Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been putting a lot of thought into this, and I was wondering if anyone has ever had an outdoor snake enclosure. It wouldn't be a permanent thing, only a few hours a day, but it'd be nice to let my guys stretch out. I think i'm going to make it about 2x2x5, the 5 being tall, so they can stretch out and climb. I'll put a large branch of some sort in there for the climbing. Suggestions?

You have a lot of time on your hands to take your snakes for a stretch. You also must live in the south. I'm in Ohio, I've only thought of outside ideas for lizards.

Any large enclosure that can maintain proper temp ranges is cool. But outside temps can vary greatly and fast.

Good luck.
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Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.herpzilla.com

I'm in Southern California. It'd be on an hourly basis, just something to change it up a bit for them. My tort is outside year around, and he seems fine even in our 'winter' which rarely is colder than summer . I don't know, it was just an idea. Seemed kinda cool.

I think your corn would love it but why not leave him out at night to when the night air makes them active.

No reason at all why you couldnt even if temps drop your corn will be ok. I keep my jackson chamaleons outside -Miami .

Only thing you have to do is protect from cats,etc and ants vasaleine on outside bottom and around enclosure protects from ants .

It can and has been done. I know the Loves keep some of their ATB outside but I don't know about corns. Just remember that if it gets out it is gone for good!
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"You can only take my money for so long. And then I don't have anymore, and then I get angry!"

Yeah, that's my only dealie. I'm torn.

Depending on how big your snake(s) are, you can use chicken wire and plywood to create a nice little enclosure for them. The catch is you'd probably have to sit out with them because of how quick the weather can turn.
When I was younger and we lived in LA, we had a movable tortoise pen that my brother's tortoise always dug out of, so I stole it and put my ball python in it when I was outside with her. The mesh on top was small enough that she got sunlight but didn't get out, and it had a built in hidey and actually worked really well. I did have to watch and make sure she didn't nudge her way out underneath, but I think she enjoyed the time outside.

Just a thought.
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1.1.1 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
2.1 betta fishes (Vicious, Killer, and Butters)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
2.0 horses (Buddy and Sam)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
2.25 chickens (Jacques the rooster and his harem)

but what I really want is more ball pythons!

That's what i'm aiming for. My littlest girl might be too small for the smallest chickenwire, but we'll see!

You can also use those mesh portable cages. I think they may be called reptariums. They seem pretty secure. Of course you know not to use a glass tank anywhere that it could heat up. They do tend to bake snakes and lizards and turtles.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

They do make something called "fly mesh" That is so small that it is difficult for small insects to get through. You might concider that....
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"You can only take my money for so long. And then I don't have anymore, and then I get angry!"

Sweet, thanks for the heads up!

1/4 inch hardware cloth would be your best bet. Chicken wire would be too big even for an adult I would say. 1/4 inch would be too small for a baby, but you didn't say how big it was. Good luck with your project. I think it's a good idea.

i'm sorry to be off of topic, but how can you have 4 great danes?? how BIG is your house??? and what no corns???

~kin
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. unknown hypo? normal? (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
1. Miami Phase partial zigzag (Starkey)[Emilys F2 baby]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
1.1 Snow (NO NAME, Isis)

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Spotted Cal King (Wishbone)
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
1. MSP Thayeri (no name)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Normal het Midnight Blizzard (Mr. Spot)
.1 Blizzard (Blitz)
.1? unknown High yellow and brown spots...hypo?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)

~~~~~~~~~~~~OTHER~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.0.1 American toad

Well, part of it is I'm still living at home while I'm going to college. We've got ten acres, and great danes are actually pretty low maintainance. Believe it or not, they make great apartment dogs as long as you can take them for a walk once or twice a day. Ours spend quite a lot of time...asleep! It's just so exhausting being a dog, you know.
Nope, no corns. I kind of snuck in the other two ball pythons, and the bunny, and the rat, and I'm getting threatened if I sneak anything else in.
My pythons are breeding this year so maybe after the babies come a cornsnake will all of a sudden appear in my bedroom.

Our whole family does this so I am not particularly worried. At least it's not another goat!

~jenny
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1.1.1 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
2.1 betta fishes (Vicious, Killer, and Butters)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
2.0 horses (Buddy and Sam)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
2.25 chickens (Jacques the rooster and his harem)

but what I really want is more ball pythons!

its seems like it should work well.
i live in virginia and i know someone with a yard full of large homemade snake cages. they keep corns and rats in some of them year round and they just hibernate in the winter and mate in the spring. there all big enouh and well ventilated (fine mesh) that theres warm basking spots and cool shaded hides so they do great.also grow very large fast. one female corn actually got a little over six feet long in about 4 years. i guess its because corn and rat snakes are indiginious, but there pretty widespread all over the country. they also keep monitors, basilisks and pythons out during most of the spring and summer, just brings them inside if it gets too cool or storms.

Love ? Please chime in here as to if you do in fact keep or ever have kept snakes outdoors and how. logics just out-weigh, Why ? because of non controllable situations of weather and climatic conditions. Tortoises and lizards are a completely different story out doors, Snakes don't have quite the adaptability to be outdoors if from different areas and more importantly if they are captive born / bred. Think of parasitic problems. Think of predator problems even the likes of ants, Think of the on-going problems constantly of laws being passed of escaped snakes even more than escaped turtles and escaped lizards. Accident waiting to happen if snake / s escape because of the fact of shear fear of the general population of snakes. Really there are bounds of passing laws into place or proposals of laws possibly being passed of escaped snakes in country whether venomous or not. I think it is a " responsibility " issue. While some of you state that certain people in the " bizz " keep outdoor enclosures for snakes, better look at the whole picture of how this is done. I'm sure that the few that have kept snakes outdoors, there are absolutely no way for the reptiles to escape and a way for the animal to get out of harms way with either a increase of temp. or decrease of temp. The people that keeps lizards and tortoises and that has included me, keeps almost like a compound type of scenario of a lot of room and very restricted access and occasionally still have parasitic problems and bug problems. I've had also predator problems of raccoons and cats getting into outdoor enclosures unless it was heavy duty glass or something of a greenhouse type of enclosures like Agama International.
This IS the corn Snake forum and i would like Cathy Love that does frequent this forum to advise or let us know if they indeed keep snakes outdoors and how..........
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

actually, you can build a permanent outdoor enclosure with very stable temperatures all year round if you do your research. I am not familiar with your details but I know people who have done it for other animals. earth is a very good insulator and many people build enclosures with a glass face and the other sides covered in thick earth, either in a mound, or buried. it's not an easy project, but if you do your research and are willing to put the time into it, it can be very rewarding. these enclosures tend to use passive heating/cooling strategies and require no electricity or other cost at all once it is set up.

Hello,
I would make the cage 2x2x6'and have the 6' foot part on the ground.This way you can cover a portion of the cage if the sun gets to hot for him,he can thermoregulate outside, and 2'high will still give him plenty of room to climb and stretch out.
Bob