Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am building a new snake room and have a few questions about what sizes certain cages should be. The cages I am uncertain of are for Hondurans and Black Milk snakes. What size cage do these guys like? Right now my Hondurans and my black milks are babies, caging is easy. What size cage would be perfect for them as adults? I think 4'L X 2'W X 1 1/2H should be efficient. I'm just not sure. Any input towards this question would be great.

Thanks

Jason

I'm sure you already know that many breeders keep both of these subspecies (or species, I don't follow Lampropeltis taxonomy anymore) in rubbermaids with a floor area of 20" x 14".

I personally feel this is too small even though I can't argue that the snakes seemingly do well in them.

On the other hand, I feel that a cage with a floor area of 48" x 24" is excessive, but I won't tell you to not use cages that large. Ultimately it's your peace of mind that's most important (after the snakes well being, of course) and you should use what you want.

>>On the other hand, I feel that a cage with a floor area of 48" x 24" is excessive, but I won't tell you to not use cages that large. Ultimately it's your peace of mind that's most important (after the snakes well being, of course) and you should use what you want.

My only concern about a cage that large will be whether the original poster can make the snakes feel secure. An 8-square foot cage with one hide box, one water bowl, and one branch is going to be pretty barren! And none of the colubrids I've dealt with seemed to be a huge fans of wide-open spaces...

I was going to bring this up but decided not to. I agree that sometimes snakes seem to do better in a cage that offers a greater sense of security. But I also believe this security can be duplicated in a larger cage, specifically by offering multiple hide boxes that are just big enough for the snakes in question to fit into.

That's always worked for me.

>>I was going to bring this up but decided not to. I agree that sometimes snakes seem to do better in a cage that offers a greater sense of security. But I also believe this security can be duplicated in a larger cage, specifically by offering multiple hide boxes that are just big enough for the snakes in question to fit into.
>>
>>That's always worked for me.

Definitely agree with this. When I place a small snake in a larger cage, I generally try to create a more naturalistic environment. Lots of hide boxes, semi-hollow branches, sheets of cork bark, fake plants, etc. It's always worked well for me...

The pic with the original post looked a little...barren...though, so I thought I'd mention it as another consideration.

Re Honduran cages: I have some cages with floor space 36x12, and that is perfect IMO for an adult Honduran. Not saying you need 36x12 cages, but the 430 sq in of floorspace is plenty without being too large. As Chris said, most people use sweater boxes with roughly 280 sq in of floorspace, and they have success. 4ft cages are too big IMO for any Honduran. A Vision 221 or 211 can work for you.

Re Black milk cages: My opinion is to not have less than 400 sq in of floorspace for adult black milks. I've seen a 6ft black milk in a 36x24 cage, and that was way more than enough room. The Vision 221 (28x24) would be fine too. I think 4ft caging for black milks is overkill, unless maybe 4ft x12in deep.

Don't know what you are leaning towards, but here are some suggestions in case you're interested:

a) Vision 221s are versatile cages, will stack and fit your animals.
b) www.herpcages.com sizes 36x12x12 back-vent will stack nicely and are easy to heat (easier than Vision to heat)
c) www.precisioncaging.com makes a 24x20x13h model that is great for Hondurans, and a 36x20dx13h cage that would fit huge black milks with plenty of room to spare.
d) www.nsreptiles.com has racks that use Sterilite 32qt boxes. Good for Honos and fine for Black milks unless they get really big.
e) Jason's Jungle has nice racks too.
f) Melamine caging by ??? I forgot - see the classifieds - they do kits and multi-units for really good prices - I just forgot their name at the moment (is it Cages by Design?) - I think they are hosted by Exotics by Nature or someone. What is happening to me... ahhhh..

Thanks for the advice Mark. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I currently have several vision cages, and they are all great. The only problem I see with them is the cost factor. I plan to keep expanding with my snake breeding and these cages are going to kill me financially.
I have carpentry skills and figure I can make some nice wall unit cages that are insulated for my snake room.
I just needed to know what size cage for these bigger colubrids. I'm going to take your advice and go with 36" cage. I don't want to make my snakes stress over space especially while gravid.
Thanks for the well needed advice and I'll post pics when its built.
Thanks to everyone else for their help.

Jason