opinions on enclosure size?

[poomwah]

I'm a bit stumped on this one.
I have my 19 month old eastern rat, George in a 55 gallon tank, he's been in there since I got him, and I have NO problems with him at all, he's social, has a great appetite, fed once a week, 261 grams, no problems at all.
I've got a 17 month old yellow rat that doesn't want to eat, she's 29 grams, I've been told that she's not eating because her enclosure is too big, that should should be kept in a 5 gallon to 10 gallon at the maximum for 3 to 6 months, then should be gradually moved to larger enclosures with a week or 2 off feed for acclimation each time I move them up in enclosure size.
This seems really crazy to me, but that doesn't mean its wrong.
I've been told the same thing about my bull snake Norma Jean, that her enclosure is way too big and she will never feel safe. She's 6 months old and in a 55 gallon. I called her breeder about it and he said that although a 55 was way bigger than what she needed that there was nothing wrong with using it.
I think Ziggy has his young bull in a 40 if I remember right.
So, if a snake has plenty of secure hides, how much difference does it make in how big the enclosure is,
what do you guys think?

[EL Ziggy]

Hey Poom, my bull is 6 months old and in a 40 gal tank. She's fed in her enclosure every 6 days and would prefer to eat every 4 days. She's a bit of a bottomless pit. I'm planning on moving her to a larger/nicer enclosure in a few months. Looking at a T10 or larger. I don't believe a large enclosure, with plenty of hides and cover, is a problem at all.

[IW17]

Size means nothing. It's all about cover and hides. If too large of an enclosure was harmful, every snake in the vast expanse we call nature would refuse to eat and die.

[poison123]

I have my 2ft beauty rat in a 6x2x2 enclosure. She eats every 3 days. And this is not my first experience with keeping small snakes in large enclosures. I agree with, IW17. Provide lots of cover and there isnt anything to worry about.

[poomwah]

this is exactly what I thought, I've never had a problem with it before. but I'm getting hammered for keeping her in a glass enclosure too big and that I know nothing about snake keeping and the snake's health would be better off with someone else. It actually had me second guessing myself.
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input.

[wareagleA5]

I don't have any experience with rat snakes, but I've never had a corn or king refuse an anole scented pink.

[poison123]

I don't have any experience with rat snakes, but I've never had a corn or king refuse an anole scented pink.

Corn snake aka red ratsnake :)

[wareagleA5]

Corn snake aka red ratsnake :)
lol sounds like it should work then, I was actually given 8 of them that refused to eat a few years ago and I got them all going, but they were freshly hatched. I've only kept wild caught speckled king snakes as pets and they love anoles.

[poomwah]

thanks for the anole scent idea.
So, is it safe to say from what's been posted here that its not the tank size making the snake not eat?

[Terranaut]

I always say..nature is massive. Provide enough cover that your snake can hide to the point where you have to move stuff to find it. Stay out of sight when feeding. My gopher will still wait until I leave the room before eating.

[poomwah]

thanks terranaut , that's what I've been trying.
I'm so lucky with george, he will eat before you can even put him down :P

[Terranaut]

Many snakes will not tolerate being moved to a feeding bin. Feed in the enclosure. I assume you feed f/t? Leave it in the enclosure overnight. The snake will eat.

[poomwah]

I tried that with this one, still no luck.
My snakes that tolerate it get fed in a bin inside their enclosure, that way I don't have to worry about them ingesting aspen.
the ones that are on paper towel, like this one, get the food directly on the paper.

[Starbuck]

can't comment per say on the rat snake, but my juvenile pine snake (pituophis) was a bit of a problem feeder, regardless of whether he was in a 10 or 55 gallon tank, he was just a bit of a brat. As others have said, enclosure size really shouldn't matter as long as there is plenty of hides and cover to get from point a to point b.

For the rat snake that isn't eating, it *may* be worth it to try a live pinkie/fuzzy/w/e to get her going, once she is eating regularly it shouldn't be a problem to switch back to FT.

[poomwah]

thanks starbuck, I'll try the live pinkie
what kind of pine do you have? I have an 8 month old northern

[pdomensis]

I once saw a snake outside. It didn't seem to mind the extra room.

[poomwah]

I once saw a snake outside. It didn't seem to mind the extra room.

THAT is too funny :]

[Starbuck]

i *had* a mexican pine, but he got out when i lived in NY in a crappy apartment with 3 cats, and we never found him :( I do think i would like another when i get some 'room at the inn' heh heh

[poomwah]

starbuck, I'm so sorry to hear about that. That's awful. My first pit escaped. Nibbler, he was an awesome little bull snake, only about a year old when he pulled a houdini.

[pdomensis]

Seriously though, it's all about having plenty of cover. It might look cluttered bbut the snake should be able to move and sneak around the cage and stay concealed if it wants to. If there's a 6 inch gap where you see nothing but substrate I would put something in it. Not necessarily a hide, but leaves or bark or something.

[poomwah]

does a substrate that allows burrowing help?

[pdomensis]

absolutely

[poomwah]

I was curious because while I imagined it would help immensely, most of mine don't use the hides, they tend to burrow under the substrate instead. Even when they are under the hide, they are under the hide and under the substrate, LOL. Kinda defeats the purpose of the hide :P

[Sharlynn93]

some of mine do that...but the hides still "fill" the enclosure, so its less "open" to them... :D