Reptile & Amphibian Forums

picking up my ball next week, not sure what size of tank to use. i have a 25 gallon and a 10 gallon, what should i use to start off?

A 25 gal would be fine, temporarily.

tanks and snakes are a no no anyway. but big tanks and baby snakes are even more of a no no. it could work if you provide enough hides, but, being in a big, clear, "open" enclosure can make even the best feeder baby insecure enough to go off feed. ive got my hatchling, and i mean hatchling, ball in a large rubbermaid shoebox. its more than ample, its also not clear, holds humidity well, and holds heat well. shes still got tons of hide areas, but in her rubbermaid she usually sits on top of her hides waiting for food. this is one of many, id give a number but ive lost count, snakes i keep and have kept in rubbermaids, and i rarely have any feeding or shed issues! rubbermaids are one of the best smaller snake cages there are. they are also easily heated, heat tape or even a human heatting pad work well, i use a soldering iron to melt holes into the cages for ventilation. always use a thermostat, proportional or on off, doesnt matter, but they are some of the best peace of mind i can have. good luck

J
-----
Jaymz
"got a bowlin ball in my stomache, got a desert in my mouth. figures that my courage would choose to sell out now..."

in your rubbermaid, what kind of substrate and accessories are you using. the reason why i chose a tank is because i want it to look nice.

for all baby snakes i use plain white paper towels. once theyre a bit older and a bit tougher i use newspaper. again, cheap, easy to find, the snake cant ingest it easily, oh and did i mention cheap! newspaper its really the all around best substrate ive found for herps in the last 18 years. ive used it all, and most of it isnt worth the hassle! plus the harder a cage is to clean the less often it gets cleaned. other than that, some slabs of cork to hide under, i use the flat sections, makes them feel much more secure, snakes really like to wedge themselves in, afterall theyre hiding for a reason! and a water bowl, thats it. in the end it comes down to function, ease of cleaning, whats best for the snake (far from what is best for the keeper in most cases), and what provides the best "bang" for my buck. aquariums, great for fish, horrible for snakes. they dont hold heat or humidity well, theyre very open which is bad for any insecure snake. plus they dont offer much width, theyre alot more narrow than id like. and on a side note, i dont have pics of it handy, but for older snakes that are established feeders, rubbermaids can be modified into display cages, most of my larger rubbermaids (housing more arboreal scrub pythons) have plexiglass fronts, and still maintain major functionality, they still hold heat and humidity quite well, but i wouldnt use them for young or insecure snakes, plain ole unmodified rubbermaids are best for them. good luck

JAy
-----
Jaymz
"got a bowlin ball in my stomache, got a desert in my mouth. figures that my courage would choose to sell out now..."

if possible, would you be able to email me a picture of the setup you use for a baby ball? this will be my first snake and i want to start off on the right foot. my email address is three60flip@hotmail.com. thanks jaymz

-andrew