Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm sure most of this has been answered before... I'm fairly new so please be patient with me.. 1st I'm looking to move all my snakes out of glass aquariums and into neither racks or stackable cages.. I'm looking to do this for a number of reasons space issues glass aquariums I feel leave the snakes to out in the open and screen tops allow to much air flow.. I'm working with all adults til I start producing redtails and ball pythons. Can anyone point me in the right directions to fulfil my cageing needs without breaking me.. I considered building my own but I'm not that handy. I'm also not familiar with heat tape as far as the do's and donts I know it can be a fire hazard that's why I ask. Don't get me wrong all my snakes are temperature regulated at the proper temperature with a mixture of heat lamps and heat pads and thermostats just in aquariums. Ok now a couple questions..
What's a good length and weight for a female redtail to be ready to breed?
What dimension cage is suitable for a breeding pair of redtails to be in roughly?
Sexing adults and babies.. I have heard adults can be sexed most the time by the size of the tail and rubbing along the bottom to feel organs how accurate is this? Also. can u "pop" sex baby redtails like you can ball pythons? I live in south florida near the keys and am unable to find anyone to probe the snakes for me.. Ok now breedings rats how many of you all do this. I have about 15 snakes right now so the feed bill isn't too bad. I know a local wholesaler so I get good prices but he is very vague on his breeding info.. My questions are how often do rats produce and how many pups average? How long does it take roughly for a rat to grow from newborn to lets say a large or jumbo rat? What's the best food to feed them I been useing gerbilhamster food from walmart? Well I think that's a good start THANKS in advance for any and all information.
Jbugg

I breed rats and i feed them the hamster gerbil food plus lab blocks and for treats they get the leftover subway bread form work...a little cheese...spinach...they LOVE macaroni noodles...imagine 60 or so rats all crunching at the same time...lol...every so often i will give the pregnant or nursing mother powdered milk on thier food for extra calcium...the liter sizes range..for me anyways...from about 8 to 12 pups...it takes several months for the babies to get to large size...well except the babies of one of my females..her babies are usually haired, eyes open and walking around within a week...I have NEVER seen anytheing like it...we call her super momma...lol

I don't breed rats, but I think it should be the same as for mice.
I feed my mice the cheapest, highest value protein dog kibble I can find, usually Old Sam brand.
There may be something better, but I'm not aware of it.
Please let me know.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

As far as caging, I have personally used Neodesha, BARRs, Boaphile, Animal Plastics, and Proline cages to keep my boas. All functioned well. I'd say the best for your money, and arguably one of the best regardless, would probably be Proline. $210 shipped for a 4'x2'x12" cage. Full HDPE construction, and plastic welded. FDA approved plastic, nice looking and super easy to clean.
I really like the Animal Plastics cages a lot, but they are a bit more pricey, though they have come down. But once you factor in things like heating it will be cheaper to go with Proline.

Ed at Proline can also hook you up with Ultratherm heat pads, no wiring needed. Fully pre-made and enclosed, low wattage, and UL listed.

For thermostats, and you're going to want the best, go with Herpstat. The Herpstat PRO is the best bang for the buck. $319 for a unit that has 4 independent outputs and probes. Basically like getting 4 separate thermostats, but with a lot fewer wires. So it is like getting 4 $80 thermostats, which is the best deal you'll find on digital proportional thermostats. Not to mention all the built in options, can't be beat. We have 3 over here, as well as 3 original Herpstats and 1 Herpstat ND, all work well. I also use and like the Helix DBS-1000, but the Herpstats have more options for less.

Most boas should be fine in a cage with a foot print of 4'x2'. Some big females need more space. I'm not sure exactly what kind of boas you are raising so any more advice on cage size, adult length, and breeding weights, would be bad to give.
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Gilbert Boas
The Boa List!