Another Dimension Question

[REM955]

In larger cages (8ft~), the depth increases from 24in to 30in to 36in.

The question is, when looking at the adult size, how to you choose an appropriate depth?

I have to guess it is largely based on the girth of the adult snake. Is there a rule for depth specifically?

[dave himself]

Nope no rules at all but most people seem to go for 3 to 4ft in depth. But I suppose the more room you can give the better

[Andy_G]

I think a ratio of 2:1 is nice. 4x2, 6x3, 8x4, etc. All personal preference though.

[chairman]

Another consideration is how far into a cage you want to lean in order to do maintenance. Three feet is about the maximum depth you can do before really having to crawl into a cage. If you are going to go deeper then I'd be inclined to go taller as well to give you room to work.

[Roman]

I think it also depends on the snake you want to keep. From my experience with large colubrids like tiger rat snakes (Spilotes pullatus) and Taiwan beauty snake (Orthriophis taeniurus friesi) a depth of 90 cm to 100 cm (3 ft) is enough for them to feel safe and to keep their distance from you. For large pythons like retics or large boas like green anacondas you need probably something deeper, simply to allow them to have enough room to rest in a coil.

Originally Posted by chairman

Another consideration is how far into a cage you want to lean in order to do maintenance. Three feet is about the maximum depth you can do before really having to crawl into a cage. If you are going to go deeper then I'd be inclined to go taller as well to give you room to work.

As chairman already said, anything deeper than 3 feet needs you to crawl into the enclosure to clean it. The enclosure for my Spilotes pullatus is 250 x 90 x 190 cm (ca 8 x 3 x 6 ft), with a lot of branches. If my snakes decide to leave their droppings right at the backside of the enclosure I have to bend my upper body between two branches to reach it. The icing of the cake is the feeling that right at this moment at least one of the inquisitive buggers is most probably above and behind your neck, reasoning whether he should feel annoyed enough to give you a little nip in the back or if he lets you generously do your maintenance…

Here is a picture of the enclosure, you can see the branches I was talking about at the left side.



Roman

[REM955]

Ok. I can see all the points given here, but it still really doesn't give me what I wanted.
For example, what would you put in something 8 long x 3 deep that you wouldn't in a cage 2 deep? For a 50% increase I would guess some significant change, but certainly not a giant's cage.

[Roman]

Originally Posted by REM955

Ok. I can see all the points given here, but it still really doesn't give me what I wanted.
For example, what would you put in something 8 long x 3 deep that you wouldn't in a cage 2 deep? For a 50% increase I would guess some significant change, but certainly not a giant's cage.

I suppose I was not clear enough. In an 8 x 2 ft enclosure my Spilotes would be almost always on edge if you are in front of them to watch them. You are within their safety margin. Add another 30 cm for an 8 x 3 ft enclosure and the same snake in the same situation will be calm and watching you instead of rattling it’s tail and expanding it’s neck.

30 cm doesn’t seem much, but in my experience for large colubrids it is the difference between a nervous snake and a calm snake. To add another 30 cm (for 4 ft depth) doesn’t have a significant effect.

Roman