I bet if you ask a big breeder what size enclosure for an adult ball he would tell you the minimum size. Why? because look at what most breeders use, rack systems, they maximize their number of balls if they have them in the minimum size container. I am sure you can keep your ball in bigger enclsures and they will thrive just as well.

Is that bad? I don't know, I follow those suggestions, because they work. Breeders big or small will not jeopordize their $$$ collection, so there must be some truth to it.

Could you imagine if the minimum size container for a ball was 4'x4'x1', instead of having 50 to 100 breeder balls they would have 10 to 20.

I have also noticed that alot of breeders only use 1 hide, and some dont even have 1, so does it make a difference in the number of hides? i guess if you feel your ball is stressed and not feeding add hides and see if that works.

I personally use 2 hides, and even have a hide for my retics, even though retic keepers dont usually use them.

Like it was stated they are just sugestions, and variations there of should not make a big difference if any.

I dont have anything against breeders and the number of balls they have, the reason I used them as an example is because they have thousands of dollars invested in them and it would be silly for them to risk the life of a high end ball to save space.