Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, I have one male normal ball python, and I plan on getting 1-3 female normals this summer (to breed him with)....possibly eventually a pastel male, and if that works out, a pastel female. I like the looks of normals and pastels (mmm super pastels) more than the other morphs because I think they stay more towards the traditional colors and markings.

So basically, I'm not sure if I should get cages for all the snakes, or build a rack system. If I built a rack, I would probably use sterilite 41 quart tubs (34"x16"x6". The thing that bothers me about those tubs is that they're so short, but then again, I'm not a snake, and I'm sure they would love having the ceilings so low. Due to my space situations currently, I would have to build the rack so that the bins pull out lengthwise, instead of the traditional widthwise (so basically, the rack would have to be about 36" long, and 18" deep). The main reason I'm considering a rack, is because if I get more snakes, I don't want to have tons of cages stacked up everywhere, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to end up getting tons of snakes. I also like that I could heat it with flexwatt, and save a bit of money on electricity.

Cages...well...I like the idea of cages because I can see in easily without opening anything, and I think it makes me feel like I'm really trying to provide the animals with the best conditions possible, but yet again, I am not a snake, and most likely they wouldn't feel as comfortable in an area that has as much height as a cage.

So I just wanted opinions. There's a good chance I could end up just with a pair of normals, in which case, cages would make sense, but I figure if I plan on getting 4 or more snakes in the near future (a good possibility), then I should opt for the rack.

When I had just a few animals, I preferred (display) cages. After you reach a certain number of animals, it becomes a space issue.

>>Cages...well...I like the idea of cages because I can see in easily without opening anything, and I think it makes me feel like

They are quite nice. I have a few chondros in display cages and they (and myself) like it that way. Although, the space I use for their cages could easily be filled by multiple racks. Still, I like to look at them without having to open their cage.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I think they do and that way you can save space and see them.

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1.2.0 ball python (aragorn, arwen,`eowyn)
1.0.0 100% het pied (frodo)
1.0.0 columbian boa (squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
0.1.0 corn snake (baby)
0.0.2 whites tree frog (trevor, kirmet)
0.0.5 pacific green tree frogs
3.2.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy
"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

I would recommend a rack system over a cage any day. The biggest perk we have found with racks is that the snakes feel more secure and feed a lot better. We put some of our big girls into vision cages last summer and they didnt feed well at all. As soon as they went back in their racks they started feeding like pigs. This has a lot to do with the fact that they live in termite mounds and other places under ground so they feel more secure. Our pastel was hatched in june 05 and when we sold him feb. 01 2006 he weighed 753 grams. His entire feeding responce was due to being in a rack system, we put him in a cage for display and he stoped feeding. Just a little bit of our experience

The thing that bothers you the most about racks is what the balls like the most. Better a snake that is secure and you can't see than one you can see and doesn't eat.

I've found racks to be much easier to clean also. Here's a rack I built using all PVC. I started with an idea of one of the other posters where they used expanded PVC for the shelves.