Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone!

In a few weeks I'm going to build a new snake cage that is going to be comprised of 5-6 sections. The floor space of each section will be the same, 4x2, but I'm not sure how tall I should make the sections for the Jungle Carpet Pythons. There is a pair at a local reptile store that I'm planning on buying once the cage is done. They're in the same enclosure right now but I'm planning on separating them. Every time I go in there they are huddled on a branch together, the cage they're in has more height than length.

So my question is how tall should I make their section? The other sections are going to be 12in tall but I was thinking of making their section 18in tall. But I've read that while jungle's will climb they're not a truly arboreal snake so length is more important than height... Any input? If I could get away with making it shorter than 18in that would be great because it will be easier to heat...

I built a 6ft tall cage for a friend who wanted it for carpets. They climb a lot when given the space. They would even eat while hanging from their tails.
I'd go 24 inches and give them something decent to climb on unless you have room to go bigger.
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Jason

I think I'm going to build the cage for the jungle's separate so I can make their cages taller. I'm thinking I'll make their cages 3 feet tall with a floor space of 2x3...

Is he housing a pair together year round? I usually keep my snakes separate but I've read a couple articles where breeders have housed jungles together year round in a large enclosure. I could either have two separate enclosures or I could do one big enclosure that was 6ft tall and had a floor space of either 2x3 or 2x4. It would be kinda cool to house a pair together, they're together at the moment and don't seem to have any problems...

Their arboreal tendencies tend to go in waves. Sometimes they're always climbing, sometimes they're terestrial. And even when climbing, length is still relevant, because they move along branches just as much as along the ground. So both things you've heard are correct: length IS more impotant than height, but height IS a good thing. I'd go 4X2 for floor space no matter what, plus at least 2 feet of height. If 3 feet of height still works for you at that size, hell, great, do it! The snakes will like it, and they'll make a way more interesting display. But unles we're talking about really small specimens, that extra foot of height should be in addition to the 4X2, not instead of. (Don't let my signature with all the new stuff on it fool you. I'm kind of starting over now, but I had a carpie for over 21 years, and I can vouch that she didn't turn solidly, permanently terestrial until arthritis gave her no choice. IMO, arboreal or not is kind of an over-rated debate, when we're only talking about climbing a few feet to the top of the cage anyway, you know? Not many people have actual 40 foot trees in their house...)
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)
2.0 2009 Eastern Collared Lizards (Cesar and Nino)

Thanks for the advice! I'll go with the 4x2 floor space. Do you have any opinion on keeping a breeding pair together year round? If I did this I would make the cage at least 4ft tall, if I separated them I would make each cage 2-3 feet tall...

It's probably more realistic to think of it as two cages that can be combined into one than as one that can be split into two. A coiled up adult can take up enough floor space that two of them in a cage that's got the floor space for a single animal can result in one or both not thermoregulating properly. Also, I've heard of people having trouble maintaining regular temps in taller cages during certain parts of the year. If you can make the double-height trick work during breeding, though, I love the idea.
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)
2.0 2009 Eastern Collared Lizards (Cesar and Nino)

I think what I'll do is make one cage that is 2x4x6 and make the dividing piece removable. I'll just make it slide right out so during the breeding season they can co-habitate and then I can just separate them again. I think it will be pretty easy to do...