Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How about using 2 - 28 qt Rubbermaids normally used for colubrids, but link them (one above the other in a rack system) via connected holes? I would paint the lower one dark and use a more moist cypress mulch to simulate a dark, cool, burrow. The top one would be bright with heat tape to give a choice of micro climates. Since the BP would have a choice of light and heat, and the total floor area would be twice the amount of a single 28 qt. box, would that be enough space for an adult BP? Has anyone done something similar already? If so, how did it work?

I only have one normal sub adult BP right now, but am thinking of more babies. I am trying to decide how I will house them as adults.

Thanks!

Hello Kathy..welcome to the land of Pythonae.......LOL

ok.....first.....I and all others would tell you to just go with bigger boxes......like the CB-70's and the others......ones that are at least 34 inches long and about 17 wide ...even bigger would be better......*(they do make CB-75's).,,,,,,,huge........

........I personally have had BIG balls in 28 quart boxes / racks for a few years now.but they haven't got the room they actually need........they are ok....they breed and lay......but I pity them........

*(I have bigger racks on order now and others being made to see how they work).........

........your idea would be fine but I think it would be alot of trouble actually to keep 2 cages / boxes per ball......

...a 28 qt for light and a 28 qt for darkness would be fine.......

..good luck...........balls are as easy as corns........have fun.........
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I've never tried anything like that~ I use 41qt sterlites in homemade racks for the adult balls~ but an interesting note on your idea~

To get WC's to feed I have used mulch mixed with soil~ with a tight hide in the back~ and the entire rack draped in towels to provide almost complete darkness 24 hours a day (almost complete as some light leaks through). This worked well~ so your idea of the lower box being completely dark may work for you.

However~ I think you would take up less space building yourself some racks to hold the 41qt tubs. I'm short~ but can get my racks up to 10 high without any trouble pulling a tub from the top. And the 41qt tubs would not use much more floor space than you would be using for 5 high with your 28qt tubs. (I do have one I built 11 high~ but that last tub is too high for me to really use much)

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Cheryl Marchek
AKA JM
Check out my website at:
The Red Dragons Den

The only way I can take on more new species is by thinning out some corns. That means I will have a lot of racks with 2 rows each of 6 high 28 qt Rubbermaids that will be empty. Since cornsnake breeders are notoriously poor, I would like to adapt them to other snakes, if that is possible. And, I also like trying something new and innovative, if it appears it will have a reasonably good chance of working without being harmful to the snakes. So i was hoping somebody had done something similar, or experienced BP breeders could at least give me their best opinion on likely negative or positive aspects of the plan.

The idea of having only one snake per 2 cages (less snakes total) is kind of appealing right now, and will be even moreso once I am drowning in baby corns this spring / summer!

Is how you would connect the two tubs. I know you know snakes can squeeze out of any sort of space that will work if they want to. I find it interesting that you would be able to connect tubs somehow of an existing rack system.

If you try this please let us know how it works. The idea of a dark burrow/light area is very interesting to me. I could see how giving a ball a nice damp dark area where it thinks it's all alone could really help it feed, and maybe even be a benefit to feeding captives. Your idea is very interesting to me.

I remember reading about Bob Applegate doing something like this with milks, I think you'd find though that the balls would probably be spending all of their time in the dark 'burrow' side rather then the light side but it does sound like a more 'natural' type setup it would be interesting to try it out. Like Jeffrey, I keep most of my balls in the 28 quart rubbermaids in a boaphile rack system just like my corns are in. They do fine and eat well and lay eggs but I agree that I wish they had more room and I'll be building a few racks like Cheryls this summer once the new herp room is finished. Actually I really like the boaphile ball room racks but they're a bit pricey for me right now, maybe if I produce a few more albinos this year I'll be able to spring for a set. I think you'll like working with the ball pythons Kathy, they're actually less work then the corns.

Mark

I saw his old system decades ago, as well as his newer system since he moved further inland. Really beautiful! No plastic boxes there, lol! From what I remember, he had long tubes going up the outside of the connected boxes. I thought of them as "Habitrails for snakes!" But I was just going to do simple, direct holes through the floor of the cage, through the plywood that separates them. Bob was actually the inspiration for my interest. I have wanted to do some corn cages like that because I thought it would not only be more natural for them to find the right micro climate, but would force them to get at least of modicum of exercise as they climb up and down. I never did it for the corns, but since the balls need more room anyway, and should be able to pay their own way better than corns have lately, I can afford to do it for them more easily than for the corns.

If I don't hear any really likely negative predictions, I will probably give it a try when I get more normal females and they get big enough to need that size cage.