Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I was thinking. We've got a container that we can grow our kings in to a much bigger size than when they're hatchlings. I was thinking if it would be wise to have a hatchling, sub adult, and adult housing plans, or if it would be better just to go right up to the adult housing and let them grow into that. Because that's another rack that'll be around, and isn't in the best interest of space. Just wanted to see what everyone did, have a tub the snakes stay in until they're a certain size, and then move into a tub they'll be in as adults, or taking that in three/four steps. (Still a aways a way, but for adults I was thinking Sterilite 1960 (34 3/4"L x 16 1/2"W x 6"H) or 1956 (23"L x 16 3/4"W x 5 7/8"H). Would love to hear what everyone thinks and what has worked for you.

I use a Sterilite 6 qt rack for hatchlings through subadult and a 41 qt. rack for subadult through adult. I built a midsize rack using some 28 qt. tubs, but the rack didn't come out well (didn't stay square during construction). So I'm just going to use that rack for storage and move everything straight into the adult racks. I haven't had any problems keeping milks up to 30 inches in a 6 qt. tub, but I don't plan to keep doing this. I'll probably move them at 24 inches. I wouldn't put snakes in tubs that are too big for them, as they seem to get stressed when they have too much room.
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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
1.0.0 California King
0.0.1 Speckled King WC
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

That's exactly what I was planning on doing. Seems like it would work well. Only problems I can see would the 41 qt being a little too spacious for a small period of time. Time will tell, thanks a lot.

By the way, another idea I had was build a rack that would accept baby tubs with a lid and juvi bins without one, but then I learned (not the hard way, luckly) that the 6qt aren't escape proof, so I blew that idea off since dealing with that many rubber bands would be a pain. It would be easy to build in a removeable shelf to sit ontop of the baby bins, and take it off when you use the juvi bins, but I looked the other day and the (I think) 15 qt bins offer barely any extra floor space.

Personally, by the time my collection was big enough to justify racks, I was already planning on breeding most of my collection.
I started out with a rack that was big enough for my, predominantly sud-adult collection at the time, which was a
15 Drawer Clear Sweater Box RhinoRaXX from Boaphile. I then moved on to a hatchling rack and an adult rack from Animal Plastics. Prior to plastic racks, I kept my collection in sterilite or rubbermaid tubs and a wooden shelving system with heat tape. The older system was nice because each shelf could be adjusted to the size of the tub in use. I could keep my adults on one shelf and all their offspring on the shelves below, and then another pair of adults and their offspring, and so on. The major benefit I find with the plastic racks is that they hold their temps better, they're easier to clean and move around. Plus they are much lighter. Another bonus is that with the old system I had to use the lids with each tub, and with the plastic racks the shelves act as lids, and they, if built properly,have an 1/8" gap above each tub, so that drilling out every tub isn't necessary. I think that you should determine what your plans are, with your collection, before shelling out the dough on racks. If you just plan on having them as pets, you might want to look into buying a nice group of display cages. Good luck!
-Phil
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!

I like giving my snakes as much room as possible, but I think a large sweater box would be too big for hatchlings. I think you may also end up with a few escapes, as ensuring a close tolerence along the length of a large tub will be more difficult then with a shorter tub.

I use 15 qt sterilites for yearlings then move them up to 32 qt sterilites. My racks will hold 2 - 15 qts on a shelf or 1 - 32 qt sideways.

Also I used both back heat and belly heat on two seperate thermostats. The thermostats are the type that will shut down if they malfunction so they don't over heat the snakes, if the belly heat malfunctions and shuts down, the back heat is set 4 degrees cooler and will kick in, keeping the snakes from getting too cold. I figured it was a cheap insurance policy.
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"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"

I have three. The first thing all hatchlings go into is a very small secure hatchling rack like the one pictured below. As soon as they have fed a few times I choose my holdbacks and move those into a tub about the size of a 10 gal tank. By the time they outgrow this they are ready for adult cages.