Height?

ssscales · 11-07-04, 12:28 PM

Quick question?

I'm getting to work on a few melamine cages 4X2's along with neo and yearling racks. What height do you recommend for the 4X2's. These will house BCI's, Carpets and Hogs.

My current 4X2's I built about 18" in height, I see most set ups are 12". What is a comfortable height to have both for them to live and you for maintanance?

Also, with neos till about 12mo I usually house in 11.4L rubber maids. I plan on keeping some holdbacks this year and want to know would be a good size Rubbermaid to house them from 12mo to 24mo and possibly 36mo? Again, making it comfortable for the snakes to live and stretch in. All I want to keep in the cage is a water bowl and hide box.

Any suggestions?

Gary D. · 11-08-04, 09:17 PM

IMO for a permenant setup a 4x2 enclosure is only good for a terrestrial snake not exceeeding 6' in length. Too many people use it as a std. for all B.c.i. regardless of the individual's size. Even at that I'd suggest it to be the bare miimum. As for height I personally would stick with minimum of 18" unless you are dealing with a cryptic species which spends most of it's time underground. Carpet Pythons being semi-arboreal should have at least 24"-30" with ample climbing branches (not just a stick)

ssscales · 11-09-04, 12:19 AM

At the moment most my snakes are about 6FT on average. I thought of building some 6X2 cages, but decided to keep them in 4X2's. Once they start getting passed 7FT I would consider increasing cage size. The 18" work fine for me, easy cleaning and maintanance.

Linds · 11-11-04, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ssscales
I plan on keeping some holdbacks this year and want to know would be a good size Rubbermaid to house them from 12mo to 24mo and possibly 36mo?

A Colombian Bci can acheive 5-6 feet by their second birthday, so don't plan on rubbermaids for too long

They can usually make their way to their adult enclosure around 1.5 years (less if you wanted to). If you wanted intermediate housing between adult and 11.4 you could go with the 36"x18"x6" underbed units.

ssscales · 11-11-04, 07:23 PM

That's what I was thinking, start them off with 11.4L, onto maybe 24L and end at 36X18. At a one item per week feeding they should be ok in rubbermaids till about 2-3 years. Most if not all will be sold before they need permanent housing. At that point I will build Melamine cages for any keepers that need them, especially the females. I don't want to keep more than I can house and maintain comfortably.