the branches. I mainly just don't want more stuff to scrub poo off

Oh I didn't expect it to be snake proof haha. I just wanted something nicer than a black box to look at. Zip tying the plants seems like a good idea. I don't want to mess with hot glue. I might also get some standalone fake plants that I can put right side up a bit easier.

Thanks Since I only have the one snake right now, it just makes sense to use a viv.

You could always drill through the plastic of your viv and set up hooks/use wire to hold the plants up? Or get bigger, sturdier suction cups to use, I have my BP's hanging plant decor on a big bathroom suction cup and it rarely comes down, even when Yigg climbs all over it. That works for me!

I drilled some holes already to wire the lighting. I suppose I could use some smaller holes & zip ties to secure the plants. We shall see

Oh I def got the joke. lol My girl moves everything around. She flips her hides and before I got a heavier water dish, she would dump that too. lol she likes to wedge herself in between things and push. I just let her do her thing. As long as she isn't laying in water I don't much care what she does. Eventually she will go in a T8 or something like that depending on how big she gets but I don't plan on anything fancy. Just adequate space for her to thrive is all I care about.

Lol good. Yeah I guess that is what I meant. They tend to smash themselves around.. so unless you glue everything down, it's going to get tipped eventually. Even a ceramic dish can get tipped!