outdoor snake pen

mommanessy247 · 04-18-10, 07:59 AM

i am gonna have a nice project ahead of me...an outdoor snake pen. i want to be able to take my snake outside for some sun, but keep it safe from mean neighborhood kids & any potential predators.
its gonna be a 4' wide x 4' long x 1' tall.
it will be made out of furring strips & hardware cloth.
fun fun fun!

shaunyboy · 04-18-10, 09:09 AM

sounds like a great project,sadly we dont get the weather for it over here.well unless its polar bears your keeping,haha the only thing i'd say is make sure your snake has somewhere to go if the sun gets too hot.even putting one of its hides into the outdoor pen.best of luck with your new project.
cheers shaun

mommanessy247 · 04-18-10, 11:03 AM

how often during the summer months can a snake spend time outside in this pen?

mykee · 04-18-10, 11:51 AM

What type of snake is the "pen" for? Is it for the thread-flooding, highly touted ball python you're getting in August? If yes, then an outside pen is not the best idea unless you can provide the animal with it's required husbandry requirements while he is out there (which I am pretty sure you will not be able to do).
Some sunlight for a snake is never a bad idea, but a dedicated "pen"; not so smart.
This may sound like me being a dik, which happens every once in a while, but I would be more concerned with getting this new animal established with proper husbandry in an indoor, everyday environment rather than taking on a near-impossible task of trying to do it outdoors.
Inside; you are Mother Nature.
Outside, she runs the show and could care less about the requirements of a West African snake.
Baby steps.
You'll have your hands full enough with housing a snake in a fish cage.

mommanessy247 · 04-18-10, 12:08 PM

ok, first off, i really dont mean to "flood" any thread about the snake i plan on getting. second, i thought this would be a good forum to post my questions as i'd rather ask & get feedback then try it & make a mistake & possibly cause more harm then good.
third, my terrarium is not a fish cage...its one of those terrariums with sliding front doors.
wow, i guess i'll be staying on my other forum, at least there i dont get remarks about how many times i post a thread.

mykee · 04-18-10, 03:35 PM

If it's an aquarium-style glass enclosure, it's a fish cage, adn VERY difficult to maintain proper husbandry requiremtns in. Just like the outdoors.
I apologize if I'm coming across as harsh, as that is not my intention, but you won't be receiving your animal for at least 4 months, and instead of trying to get your INSIDE enclosure spot-on, you're planning an outdoor enclosure for it? Seriously, your giddiness and excitement are admirable, but baby steps. First time ball python owners ALWAYS have issues getting their environments set up properly and spend a great deal of time trying and retrying and retrying and retrying and retrying (get my point) to get things right so that your ball python is thriving and not just surviving.
Baby steps.
Are you just here looking for some yes-men to agree with all your ideas despite very real concerns?

Hate me; I could care less. My concern is for your new baby ball python and his health, care and well-being.
When I stop getting phone calls and e-mails weekly from first time ball python owners who have done damage or something to harm their snake because they didn't read or take the time to listen to those more expierenced than themselves, then I will give humans the benefit of the doubt and quit trying to "what if".

**Aaron_S** · 04-18-10, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykee

... My concern is for your new baby ball python and his health, care and well-being....

You know this is it right here. Mykee said it all in that one statement. No one is here to be mean but why sugar coat things? Does the rest of the world sugar coat things? I didn't think so. Why should we when we're talking about an animals well being? An animal that DIDN'T decide it's fate. YOU did. People need to realize that this site is to gain knowledge for keeping our scaly friends. Not for people to sit idly by and and nod at everything you do.

To be perfectly honest, Mykee did say it best with "baby steps". All keepers should take baby steps with a new species. No matter how many other reptiles you keep. You'll lose less animals that way.

emseeKAY · 04-18-10, 07:48 PM

i couldnt agree with you two more, there is no point coming on here and looking for yes' and whatnot when you're going to do more harm then good to the animal which is the largest priority here. nobody is trying to be rude, but as Aaron said; why sugar coat things? as you probably already know BP's are notorious for going off feed and the added stress of moving from enclosure to enclosure, inside and out will most likely not aid in settling the snake.

again, nobody here is trying to be rude, but offer constructive criticism. i have learned more on here in the past couple months then anywhere else and i thank everyone here for their help, this whole thing is a learning process or school, and if you dont listen to teachers, why go to school?

mommanessy247 · 04-19-10, 04:19 AM

mykee i'll say it again, my terrarium is NOT an aquarium style enclosure. its got 3 glass sides but the front is 2 glass doors that slide.
im here for the positive & the negative feedback as i need both to fully be able to weigh the oucome of my ideas but when you tell me im flooding threads, when im not, that upsets me.
i dont hate you mykee.
my idea for an outdoor enclosure is just that...an idea. i havent gone to get the supplies for it yet & i havent started building it yet, so i AM doing baby steps. the snake will spend at least 95% of its time inside its permanent indoor enclosure, 4% of its time with me or someone in my family & 1% outdoors for the occasional photo shoot.
i have mean neighborhood kids & all kinds of big birds in the sky so i thought the idea for an outdoor pen was good to keep the snake safe from them. the snake would NOT be alone outside even inside this pen...i would be right there watching it.
so my point is, im here for feedback on the research i am doing.
im not here for so called yes men or any sugar coated answers.
but dont tell me im flooding threads when im not.

infernalis · 04-19-10, 11:22 AM

OK everyone said what the needed to say.... So now we move forward.

My personal opinion is this, Ball pythons move slow, rather than building an outdoor pen, just let the snake have some crawl time.

We set our BP down and walk with him, he takes forever to cover any distance.

Now mind you if your starting out with a baby, they may move a little quicker than an adult would, So I'm not sure I would recommend taking a baby python outside at all.

For a baby snake, I highly recommend minimal handling, let the snake grow up a bit first.

.

mykee · 04-19-10, 02:38 PM

We can do this all day if you prefer:

Quote:

mykee i'll say it again, my terrarium is NOT an aquarium style enclosure. its got 3 glass sides but the front is 2 glass doors that slide.

You lay that "terrarium" on it's back... Fish cage!
If it's made of glass; it's a fish cage.

As well, it seems that you are hell-bent on building an outdoor enclosure for your ball python regardless of what we say, so have at it.
I for one will not be posting suggestions on the inevitable thread you start in the mid-late fall asking how to fix a possible plethora of health issue that may occur from your choice.
From now on, I think I'll save my posts for those who are here with an open mind.

mommanessy247 · 04-19-10, 03:27 PM

your right mykee, i will do what i want.
please do, save your posts for someone who wants them cuz after yesterdays comments, i certainly dont.

**Aaron_S** · 04-19-10, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommanessy247

your right mykee, i will do what i want...

Don't ask questions then please. We'd all be wasting our time answering them if you prefer not to listen. Such a shame. A beautiful snake is going to lose it's life.

My opinion, outdoor cage is a no-no. Finish getting everything sorted out for your indoor environment then possibly revisit this idea. You still have yet to work out the substrate issue so I would start there.

Hillsberry · 04-19-10, 04:58 PM

Hi. Now I am no were near as experienced with snakes as these guys. But what I have seen with my snakes is they like to go outside. Now not sure if I snake out door "play ground" is the best thing. Its just I would be scared my snakes would find away out. If you ever get a big lizard that the perect thing for them. But I say if yuo want your snake outside go outside with him and let him move around. You can make cool things for him to climb on and everything. Just stay with him. Dont want any birds getting him. I hope this helps with everything. Really nice enclosure. Just maybe when he gets alittle older you can get or make a nice cage for him. I really hopes this helps and good luck with the new baby

Will0W783 · 04-19-10, 05:32 PM

I also do not think an outdoor pen is the best thing for a captive snake. If you intend to leave him/her out there unattended, a multitude of bad things could happen- it could find an escape route (they get out of the tiniest cracks inside, imagine how easily they could escape outside...), or a predator could get him/her. I would, in all honesty, say the best thing is to let him crawl a bit outside while you are standing with him. Do not let him outside unattended AT ALL- it is waaay too dangerous.