Grow Tents for Large Snakes?

JP23 · 04-30-20, 11:28 AM

Hey guys, I've been looking into different enclosures for housing my BCI once she outgrows the 4 x 2 x 2 custom enclosure I've built for her (She's a small girl right now so I have a while to plan). Since she's the only large reptile I plan on keeping I've been really focused on giving her the best possible care that I can, and I plan on upgrading her current enclosure once she reaches 5 - 6 feet or so but I've been having a hell of a time settling on what type of enclosure would be "best" for both the snake and my resources. I'd like to upgrade her to something at least 6 x 3 x 3 which is MUCH more expensive to buy and ship if I was to go for a pre-made plastic viv, and is a size that I feel would be hard for me to build out of wood myself. This leads me to the topic of this thread, is it a bad idea to use a grow tent for a large snake? Or any reptile for that matter? Weighing the pros / cons it seems like a very compelling option but I've seen very little resources detailing the use of them, and those that do use them are usually housing large lizards and not snakes. Does anyone have any insight or experience with this?

ClockwerkBonnet · 05-02-20, 03:00 PM

I honestly don't understand the term "grow tent" (not that I've never heard of tents in general; just grow tents). I've never used them for pet reptiles because I didn't know anything about them. I personally prefer glass (or specially made plastic) tanks instead.

Veronica · 05-02-20, 04:07 PM

Grow tents are big, sturdy tents used to grow plants in. They are pretty popular for tegu owners and tortoise owners at the very least, although I've never heard of someone using one for a snake. (Not necessarily impossible, just not heard of it being done)

craigafrechette · 05-02-20, 06:23 PM

I woukd think it would be tough to utilize the height. I can't imagine the walls of a grow tent will support a perch or any shelving the boa can use for for climbing or lounging. Anything you use would have to be free standing and without a huge base I'm sure an adult boa would tip it anyway.

JP23 · 05-03-20, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigafrechette

I woukd think it would be tough to utilize the height. I can't imagine the walls of a grow tent will support a perch or any shelving the boa can use for for climbing or lounging. Anything you use would have to be free standing and without a huge base I'm sure an adult boa would tip it anyway.

This is a concern i had too, but most grow tents have support poles included for hanging grow lights which i think would be equally useful for hanging climbing vines. I also looked into lining the tent with bamboo which would strengthen the walls enough for a branch to lean on I think.

**Tsubaki** · 05-05-20, 07:38 AM

I'd just build one t.b.h, a growth tent sounds a little odd to keep a snake in? not very pretty either. Besides the issues of it being strong enough, If they lunge at you (and miss) in a pvc or wooden tank, they bounce off and usually no harm done.. In a grow tent their teeth could get stuck. Tegus and tortoises don't have teeth like snakes do, no risk for them getting stuck like that. Also Some adults tend to cr*p on the walls, woulnd't that be really annoying to clean?

I've build all my tanks myself, but I do get the intimidation factor of building larger ones. If you don't fully want to build a tank yourself, how about converting something into a snake tank? If you have plenty of time to look for a deal, why not?..

I've once helped a friend convert a large wooden shipping crate (like 6FT-5Ft-5Ft ish) into a temporary terrarium after they moved, they needed something 'cheap' and fast. But sturdy enough to keep tegus in comfortably, since their old tank was just a converted room in their old house. It was a tall crate so what we did was flip it on its side, so we had the opening facing us. We cut a few holes in the sides, then screwed on old window panes (in different sizes haha, was just whatever we found for free, It looked funny but worked fine). We cut large holes up high in the back for ventilation. And put in a foot high board at the front of the tank to keep bedding in. We painted the inside of whole thing a few times to water proof it, and then put in tiles at the bottom and up about a 2 ft or so to the sides since tegus love to dig and their nails can wreck paint easily (For snakes just paint or linoleum or something would work fine). We put the lid on hinges to make it a door, that could lock with slider locks (Had to support the end of the lid with a wheel, because of its size) The thing was used for over 9 months until the animals moved and it still looked pretty great, some scratching in the paint above the tiles but that's it, despite it being a bit hastily put together. If you really take your time you could even make it look nice I think.. Total cost was around 200,-, most money having been the crate at 120 or so, Ordering a tank like that would have cost 5 times that or more. And this was a way bigger tank than you would need. I've even seen dog/rabbit houses converted to terrariums, if you have more time than money you can just be creative.

JP23 · 05-05-20, 06:13 PM

I would plan on lining the walls with bamboo sheets (lots of tegu tents do this) that could be removed and cleaned, that solves a lot of the structural and cleaning problems. Also, the tents are made to be cleaned easily. The problem I find with many larger custom built enclosures is the weight of them as well as what doorways they can fit through, my house has a few small hallways that I have trouble moving my current 2 x 4 x 2 through.