Remember that in the wild ball pythons spend most of their time in a hole in the ground. They don't need all that pretty stuff, you do. The set up you are refering to is fine as long as the snake has ample hides. Racks make a lot more sense if you are going to own 13 snakes. Room being the main advantage. I keep 40 ball pythons now and all are in rack systems and all thrive well. I do have hides in all my tubs.