Would a male ball python reach 5 feet

[Regius_049]

This is not a cage measuring contest. As I said, you can get both height and length, but it IS important you provide length. That is why custom cages exist. Maybe a 4x2x3 would work better for you, but it is very important you provide them the opportunity to stretch out.

Pretty much this. As you note, there is evidence that ball pythons do indeed climb a limited amount in a wild setting. Ball pythons have been found in low-lying branches and foliage, but it is not their predominant trait. If you had started this thread with something like: "I want to make my enclosure 2-3' high and give my ball python more room to climb", you would have received a much different reaction from myself and others here. Perhaps some stating you don' need the height, but still overall supportive. The problem is you are sacrificing length for height and your length (more specifically floor space) is pretty small for a a ball python. I am of the opinion that 4' is best for ball pythons, but 3' is probably fine for smaller specimens. I would still rather see 4', but 3' is probably acceptable.

To put this in perspective for you and to be complete, even if it were a very arboreal snake like a green tree python or jungle carpet python, 2' in length / width would still be insufficient. I know some people keep them in that, but they really should be in something at least 3' x 2' (L x W) x 2-3' high. Greg Maxwell himself suggests 3' x 2' x 2' caging for green tree pythons and notes 4' long is even better. Most experienced keepers note that additional height is indeed beneficial to these snakes, but floor space is even more so.

To be fair, your enclosure is 23.6" x 31.5" (per your measurements with the "addition") and a 40 gallon breeder is 36" x 18" typically. Thus, your cage has ~744 sq. inches of floor space while the 40 gallon breeder has 648 sq. inches of floor space, so you could argue you are winning out there. Additionally for comparison, an IRIS CB-70 (37 qt tub) is 33.5" x 17.8" or 596 sq. inches of floor space. I have to admit that really, if people are going to critique this guy's enclosure, then we should be critiquing breeders/keepers with snakes in CB-70 (or equivalent) tubs as well. I realize this is perhaps outside the scope of this particular discussion, but I have noticed, in general, people tend to be pretty OK with keeping adult ball pythons in tubs.

However, for a 4.5" ball python, as others have noted, I would really like to see something closer to 3-4' x 2-2.5', which would give you a minimum 864+ sq. inches of floor space. This, in my personal opinion, is the minimum enclosure size for an adult ball python.