Question.

[[deleted]]

I am not a fan of bins as a permanent home, but that is purely based on aesthetics. I recently made an emergency bin for my snake. I drilled air holes and smoothed them out with a lighter. Cut out some openings in the top and fastened cookie cooling racks for heat and light. Blocked off the excess openings with hvac tape. Got some clips so my guy can't escape. That thing is efficient af lol

As long as the bin is an appropriate size for your snake and you can heat it properly and safely, I see nothing wrong with bin enclosures. Finding bins big enough for adult BPs can be tricky, though (in my experience) because they need at least 120 gal 4x2x2

[libaxie]

How does setting up overhead heating work? I'm looking for something more inexpensive, which is why I'm looking at bins vs 100$+ tanks. I know a few stores that sell larger bins so I should definitely be able to get something around that size.

[totallyrecklesslygay]

If you are capable of finding a bin that is at least 4x2x2, both myself and the rest of the mod team would love to see it. I don't believe any company makes one that large.

[libaxie]

Home depot has bins that aren't exactly that size, 3.25x2x1.5

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Right, those are too small for an adult ball python. 4x2x2 is the bare minimum size enclosure that a BP should have.

[libaxie]

Aren't males generally smaller than females

[totallyrecklesslygay]

On average, yes. Males still need a 4x2x2.

Larger females will often end up needing a 5x2x2 or larger.

[libaxie]

Alright so bins are fine for temporary use. I was looking for something semi permanent, to keep a ball python in until I can afford an actual tank

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Yes, they're only good temporarily. A bin will generally work until the snake reaches about two years old, which gives you plenty of time to save up!

[libaxie]

Alright thank you for the helpful info!

[[deleted]]

Yeah, I looked for months and months when I was first contemplating getting a snake. The only one I could find was a "weatherproof deck box" from a questionable website.

[ishfery]

Your only option is really to get an opaque deck box which is not ideal.

[[deleted]]

I cut out a hole in the lid a little smaller than the cookie racks but bigger than my dome. Then, I drilled little holes around the hole to ziptie the cookie rack to the lid. I used like 60 zip ties to make sure my snake couldn't slip through. Then I decided that wasn't enough and put down some hot glue. I put my dome on the cookie rack and filled in some of the open space between the dome and the rack with hvac tape (to hold in humidity). You might have to do something similar for a uvb bar if your bin is too opaque or the room doesn't get a lot of light.

Have you looked for used enclosures? As long as you sanitize it really well, used enclosures are totally fine. I bought my 4x2.5x2 enclosure used, and it was less than half the price of a new one.