Ball python in 120 gallon?

[ApathyAngel]

If you've got an adult, 35 gallons is acceptable if you have no other options, but it's too small. Keep her in the 120 gallon.

That's the size I want to upgrade my female to eventually. I've had tons of success with tanks that size in the past, but as others have said, glass can be finicky.

In my opinion, though, the aesthetics are worth the small amount of extra work.

Heat mat size is somewhat subjective, I've found. You want to provide a hot spot at least as big as she is when she's curled up. But not so big that she can't get off of it without having to go to the cool side.

But for the love of all that is holy, thermostats are your best friend. Those tanks are expensive and unregulated heat mats can overheat and crack that glass before you even realize what's happening (which I learned the hard way. Replacing my retic's tank was not fun).

My husband keeps our house between 71 and 75, so I need to provide more ambient heat than the heat mat. And that can cause problems, too. But I think it'll be easier to manage in Canada than in the desert where I live.

But CHEs dry the air out. So you've got to make sure most of the top of your tank is covered, and monitor the humidity carefully. If you live in a more humid area, just spraying the inside walls of the tank once a day might be all you need. I spray twice a day, and that's enough to keep my humidity hovering around 40-45%.

Or, one of the biggest benefits of a large tank, you can create a humidity box on the warm side of the tank, beside her regular hide. I've had incredible success with humidity boxes, even when I've struggled to keep the ambient tank humidity up. And (since I'm a sucker for aesthetics) in a larger tank, you have room for a beautiful, naturalistic-looking humidity box alongside the regular warm hide.

And with larger glass tanks, it does take some trial and error with the CHE thermostat to get the ambient temp right.

Glass doesn't hold heat like other materials, so you have to take that into consideration. You want to go with the largest size CHE that is reasonable for the tank size, and keep the thermostat lower, as opposed to a smaller, more concentrated CHE set at a higher temperature. You want the heat from the CHE to be spread over a larger area instead of concentrated in one spot.

That should also help keep your cool side in the correct range, but if it doesn't, you may want to go with a second UTH for the cool side and set it to 78 or so. I've never had to do that, but I also live in a warmer climate, so that might make a difference.

Also make sure you give her some fake plants or branches or twigs, etc. So she still feels like she has cover when she moves around her tank (also, it looks better). I just use fake plants from the dollar store (make sure you wash everything before putting it in the tank) and my female is very happy with those. I change them out every few weeks, and every time I do, she loves coming out and exploring her new digs. It's super cute to watch.

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