New tank setup

[Appolion]

I may be new to snakes, but I've never understood why people seem to think the bare minimum (or close to it) is "the best" for the welfare of the snake. A 55 gallon, which measures 48x13x22, is not that much bigger than a 20L, 30, or 40. 20L is stretching it, but the rest are fairly close... I'm trying to make this tank as natural as I can. I find it hard to think that just because my tank is a little bigger than most, I'll have a stressed out snake.

[disabled.101]

I may be new to snakes, but I've never understood why people seem to think the bare minimum (or close to it) is "the best" for the welfare of the snake.

here is one reason: (from wikipedia)

Favored retreats include mammal burrows and other underground hiding places where they also. aestivate

the other reasons are its easier to maintain healthy temps, humidity and cleaning in a smaller cage.

[zhang317]

A large tank does not automatically equal a stressed ball python.

In caparison to a smaller tank, a large tank is harder to maintain temperatures, humidity, and the sense of security.

Temperature, humidity, and the sense of security can all be provided properly with the proper equipment and care. It is essentially a the same as a smaller tank, but on a larger scale, which is more difficult and more expensive; therefore less popular.

In the wild, ball pythons live in small abandoned rodent burrows, but they have the choice to move from one hiding place to another as they like. This a reason why some owners wish to provide their snake with a large enclosure.

Just because a ball python does really well is a small enclosures, that does not mean, it has to be in a small one. There are plenty of experienced owners on the site who can tell you that they have large enclosures with no problems. At the end of the day, every ball python and every owner is different, there are general rules for the keeping of ball pythons, but they are not set in concrete.

It is really discouraging when new owners sign on to this site, and people tell them to get ride of some of the things they own or just bought. Instead you can make more reasonable and kind suggestions, in this case: A large enclosure will be harder to maintain, but that does not mean it cannot be done.

[Kevin_Hornby]

We have 4 snakes in our tank currently. 2 female het albinos, a male het pied and a baby female cinnamon.

[Kaorte]

We have 4 snakes in our tank currently. 2 female het albinos, a male het pied and a baby female cinnamon.

I hope you know that is NOT OKAY.

[Kevin_Hornby]

And why is that "Not OK"?

[Kaorte]

And why is that "Not OK"?

Well if you don't know, then obviously you don't know very much about ball pythons.

You should NEVER EVER house ball pythons together unless they are breeding. Which surely yours are not. Ball pythons are solitary animals and become extremely stressed when housed with other ball pythons. Also, if one gets sick, all 4 get sick. If one has mites, they all have mites. Then you have to pay for 4 sick snakes as opposed to just one.

Taken from the ball python FAQ:
It is possible to do so, yes. But it is NOT a recommended practice. Snakes are not social creatures and it is stressful for them to live together. What may appear to be 'cuddling' is in fact the snakes competing for the best parts of the cage. Aside from the stress factor, snakes living in the same enclosure are free to share parasites and diseases with each other. This also makes it more difficult to figure out which one is sick if you notice abnormal stool, for instance.

What possessed you to put them all together?

[Appolion]

I hope you know that is NOT OKAY.

You really seem set in your ways.

[Appolion]

here is one reason: (from wikipedia)



the other reasons are its easier to maintain healthy temps, humidity and cleaning in a smaller cage.

I'm in no rush whatsoever when it comes to getting my snake. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait. But, making sure that when I get it, it has a well maintained (humidity, temps, security, etc.) tank is priority #1. I want it to be happy in the tank I envisioned, so I'll wait a bit longer and make sure it's done correctly. Sure, maybe I'll have to clean it up a bit longer and everything, but that's fine with me. If it does become too much, all I have to do is add a plexi separator and walla, it's a smaller tank.

I put a piece of plexi under the aquarium hood, which will be weighed down. The other side top is going to be two pieces of plexi with a piece of wire mesh in the middle so I can put the light on it. I threw that old screen away, my design will work and look much better Secured with aquarium sealant of course. I also added a UTH to the cool side and changed the light to a 100w che. Temps were looking good and I added rheostats to the UHT and have one for the che. Is it ok to use a dimmer with a che? The dimmer instructions say just incandescent and halogen. Would this be considered a fire hazard by any means? One more thing, the space between the two pieces of plexi with the mesh will be wrapped with foil to keep heat in since it's kind of a big tank. I'll leave a little room around the light or maybe around the side of the top to allow enough air flow.
I'll post pics when I'm done with it tomorrow night or monday night. Should be awesome. My BP will be in around tuesday!!! But I can pick it up when I'm ready. I'm so excited, but there's a lot of work to do making sure temps and humidity are correct and will remain consistent. Especially after I add all the plants, wood, hides, and water bowl. I can't wait

[Kaorte]

Ball pythons love small and tight spaces. they are easily overwhelmed by large enclosures. If you provide a good number of hides and add lots of foliage, the security aspect shouldn't be a ploblem, but just think about the amount of stuff you will have to clean.

Yes, the size isn't much different, but mostly that cage has a lot of height, which will never be used by this ground dwelling snake. So its just wasted space that you still need to heat properly.


Kevin hornby: Do you have multiple snakes in that enclosure?