Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is the cage I spoke about below. Not quite done but I think you can get the idea of it.

it's a very nice looking cage, but i can't figure out why you would need access to so many small boxes below?

What are you going to keep in it?

~ Mike

It's for 5 snakes to share. At feeding time they would be separated and put in the boxes below and then the tubes would be capped. After they eat the caps are unscrewed. Plus each box can be kept at a different humidity level from very wet to very dry.
This will allow me to watch interactions between individual snakes, ie whether they choose to hide together, alone. Whether they bask alone, take turns or fight even. Perhaps I could set it up with 5 gravid females and use the boxes as nest sites, each one with a different substrate, depth humidity level, etc. and observe what they choose.
Also the whole time I was building up my collection all the info I read said keep them in small dark boxes; it's secure, clean and all they need. I do believe that's all they NEED but due in large part from the things FR has said, but also from my own observations of wild snakes(communal rock outcrop dwellers) and captive snakes I am hoping they will actually thrive better and get more excercise in the large community area. Ideally the boxes would be bigger(32 quart) but but as I said I built up quite a good sized collection thinking only about providing basic essentials. Over the next couple years I hope to downsize much of my collection and keep building more cages like these. I just haven't got the space to do it all at once and on the scale I would like to. So this is kind of just an experiment.

Well Aaron it sure is a very nice looking enclosure! It sounds like a great project that you will learn some things from and answer some questions about your animals as well..

If you ever need to make some extra room I will be glad to buy some of your alterna!

Good Luck with that and have a great '08!!

~ Mike Russo

Thanks Mike, I'll be sure to email you when I let go some alterna.

Nice Cage. I too have been thinking a lot lately of trying to implement some drawers under my Vision cages. With all of FRs talk over the years of provividing choices for our captives to go down to a moist hide, a moist/warm hide, a dry hide etc.

Also the idea of being able to keep some animals in a colony situation where you can cap off animals while feeding without moving them to other containers has been on my mind like Bob Applegate has been doing for a long time. Plus I like the idea of maybe having the animals excercise more to acheive their desired Humidity and warmth. Good luck with it.
Bob

Thanks, yes I pretty much copied Applegate with the design. He's a pioneer, for sure.

There are some major concepts your missing(i think). First, the idea of a test is to offer something the animals need or would choose. In most ALL cases, snakes(kingsnakes) choose dark over lite. So you can test that. Like putting a door over half the drawers so that no lite gets in. This way they may be tricked to think they are underground or in a crack. As it is, your the only one that thinks one is in and one is out. Snakes determine in, by amoung other things, TOTAL DARKNESS.

So try to think about what they would choose, not only such simple things like wet or dry. Snakes do not like to be dehydrated by air movement, they also do not like to be wet. This can be controlled and or prejudiced without the use of drawers.

The key would be to offer all needed choices below and above and then see what they pick and when. Also, how about larger deeper drawers that would allow them to burrow like they are designed to do.

Anyway, keep up the attempts to learn, good on you. Cheers

Thank you Frank for your input.

I seem to remember sometime back that you believe that dehydration is the reason most snakes get eggbound? Any recomendation for a substrate to use in a moist hide? I am using cypress mulch presently for my Gaigeae but recently learned that it is not an easily renewable resource so I'd like to be responsible. I just picked up some of that "eco earth" (coconut fiber) but haven't used it yet. Sometimes the Cypress gets to smell moldy and I change it right away but I noticed that that never happens in the 5 gallon pails I store it in. Sphagnum moss gets moldy on me too. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Bob.

I hope that coconut stuff is renewable, as I like it, mixed with sand. About 50/50 and deep and dark. They make wonderful tunnels and nest chambers in that.

And yes, I blame dehydration on about 98% of all reptile problems. Its very simple, these snakes we like here, kingsnakes, do not live in open air or caves, or crawling about, they live in and under the ground, They on occassion went conditions are suitable, come to the surface and move out. Of course, in my area, thats rare as we are dry most of the time, and some other parts of the country will reverse that and they have to come up our out to dry off(happens here rarely)

No matter what part of the world kingsnakes come from, they spend all their time concerned and controlling their hydration. One way or the other.

In captivity, we tend to keep them in open boxes(against their nature and design) and keep them in our houses, which are dry or we would move out because of all the mold, etc. hahahahahahaha We humans live in open air and could not stand to live like kingsnakes. Cheers

nm

Aaron,
Those look great!

It's really cool too see somebody going the extra mile to provide living conditions they would choose out there in the wild!

Should be fun to watch- please post your findings!!!

//Todd

yep, I want some kings that live in duplexes, with hot and cold runnin' water! I think the drawers are cool
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Todd Hughes

>>yep, I want some kings that live in duplexes, with hot and cold runnin' water! I think the drawers are cool
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>>Todd Hughes

as opposed to living in your walls? post a photo!
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http://www.hcu-tx.org

haha, that does it forker! Hang on a bit whilst I get him ready, no pretty pics just an inside pic!
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Todd Hughes