Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought her as a normal in November of 2002. At first I thought that she was a ghost because her sheds are clear. But lately I began to notice something else, she is turning very dark. Could she be somekind of a morph? Either way she is a gorgeous female.

She was never this dark until lately.

What's with the screen cage? Looks like something out of a travelling side-show circus from the 50's. Screen cages are for chickens and some chameleons. Not snake.

Jeff I’m not professional here, like many people here are. I've only been into the hobby for a few years, and all my information came from this exact forum. I'm open for suggestions if you know a better way I can redesign my cage. My setup above is a 45 gall tank turned on its side with a screen top covering the side, to give my snake more floor room. It's worked fine for it so far, a few years. About 80% of that screen has a piece of flexi glass to keep the humidity in. I wanted it to be efficient, safe, and easy to clean; seems to cover those requirments. Thanks for your advice, Dave.

Hey Dave...That's a fine set up (and a cool looking snake). Lots of folks use aquariums with screen tops, and putting one on its side should be no different. I bet its easier to clean as well. In the first couple of pics you posted, it looked as though the entire cage was made of screen material, which would be less than ideal. Thats what Jeff was reacting to. I like the way you have it perched on your racks as well. Keep up the good work......Joe

From the first pics, it looked exactly like those old-school cages from the early zoos where it was all screen. But fish aquariums turned on their sides aren't too bad. Still not ideal, and certainly not the best you could provide for your animal(s). For low numbers of animals, and if you like view them (even though they are nocturnal underground snakes), the best way to house them is in wood or plastic enclosures with sliding glass doors. Little ventilation is the key. These guys live in arid-type areas yes, but to combat that, they take refuge in humid burrows underground. Its up to us to best match their micro-niche that they have in nature.

Best of luck.

I don't know if that's a morph...but I LOVE the dark colors on her. She's very pretty!