Ugrading the Enclosure well....eventually. Questions.

[ClarinetPhoenix]

So my girl Rei, is currently weighing in at 508 grams at about a year old. She is currently housed in a 20gal terrarium, silly n00b me got a glass tank for her first snake, with my own modifications to maintain humidity and temperature. Mainly the screen-top is covered in a vinyl-lined fabric to keep the heat and moisture in.
Anyway within the last couple months or so with her increase in size I'm feeling like she's starting to outgrow her tank, its probably just the clutter and me seeing how much space she's taking up, I did just buy her a new hide too since the one she favored was too small now for her.
Yes I'm aware that bigger is not necessarily better for BP's, so I'm not in a rush to go out and buy an ExoTerra 40gal Large Low for her... lmao I did consider it because they are fancy, but...yeah no. Rather do right by my snakes.

Now, I'm curious to when you all decide to upgrade your BP's enclosures? I've been looking at Animal Plastics, they seem to have the best set-ups for the best price.
I will be moving out on my own down the road here in a few months(hence why a big ass glass tank is a bit of a "uh, do I really want to be moving/carrying/cleaning that thing all by myself?"), but after that I wanted to start looking into moving Rei into what I would call her "forever home".

Would it be too soon to upgrade her in the next year or so?
What model of the Animal Plastics would you recommend for a growing and eventually adult BP for life?
How does one typically heat these enclosures?
Would you recommend UVB lighting or any lighting at all?
How do temperature and humidity probes work with the AP enclosures?



Also I would love pictures of setups you guys have, it would make it easier for me to see the enclosures in action. :3

[alittleFREE]

As long as there’s enough hiding places and clutter, and she’s a generally well-adjusted snake (not a picky feeder or anything), then I personally would feel comfortable moving her into her adult sized enclosure in the near future.

A lot of people use T8s for the BPs (4x2), but there are a couple of different models that would be appropriate depending on your preferences/needs. I personally don’t like anything shorter than 15” because it’s hard to get in there myself to clean, etc.

Most common heating methods are flexwatt (heat tape - a form of UTH) or radiant heat panels (RHP). Some do one or the other, some do both. Depends on your preference and what your temps are like in your house.

UVB is not necessary but some find it beneficial. It doesn’t hurt. You could also do LED if you don’t want to go the UVB route. You will want some sort of lighting in there, though, otherwise it’s a black box... so you can imagine it would be hard to see and pretty dark inside.

Temp and humidity gauges work like in any other enclosure. You just put them in there..... There can be holes/slots made in the plastic when you order to accommodate the wires for probes if needed.

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[Mr. Misha]

Check this thread out. It will answer most (if not all) of your questions regarding PVC enclosures: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=165571

Uploaded the photos of my setup. The big one is an AP12, top one is AP8 and bottom is AP10. I like the AP10s the best!