cage size

[justin4snakes]

y can a breeder keep his ball pythons in a small tub yet every one says the minimum for an adult is a 30-40 gallon. is it a good thing to keep mine in a rubbermaid sweater box

[infernalis]

It's really a matter of preference.

I keep my BP in a 4 foot long 55 gallon aquarium, and he uses all of it.

[Jenn_06]

i keep mines in 29qt tubs they eat and shed great so im guessing they are happy

[presspirate]

From what I understand, tubs are easy to clean, easy to heat, and easy to keep humidity up in. Aquariums and vivariums are nice if you like to watch your pet. It's a matter of preference I suppose. Breeders have so many snakes that they opt for the quicker and easier way, not to mention cheaper.

Breeder tubs may be smaller than what you are used to seeing, but most bps that I have seen don't move around a whole lot.

Having said that, I keep my two in 4x2x1 plastic cages similar to a boaphile cage.:) Only 1 of them uses the whole cage.

[Lankyrob]

Our BP has a 4foot by 2.5foot by 2.5foot vivarium

[percey39]

The general rule for cage dimensions are:
Half the length of the snake long
One third of the snakes length in width/deep
Depending on whether your snake is arboreal or terrestrial you make your height to suit.
Being a bp i would not worry too much about having heaps of height.
As far as breeders are concerned it is all about maximum cages/tubs for a maximum amount of snakes. As long as there is enough room for them to move around a little bit they should be fine. For people keeping snakes as pet the more room the better and also gives you a better chance to make a great display enclosure with a jungle/forest theme.

[Nafun]

Because breeders for profit are more interested in the well being of their bank account than the well being of their snakes. Breeders keep animals in small tubs because they can.

Would the snake be happier if it was in a larger enclosure? Probably, but they're not in the business of making happy snakes.

I keep my ball in a 4'L x 2'H x 1'W enclosure, he's got hot, cold, and medium hides, and an elaborate series of climbing branches and vines. He doesn't use it all, all the time, but he does use it all. Before I built this enclosure, he was in a 29 gallon aquarium. Is he happier now? I don't know, it's hard to quantify reptile happiness, but he does eat a lot more easily now, and has room to engage in "natural" hunting activity. (When he's hungry, he hangs upside down from his climbing branches and waits for a rat, then he strikes and hauls it up into the branches to eat) He's not full grown yet, I plan to eventually build him a 4'x2'x2' enclosure and pass his down to my carpet.