Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is a 4x2x2 cage large enough for an adult BRB?

Thanks!
-Dan

For an adult male, I'd say it's as small as you should go for an adult. The more experienced BRB owners in here might have something else to say, but I personally wouldn't put mine in anything smaller than those dimensions.

Mine is a female and I know they get bigger than males. She is only 8 months old now. But I am looking at a cage that size for her to grow into. Do you suggest something bigger for her?

>>For an adult male, I'd say it's as small as you should go for an adult. The more experienced BRB owners in here might have something else to say, but I personally wouldn't put mine in anything smaller than those dimensions.

Me personally... if I had a female, I'd say 6' in length, 2 feet wide, and at least 2 feet high. They love to climb, so, you want to have a cage with the space for them to do so. understand a cage that big is going to need some major environmental controls going on.

consider building a humidair system... if I was home right now (I'm currently deployed to Iraq), I'd show you what I did... This isn't really needed, but it creates moist air thus creating the needed humidity, without the soggy bottom substrate effect.

Basically... get a bucket, that you can put a lid on, some 1/4 inch or 1/2 pvc (flexibile or rigid, it's a matter of choice) and connectors, a air pump (like the one that use for fish tanks, some air hose, air stones (the big air stone rings work great for this.) a porous sponge that's long to cut bisect the lid in equal halves... umm... think that was it

Ok... take the bucket lid, silicone the sponge to the lid (use aquarium silicone, holds up to moisture better,) length wise, making two equal sides of the lid.

drill a hole big enough for the air hose on one side, and big enough for the pvc pipe on the other side into the lid

next, air stone in the bottom of the bucket, air hose, in place, seal lid around air hose with silicone. This is your input line to connect the air pump to the hose running the air stone.

now on in the other hole, connect your pvc to the lid, then the other end of the pvc to the enclosure (the enclosure should be sealed up pretty well to help hold the moist air in the enclosure)

The air pump airates the water, the sponge catches and holds the some of the water as well, and the combination of the two pumps moist air into the enclosure.

You can acutally almost completely seal your enclosure if you have the right sized air pump. Measure the inside dimensions of the enclosure, figure out how many gallons the enclosure would hold if it were a fish tank, and use that number to figure out how big of an air pump you need...

Yes.. I know... excessive and maybe a little extreme for just a snake enclosure... but I can sleep well at night knowing my humidity is consistant and continuous.

Ok... sorry for the novel...

I may try something like that, if I can gather the technical competence to complete it. My plan is to build a vivarium with plants and a bioactive substrate. The idea is based on a book, The Art of Keeping Snakes. I am hoping that my substrate will help with the humidity.

>>consider building a humidair system... if I was home right now (I'm currently deployed to Iraq), I'd show you what I did... This isn't really needed, but it creates moist air thus creating the needed humidity, without the soggy bottom substrate effect.
>>
>>Basically... get a bucket, that you can put a lid on, some 1/4 inch or 1/2 pvc (flexibile or rigid, it's a matter of choice) and connectors, a air pump (like the one that use for fish tanks, some air hose, air stones (the big air stone rings work great for this.) a porous sponge that's long to cut bisect the lid in equal halves... umm... think that was it
>>
>>Ok... take the bucket lid, silicone the sponge to the lid (use aquarium silicone, holds up to moisture better,) length wise, making two equal sides of the lid.
>>
>>drill a hole big enough for the air hose on one side, and big enough for the pvc pipe on the other side into the lid
>>
>>next, air stone in the bottom of the bucket, air hose, in place, seal lid around air hose with silicone. This is your input line to connect the air pump to the hose running the air stone.
>>
>>now on in the other hole, connect your pvc to the lid, then the other end of the pvc to the enclosure (the enclosure should be sealed up pretty well to help hold the moist air in the enclosure)
>>
>>The air pump airates the water, the sponge catches and holds the some of the water as well, and the combination of the two pumps moist air into the enclosure.
>>
>>You can acutally almost completely seal your enclosure if you have the right sized air pump. Measure the inside dimensions of the enclosure, figure out how many gallons the enclosure would hold if it were a fish tank, and use that number to figure out how big of an air pump you need...
>>
>>Yes.. I know... excessive and maybe a little extreme for just a snake enclosure... but I can sleep well at night knowing my humidity is consistant and continuous.
>>
>>Ok... sorry for the novel...

making a mini eco system is really really hard to do. I've made single dart frog enclosures with false bottoms, multilayer substrates moss ferns etc all into a 10 gallon tank. Worked great, but as you get bigger, it's harder to maintain the environment you're looking for. Another to consider, is say you get your ecosystem built, up and running for a couple of months, and then introduce the snake to it... will the plants be able to handle the stress of a snake climbing all over them? Will the substrate and the natural bacteria be able to keep up with the snakes bowel movements? And what will the extra uria and nitrates do to the soil/water table in the environment you've spents months to build?

Just my two cents...

IMO that is plenty large enough for any BRB. I actually keep mine in smaller cages but get a kind of two tier setup that increases the usable area by putting the water bowl on top of the hide.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks Dave! What are yours 2x2x2? That's my guess from looking at your pics.

>>IMO that is plenty large enough for any BRB. I actually keep mine in smaller cages but get a kind of two tier setup that increases the usable area by putting the water bowl on top of the hide.
>>-----
>>Thanks,
>>
>>
>>Dave Colling
>>
>>www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
>>
>>
>>
>>0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
>>0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
>>
>>LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
>>26.49 BRB
>>20.21 BCI
>>And those are only the breeders
>>
>>lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Basically. And yeah I agree a bit small but I can connect cages together as needed. They key with using a smaller cage is keeping up on cleaning
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats