Would a male ball python reach 5 feet

[Sauzo]

You are talking like he is not going to have any floor space at all. Of course he will have a hide, his water bowl and his heating source all on the floor and an additional space will remain also. Every animal is differant. If i put him for example in a glass tank (like the photo of SDA) no matter how big the floor space is, most likely that he will go off food because he does not like to be seen a lot. The most important indication if a BP is happy and secure is that he eats regulary and do not go off food. All the talk about utilizing the height and istalling a board and branches is only meant when he sometimes get active at night so he will have enough space to move.

Actually that is wrong. They go off feed during breed season too a lot of time. My female quit eating for 6 months. Before that she ate like a horse and after that she ate like a horse. BPs more or less just regulate their own food intake.

And you said your BP would go off food if he is seen a lot. Well guess what chief, putting him in a 2x2 floor space cage crammed with a cool and warm hide and water bowl and then giving it 3 feet of branches with a platform to sit on is about the most open you can get.

And i dont know about you but my 4.5 foot BP uses large RB hides which are about 12x9 inches and she fits tight in them. 2 of those combined with a large water bowl like i said above is going to leave pretty much no room on the floor so you are basically forcing the BP to go arboreal or sit squished up and double backed on itself in a little 2x2 box.

You need to do what is best for the snake, not what you feel is best and considering 99% of the people are trying to tell you you need to go with more floor space and the fact the thousands of people who have kept BPs for years and years and years also say they need floor space, you still ignore it and think your snake is some unique snowflake that needs 3 feet of height and 2x2 floor space. You have the same thought about your boa being 1.5 years old and like 5 feet or something crazy like that and eating large rats. I'm sorry to inform you but you dont have unique snakes, you just have snakes that you have grossly pigeonholed into what your idea of them should be. Listen to the folks who have had snakes longer than you have probably been alive. They know what they are talking about.