Ok....I'll try to explain:


An "attractive" environment would be on that is in an all glass cage (fish tank)...with a natural looking substrate (the stuff on the floor)...some greenery (fake)....and natural or cool looking hides...and a nice looking water dish.

The trouble with this kind of set-up:

--An all glass environment can make some ball pythons nervous because they feel too exposed
--The screened lid and thin glass make holding in heat and humidity much more difficult....causing greater temperature swings that can make your BP want to not eat...and low humidity that can cause difficult sheds
--Lots of stuff to clean and keep sanitary

A more basic and "plain" setup would be a plastic tub that you can see through but isn't completely clear....newspaper or papertowel on the "floor"...two basic hides and a small, plain water dish. The plastic tub would have small holes drilled or melted along the sides to allow for fresh air.

The benefits of this:

--It maintains proper temps and humidity almost effortlessly.
--VERY easy to clean.
--BP's tend to feel more secure because they can't see the wide world outside so well.

ALL that being said...it IS possible to keep a nice tank/glass cage for your snake. It just depends on if the amount of extra work involved is worth the good looks or not.