Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I know this is heading back to the smaller box in the big box but I like the baby steps. LOL

I tried using the deep substrate with various viewing levels. I filled a ten gallon half way with peat moss or "dirt" and added water and some plastic tubberware tops for layering. This was then put in a 4x2x2 wood cage.

Basically I wanted to try the deep nest you described but still be able to clean out the cage easily. So far the snakes really like it and have been building a nest in the bottom. The question is do you think a ten gallon is large enough from your experience or should I try a larger sized aquarium?? I don't want to fill any of my big cages with dirt because they are wood so glass tanks inside them seem like a better idea to me. What size would you go with in a situation like this. Or what size enclosure do you use for nesting.

Later Jason

Your missing one of the very most important parts. The lite thing. A ten gallon(glass=lite) allows lite. They try to nest where there is no lite, like total darkness. So the only option they have is, in the middle of the tank. I feel very confident in saying this, you will not find wild kingsnake eggs laid where its exposed to lite. Kinda one of their main rules.

About the size. First I do not know what kind or size of snake your nesting. But reguardless of species. The smaller the nesting area, the less you will see and learn. As they still are not making choices. You must allow different choices if you want to see them make them. All your doing now is telling them to lay in that glass box. Much like what you already did.

I guess you do not have room for a medium sized plastic(colored, not translucent) storage box. You know one near three feet long and a couple of feet deep. All you need is some place with mid seventies temps and place it their. Put the females in sometime before they shed. Oh, I set up the surface with hide boards and a water bowl, much like a normal cage. Only now, they have dark depth and several layers to choose from.

Please do not be offended by this but, many people try these baby steps, then fail to see anything, then say, see that is no different. Or my snakes did not, so and so.

I have my boxes at a minimum, not a maximum, and you see mine and go smaller. That means your going into the useless range.

My idea of baby steps is setting one good nesting cage. A big step would be setting up lots of them. See what I mean? Cheers

Frank you have not managed to offend me in over six months. ou may be losing it.

I hear what you are saying fully. I just was trying something quick and easy. I have some 6x2x2 cages as well that I may set up a plastic storage bin in. All I have right now is clear ones so I guess a trip to the store is in order. The clear thing skipped right over my head so thanks on that. I am not all that confident in the storage bins as stand alones for holding snakes in, so I like the idea of having them in a bigger cage with no lid on the bin or maybe with the lid half on.

I have one big issue right now and that is space. I live in a one bedroom with over 100 snakes. Needless to say my girlfriend is amazing. I am planning a move to Az in about 2 years at which time I am going to buy a house. Then I will be able to have the room to learn. Until then it will be one or two snakes at a time.

I have some snakes due to lay right at the end of the month and I am going to be in Az for 10 days then. So I am going to try more of what you mention here so the eggs will last for sure if they are laid the day after I leave.

Thanks Jason

If you look around at walmart or target or some such place(my wife gets mine) You can find them with tight snap on lids. I use them for some of the smaller kings and so far no escapes. I have a large green rat nesting(over five feet) in one now.

I am interested in how she will treat these kingsnake nests. I think I am going to make a few adjustments.

I am not sure if her eggs are going to be fertile as the male is a baby, 18 inches. But thats all I had and I did not want to remove another from nature. I also had him in with her a while back and he surely tried to breed her, then because he is so small, I took him out. Then put him back for short periods. So, we will see.

You better hurry up and move out, as so many are moving here, its becoming a city, no place to see wild snakes. Also, there are so many border patrol, its insane. Last night we went road cruizing and in one pass of one road, all we saw was border patrol, 22 different carloads of border patrol, in one pass. Not a single "citizen" all we saw was border patrol, on a Sat. night. Insane.

Anyway, back to nesting. I have been using two. The point here is, you do not have to go all one way or another, the best way to learn is to do different things, so you can learn from different or similar results, side by side(comparative tests)

Last year I tested an approach that was weird. I nested some with these boxes in the incubater room. For the first clutch, the females cycled and bred in a cool room, I then placed them in the nesting boxes in the incubator room, right at their shed. The nests worked fine and the eggs were healthy. I would then leave the females in the boxes and feed up the females. The males are in a much cooler room. With the following clutches the eggs were fertile but dead. The incubator room is 84F to 86F normally.

I already know that if males are expose to constant warmer temps, their sperm dies and the resulting breedings end up with infertile eggs. We already know that eggs have no problem being incubated in that same incubator room. Its very interesting to see, that those constant warm temps can and do kill the eggs while in the female. As these eggs are full, white, stuck together and dead. Cheers

Yeah the BP is getting scary from what I have been reading. I also have heard that the Az Rangers are stopping people and harrasing them even though they are not empowered to do so. Any info on those fellows??

Green Rats are my number 2 target. First is a female pyro from the Pinaleno Mnts for the male I have from there and then the greens. I have a lady in the herp club here that has a pair that may breed this year and if not for sure next year that I am going to get babies from. So if I do manage to umm... what was that term you use... goon one, I will likely leave it behind and stick with CB.

For the nesting I am doing a few thing right now but I am looking to improve on all of them. In one of the cages I have a pair of snakes in a 4x2x2 with the ten gallon half full inside. The male went in and built a nest in the ten and then the female went over and kicked him out. I don't think it was them working as a duo or anything but it was cute. The male was basking outside the nest and dove in when I came in one day and the next morning the female had gone over and took over the whole nest. The male is on the other side of the cage where the female had been nesting. Sitting outside the tuberware nest box.

It doesn't mean anything other than it was cute to see. The submissive female that tried her best to not be breed by this big overpowering male and she kicks him out of where she wants to be. LOL

Later Jason