Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased a hypo yellow rat and a blue beauty snake. They are just babies now, but as they grow, I want them to be caged where I can see them - in display cages, I guess. I'd like them to have plenty of room and climbing areas as well.

Do you have any size recommendations? and do any of you have any photos of your display cages you would share? I'm thinking mine will have to be homemade.

Thanks for any ideas.

Amy C.

ps - the cage below is awesome!

Amy Hi, How big should the cage be? Generally it should be about 2/3 the length of the snake its housing long.
I've got to admit the setups some folks here have made for their snakes are impressive but I've got to wonder how much hastle they will go through keeping it clean. If you can't keep it clean your going to run into parasite and health issues.(not to mention,its going to smell )***
Plastic storage tubs with holes put in the sides are the easiest to maintain and are the choice of breaders but don't show well.

Fish tanks,which is the bulk of what I have, are manageable in price and can be relitively easy to clean. The big ones can be heavy and need to be cleaned where they are kept.
This is the case with a 6' 125 gal tank I keep a 9' Blue Beauty and a 7' Black Rat in.
This is plenty of room for these two snakes. I keep 12" heat tape under 1/2 the tank with a dimmer switch keeping its temp at the mid 90s. This brings one side of the tank to the mid 80s.
Keep in mind if you use heat tape to keep an air space under it so that heat doesn't build to high and use some type of reostat to keep its temp under 100 degrees.

Another pricey but really nice choice is a vision cage. These come in several sizes, are easy to clean and easy to control the temp in. They are expensive but you get what you pay for.
Be mindfull of anything you put into the tank. Pieces of wood can introduce parasites. I don't use anything without washing it first and only use wood that fits in my oven. I wash it and bake it long enough to steam up and make it hotter than hell to kill anything it may harbor. Also be carefull of and chemical coatings plastic plants, etc may have on them.
My main choice of bedding is aspen shavings. A crock type of water bowl is used as it is heavy (won't tip) and cleans eassily.
Lastly I use plastic coffee cans with a hole cut into the lid for hide boxes, again its easy to clean.
Do you see a pattern here? Yep, keeping it clean is key!
Good luck with your guys!
Mike.
PS- ***Incidentally, I purchased a "therapure UV air purifier" from walmart for $99. It completely erases any odors from my reptile room! The UV lamp in it kills any airborne germs, viruses and bacteria.
Also on a tip from a friend of putting a couple small containers with an inch of cider vinigar with a drop of dish soap in it eradicated the fruit fly / knat problem I had.

>> "Also on a tip from a friend of putting a couple small containers with an inch of cider vinigar with a drop of dish soap in it eradicated the fruit fly / knat problem I had"

So are they attracted to this, then drown in it because of the dish detergent?. Could you explain a little more about this please, because this is pretty interesting.

I know sticky fly traps work well, but this home remedy has also peaked my interest.

thanks, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

>> "Also on a tip from a friend of putting a couple small containers with an inch of cider vinigar with a drop of dish soap in it eradicated the fruit fly / knat problem I had"

So are they attracted to this, then drown in it because of the dish detergent?. Could you explain a little more about this please, because this is pretty interesting.
I know sticky fly traps work well, but this home remedy has also peaked my interest.
thanks, ~Doug

Yep, thats exactly it. Vinegar works but cider vinegar is twice as effective. The single drop of dish soap breaks the surface tension so they drown. I use green (like the color )2 liter soda bottle bottoms and deli cups from the shows.
In fact we buy box bulk crickets for tree frogs and keep them in a fish tank until we need them. They attract the flies too so I put a tall container in the tank with the mix. Wouldn't you know that a slew of the dumb butt crickets drowned themselves in it.
I solved that problem by using a little deli cup that one of the baby snakes came home in, with the lid on. It has the air holes on the sides that the crickets can't fit through and the knats have no problem getting through. Works great.
I do use the fly tapes hanging in an loop under the energy saver bulb thats on a timer in the reptile room. It claims its share but the cider vinegar dish soap trick works better. Together, i hardly every see a fly now.
You really have to try it! Incidentally though I'd like to take credit, it was a tip that a breader friend in Florida suggested. So thanks Kevin!
Mike.

Thanks for giving some details regarding that,...I'll give it a try as well!

thanks!, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Do you just put the single drop in and totally let it be to just coat the surface?,...or do you mix it up?

I'm thinking probably the first, but I'd rather get your take on it.

thanks again, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

I'm thinking it doesn't really matter. There's something about the dish deterg that removes the oxygen from the water? Or keeps them from being able to swim or jump out? I know you put dish deterg in a shallow bowl of water under a light to catch and kill fleas. I guess the cider vinegar draws the flies.

Yeah, more than likely.

thanks, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

What the dish soap does is break the surface tension.
Ever see a spider or a water strider walk on water?
Thats surface tension holding it up. Put a drop of dish soap on that pond where it is and it will sink.
Thats what the flies do and is why they drown. They expect to sit on top, land, and down they go.
Oh and dish soap floats so even if you mix it it will come up to the surface. One drop though so that the smell of the vinegar gets through.
Mike

Yeah, that all makes perfectly good sense to me too,......thanks!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Good ideas. Especially the one about the little flies. They drive me nuts.

