Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been keeping my snakes (5 adult kings,,different species) in glass tanks for years and now I am thinking of going to a small rack system. The only thing I will miss is being able to see the snakes and them see out. My question is that does it stress the animals to not be able too see out?
I am not a breeder, they are my pets. And I want them to be very comfortable.
Thanks

Simple answer no, I can't think of any reptile stressed out by a limited visual range. Infact its usually the oppisite. They don't like suprisses in my experiances.

For my cages (pictured) I often cover the glass with newspaper during breeding season so the females relax.

This holds true for a lot of different families, including snakes, lizards, and tortises. I am sure there are more bettter examples but his is an answer, not an essay.

Best of luck

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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
1.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.9 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child

What are your reasons for going to a rack system? I used to have all of my snakes in tanks, but I switched to racks because of space and ease of cleaning. I do keep some in sliding door cages. This year I am keeping my breeder females in bigger cages to see if this helps with egg laying. You could make a rack out of glass tanks about the same way. Just make a shelf that just fits your tanks. Derek

I am going to a rack system because of space,,and my 2 crazy cats..they have broken the screen tops on 3 of my tanks,,,and afraid they will knock off the ceramic heaters.

You could make a nice rack that incorperates your tanks. Just make your shelves about an 1/8" above your tanks with screen lids. Basically, you do the same thing with rubbermaid bins. Derek

I have no idea, although I suspect it's not a problem for them to not be able to see out.

Regardless, there are options for combining viewing and racks. One is to use the clear polycarbonate boxes from Cambro. The 9" tall boxes make for very nice display. Here is the cheapest price I know of.

Or you can take any tub you like and route out a section and put acrylic, polycarbonate or glass over the cutout. The nice thing about this solution is that you can use any box, even solid colored one.

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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

Actually I am going to use Cambro,,,the Surfas store is close to my home.And I go there quite a bit being in the restaurant business.
Thanks....

Post pictures when you are done, I think people would like to see them. I'm always surprised more people don't build racks like this.

Also, if you could, please measure the actual floor area of one of these boxes when you get the chance. I used to have a bunch of these boxes and don't remember what it is. I remember it being quite a bit less than the outside dimensions.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)