In my experience, a typical "shoebox" tub (6 to 15 qt) would comfortably house a juvenile water python for up to a year. I would avoid enclosures that are too large for the young snakes, which might not feel secure enough to feed under those conditions. I would also avoid screen-topped glass aquaria, which are quite inefficient from a temperature/humidity standpoint.

I keep mine in individual tubs in the same rack system. Conventional wisdom dictates that you keep your younger animals separately (to cut down on undue stress and to allow you to monitor the animals more carefully). Plenty of folks keep older pythons together outside of breeding season and report positive results.

If you decide to follow their example at some point, be sure to choose a sufficiently large enclosure, and to offer double the choices that you would include in an enclosure for a single animal: multiple areas for shelter, multiple areas for basking, etc. That practice may help offset the risk of one snake monopolizing important resources. Also be sure to feed them separately. Given the intense feeding response of these snakes, to feed them at the same time and in the same enclosure is to court serious accident.

Good luck!

D.D.

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