I use boxes like cereal, poptarts, etc. for hides. They're funky looking and I can toss them when dirty.

Thanks, Amy C.

There is nothing worse in the world than a cage that cannot get clean. Everyone has probably had one of these cages at one time or another. Looks great, seems like a wonderful idea, then BAM!! Big, stinky, dirty cage that never gets fully cleaned or even smells clean no matter how hard you try, or requires hours of dismantling decorations, etc. to get into every nook and cranny!! I even quit putting natural stones in my cages as shed aids due to having to scrub when pooped on, and some never getting the stains out. If I cant pitch it, I dont want it!!

HOWEVER, I do understand your desire to have a nice display. As long as you are willing to take the time and effort to maintain it, then kudos to you. If you are dealing with larger snakes, you may want to check out some of the glass fronted bookshelf units you can get a Walmart, Kmart, or an office furniture supply store. With some sealing at the joints with silicone, and maybe installing plexiglass or vinyl floor tile on the bottom, etc., you can get a really large cage for alot less than buying a reptile specialty cage.

Good luck!!

>> " you can get a really large cage for alot less than buying a reptile specialty cage."

** Yeah, I think most specialty reptile enclosures are usually WAY too ridiculously over-priced, and especially the larger enclosures.

In the past, I've opted to build some stuff myself too.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

No, I'm not trying to get fancy, just something decent that my snakes will like and where I can see them. I hate keeping pretty snakes in plastic boxes, and I have several that are. My house is very small and I'm thinking of re-doing my living room and trying to figure out how to get as many cages I can see into as possible. I've been looking a shelving options. I really only want no more than two tiers because another thing I hate is having to pull a cage down off a high shelf to get into it. I think I would handle them more if they were easier to get to. Know what I mean? I want to be sure this blue beauty stays tame. He's pretty timy still.

Amy C.

Oh, I understand you completely!!! Aquariums are great, but rather heavy at larger sizes and only top accessed. So its hard to not have to take off a shelf, etc. to access the inside. The custom cages are nice and can be stacked and accessed easily from the front, but the larger sizes to best show off a large arboreal ratsnake can get quite pricey!!! Custom building your own takes skill (which I definitely lack LOL). I have seen some nice glass enclosures that were customized to access from the front at herp shows. Kind of expensive, but less than some of the more popular brands on the market. I like buying onsite because you can actually see the cage, access doors, quality, etc. I would suggest saving your money and seeing whats available at the next local herpshow you attend. I think its Glasscages that make some decent display enclosures.

I sold office furniture, including some of those bookcases for about 4 years. They're mostly pressed wood and are *really* prone to falling apart if they wind up being damp (like after frequent mistings). I can't even begin to count how many we had to D&D out when our roof sprung a leak over the furniture wall...

You are 100% correct about that,...when I used the pressboard construction, I lined the inside with 1/16th inch finely textured plastic/vinyl sheeting that was very accurately cut, and water-base glued into place. And at all corners I also used waterbased laytex caulking for an absolute water-proofed inside. If done correctly(and I stress this part)and other things are strengthened as needed and a few other features added, it can become a VERY sturdy waterproof set-up. But me being a professional carpenter all my adult life makes stuff like that really easy for me to do, and all types of tools are not a problem either.

I could actually fill this cage I built with water just like an aquarium, and it would hold fine..LOL!

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Posted by: KevinM
There is nothing worse in the world than a cage that cannot get clean.
I even quit putting natural stones in my cages as shed aids due to having to scrub when pooped on, and some never getting the stains out. If I cant pitch it, I dont want it!!

you can get a really large cage for alot less than buying a reptile specialty cage.

Good luck!!

Kevin I agree. I stopped putting wood and stones in my tanks to prevent harboring parasites. I've got a new routine now for dealing with drift wood and stone or what I use now for shedding rubs, bricks.
Scrubing has it limits and can't rearch into some spaces.
So acting like Tim Alen from "Home Improvement" I get extreme and use a gas powerwasher to blast the wood and stone outside.
It reaches into the crevaces and gets all the poo from the snakes and the slime from the treefrogs we have also.
Wait, I'm not done...
Then while its still wet if it'll fit in the microwave I nuke it!
Steamed up and way to hot to touch I doubt a mite or other parasite stands a chance!
Bricks microwave up very well.
If it is to big for the microwave it goes into the oven long enough to steam it boiling hot but not so long that it dries completely and burns.
Boiling water can be carefully poured over bigger pieces.
I never transfer anything from one setup to another without cleaning and sterilizing it in this way.
This all may seem extreme but it is really easy compared to trying to beat a disease back once its gotten a foot hold into your collection.
I've been there and will never let it happen again.
As for getting one of the expensive vision cage setups or a huge 125 gal tank, I've gotten mine for free or dirt cheap by haunting the want ads, craigslist.
Huge fish tanks can be had cheap. There are two 55 gal tanks for $30 right now by me.
Be patient, keep watching the listings and jump when you see a deal. Your snake is still small so I'm sure you'll see a bargan tank before you will really need it.
Lastly check with the bean farm about heat tape and follow their reconmendations to set it up safely.
Mike

Bird snakes but I swear they like rats better.

Homemade cage 4x2x6

Pseustes

Nate

Boy Nate, yours got it good!!!

Oh, my!