I've been in the state of, "I'm getting a ball" for, well since I was 8 years old when one of my Father's closest friends introduced me to his. I'm research happy and wanted to have all the information together before I brought one home. I needed time to come to terms with the possibility of having to kill a mouse (as I've owned rats as pets and still don't like this idea as I'd feel awful) the possibility of being able to go with frozen opened up a lot of possibilities, and now I'm down to crunch time because I've decided she's coming home with me this week...

But the problem....

I had decided to go against the glass enclosure that used to house my boyfriend's leopard gecko as humidity was too much of an issue, and the lid that is currently on it is NOT secure (It's appox 20gal as well). So, a friend who's Dad is a snake and reptile breeder brought me an encased plastic enclosure today which I had prepaid for. The top and three sides are plastic, with a small wire mesh ventilation slot along the back and glass sliding door front with a lock, exactly the sort of thing I was looking for, can be kept nice and dark, heated, and humidity shouldn't be an issue... Problem? It's about 3 feet long x 11/2 feet deep x 2 feet tall... *Too* big for a baby ball.

What I'm wondering is: Is there any way possible to utilize what I've got in a way that will keep the ball happy. Getting the heat set up properly with an UTH on one side and a more concentrated light on the other, coconut substrate and water dish in the centre has been pretty easy when I set up my friend's the other evening, humidity is set properly as well, but I don't want the poor thing to be stressed out by having too much room.

Would it be possible to utilize this sort of set up for a new ball if more than two hide boxes are provided throughout (Or something providing more secure space)?? The enclosure is already solid on 4 of 5 visible sides (left, right, top and back)... Would adding additional hide boxes do the trick???

As the friends I went through to get it are very experienced snake owners, I figured that I'd end up with exactly what I was looking for, but due to some confusion about who it was for and ball vs. pine snake I've got something fit for a full grown ball that wanted to have a pond in the middle of it's habitat!!! That, and the price that I paid, well let's just say I got a whole lot for what I paid!

Any help would be much appreciated!!!