Quote Originally Posted by bigballs View Post
i agree that ball pythons do better in smaller enclosures but i think that there can be too small an enclosure for a ball python. i think the 32 qt is too small so a 28 qt is definitely too small for a full grown male or female. sure some may eat and even breed in those things but that doesnt mean they should be kept in there for life. if people want to keep em all cramped, hey thats your thing but personally i feel its wrong to take advantage of their minimal space requirements.
I'm pretty sure a 28qt and a 32qt have the same floor space, with the 28qt. being about 1/2" shorter. For me, at least for now, all my adults are thriving in them, and I don't think they are too cramped. Here is my largest 2,500g female in a 28qt. I have no problem with other people keeping them in bigger cages, as long s they are thriving in their care, but I don't believe it's wrong to keep them like I do.


Quote Originally Posted by starmom View Post
I have a couple of bigger snakes in 32 qt tubs and the rest of the bigger snakes in 3x2x1 reptile cages. The snakes in tubs can't get away from their waste and so lie in it until early morning when I clean them. The balls in cages never lay in their waste since they have room to get away from it. To me this suggests that there might be a limit as to how minimal a ball python would go were they able to choose their own living spaces
I haven't ever noticed this. I have noticed that hatchlings and juvies will poo in their hide and stay in there with it until I clean the next day, while older snakes will go in the far corner and stay out of it. Even my adults in the "cramped" tubs are easily able to avoid their defication, where younger snakes will sometimes go whereever they are sitting, even when they have plenty of room to avoid it. I very rarely have an adult crawl in it's own mess. Even when I got home from 6 days in Daytona, I had a lot of dry waste in corners, and not one of them had visibly been touched.

Quote Originally Posted by Dave79 View Post
I have an 825 gram female pied in a 6qt hatchling rack. I've moved her into a 15 qt rack and every time I move her she stop's eating. Even with a hide box So, for now she stays in a hatchling rack.
At 825g, I personally think it's time to move up in size, even if it takes 4-6 weeks to get her eating again, but I wouldn't bash you for your choice. You will have to move her eventually, though. That does seem a bit cramped to the point where she wouldn't be able to avoid crawling in defication.
Quote Originally Posted by Butters420 View Post
totally agree.i truly feel sorry for a animal that can fart on one side and smell it on the other.

Quote Originally Posted by cH@0s View Post
I might be new to snakes, but im not new to simple life things. Animals need space, whether they use it all the time or not. Sure some might say that in the wild they spend 90% of their time in a hole in the ground, but that other 10%, however long it lasts time wise, they are able to move around freely and not have to worry about limitations. They are able to stretch their body out entirely, not always curled up.

Imagine as a person (we too are animals), sitting all day long, it's possible, but DEFINATELY not advised, sure we might have more serious health issues if we do, but think of the comfort factor.

How would you feel if you saw someone keeping a big German Shepard dog in a cage all day, or a small yard even. Lion in a zoo compared to the plains of Africa.

Just my thoughts
People, dogs and cats are not ball pythons. That's comparing apples and broccoli. They spend 90% of their time in a cramped hole. The other 10% they are looking for food, water or a mate. They are ambush preditors, so they are just lazy like that to begin with, and we provide them with food, fresh water, a clean enclosure and a mate. If we keep them well fed, they almost never leave from their curled up position in a corner of the tub. Also, snakes in general have a very unique muscular system. If a ball python has enough room to make a U in it's cage, it has plenty of room to stretch and exercise evey muscle in it's body, whenever it wants to. Plenty of snakes need a lot of room to fully extend their bodies, but ball pythons don't need a large enclosure to thrive.