These (rack systems) seem really cool to me but I don't understand how they work exactly. What prevents the snakes from getting out?



The distance between shelves is typical 1/8" greater than the height of the box. So if the box is 6" tall without the lid, the distance between the shelves is 6 & 1/8".



Some companies use less than 1/8". Personally I think 1/8" is fine. I have some baby G. janseni in a rack built with a 1/8" gap and they have not escaped. And I would generally call those good escape artists.



Also, many cages with double-sliding doors have a gap greater than this between the two sliding panels.



Is it really ok to keep snakes in such small places all the time or are they meant for temporary housing?



Now that's a tough question. Most of the colubrids produced in the US for the pet trade are from adults kept in 28 qt. sweater boxes. These only have a floor area of 20" x14". So many people would argue that since they breed in these cages then they should be okay.



I think that's a bit of an oversimplification and would suggest that the invidual keeper's peace of mind is most important. There are larger boxes if this concerns you.



I can't see a picture of them well enough to understand how they get air in the container and the snake doesn't get out?



The gap is typically enough air ventilation. In fact this provides quite a bit of ventilation. But many people drill or melt holes to provide extra ventilation.



With many plastic racks the builders have tried to minimize these gaps (bad idea, IMO) and then drilled making extra holes necessary.



Lastly, these racks are heated with under-tank heating, back heating, and/or ambient room temperatures.
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Current snakes:



0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)



3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)



2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)



3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

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