Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm designing some cages for 3 of my snakes. all 6 feet or above. A RTB, Albino Burm, and Coastal Carpet.

Now, my original plans were for a stacking set for the RTB and Burm, that would be 6'x3'x2.5' (LxWxH) But after some measuring of doorways, that won't work. So it needs to be 6'x2.5'x2.5'. Or around that.

As for my Coastal. Space is somewhat limited. I can make a 6'x4'x2.5' cage (HxWxD) or anything in between. Shes about 7ft almost...maybe more, she wont hold still long enough to be measured.

Now, I'm all for designing these cages FOR the snakes. I don't like racks, and I like the cages to be as natural as possible.

QUESTION TIME.
1) Is 6'x2.5'x2.5' Ok for a Burm and RTB?
2) What size would be optimal for my coastal? Should I make it longer, and a little shorter in height?
3) Any hints on making a temp gradient in a tall cage? Hotter on top, cool on bottom?
4) Why do we park on driveways, and drive on parkways?
5) ...umm...to be continued as Chris and all chime in...hehe
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Coastal Carpet Python 0.1
Albino Burm 0.1
Columbian RedTail 0.1
Kenyan Sand Boa 1.0
Common Snapping Turtle 1.1
RES 1.0

I'm sure you are aware that the burm and boa have some growing to do still...

That being said, 6' long is not long enough (in the long run) for the burm. The boa maybe, but longer would be better. The larger these guys get, the less arboreal they will be (at least in my experience). That means they need more floor space to stretch out, and less vertical space to climb.

I recently built a cage for my 12' burm that I still feel is undersized, but adequate. It measures 8'L x 2.5'W x 3.5'H. It's huge, ugly, and hard to move around, but it holds him for now.

Previously, that same snake was housed in a 5.5'L x 2'W x 2'H. As you can guess, I didn't feel comfortable keeping a 12 footer in that, but 1.2 coastal carpets seemed very comfortable (all over 6'). I also have a 6.5' dumeril's boa in the same size, and she is "happy." So, your boa might be ok for a while in the 6'L design that you have in mind as well as your carpet.

ANSWER TIME
1) Ideal sizes:
Burm- 8'-12'Long x4'Wide x 6'High
RTB- 10'Long x 4'Wide x 6'High
Coastal- 6'Long x 3'Wide x 6'High

2) Realistic sizes:
burm- 8'Long x 3'Wide x 4'High
RTB- 6'long x 2.5' wide x 4'High
Coastal- 6'Long x 2.5'wide x 4'High

3) As for temp gradient:
Hotter on top, but provide sturdy shelves at varrying levels in addition to climbing limbs. This way the snake can rest coiled flat if it chooses to and doesn't have to dangle from a tree which I imagine could get uncomfportable to any but the most arboreal species.

4) Why do we park on driveways, and drive on parkways?

I'v often wondered that myself, but I've never actually driven on a parkway.

Here's a pic of the cage I described with the 1.2 coastals and the dumeril's.

Good luck,

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Zoodude

"Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't after me."

the RTB (if it is a true redtail can attain a huge size, if it is a colombian a 6' long enclosure will be fine for any bci up to the largest of them (not counting a huge female pushing the 10 ' range)
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

Are you sure that's the max size you can fit through doorways? I lived in a small apartment and determined I could get a cage much larger than that into my room. I would have had to turn it upright while I moved it, of course.

I'd go ahead and make the cages slightly longer so they fit under a standard doorway (which won't be much longer than 6', but you'll get a bit more space).

Then the side of the cage will what has to go around corners and fit through doorways. I usually cut a piece of cardboard to the size of the side of the cage and then try to slide it around corners, though doors, etc.

I'm sure you've thought of all this but I thought I'd mention it to make sure. Now on to your questions.

Probably not. Unless you'll be moving sometime in the near future and want to hold off on building a proper Burmese Python cage, I'd go ahead and plan for it's adult size now. But if that's not practical, I'm sure you can find a use for a cage that size once the Burmese grows out of it.

As far as the RTB, females can vary so much in size that it's hard to say. For some Boa constrictors, that would actually be excessive, especially for males. But for some of the larger forms, a floor area of 6' x 2.5' might be ideal.

I've only kept one coastal and my impression was that it had no inclination to climb at it's adult size. As such, I think offering more length at expense of height is what I would choose. But then again, if the snake was a climber as an adult I would certainly want to provide those opportunities.

For a speciment that climbs anyways I like to make the cage hotter near the top and cooler near the bottom. However, you want to avoid "forcing" the snake to climb for no reason other than thermoregulation. An area providing "belly heat" on the floor is a good idea for specimens that are semi-arboreal.

Thanks for the responses...

Well, since money is a little tight, building is being put off, but I design and redesign constantly... It helps me stay awake in school.

Well, these cages will most likely be for as long as I live in this apartment. I can always build something new if need be, and they are both really comfortable in their 75 gallon aquariums now... They don't complain.

Chris, I measured the doorway again, making sure I'm not retarded, and it is about 2' 10". But that is really pushin it.

Well my coastal loves to climb around, so I'll make it kind of high, but long as well.

I can always cut the wood and make sure it fits together then assemble it in the room. I've done entertainment centers and the such like that... more work, but better for the kids.
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Coastal Carpet Python 0.1
Albino Burm 0.1
Columbian RedTail 0.1
Kenyan Sand Boa 1.0
Common Snapping Turtle 1.1
RES 1.0

Sorry, I did a terrible job of verbalizing my questions about your door.

What I meant to get at is that you cages could have a greater width (or depth if thats what you call it).

If you built a cage that was 6'x3'x2.5' (LxWxH) you might still be able to turn it upright and get it into your room.

Take a large piece of cardboard and find the largest size you can slide on the floor into your room. That dimension would be the maximum size for a side of your cage.

The only problem with this is that if your cage is relatively short you don't want it to be super wide. It makes it harder to lean in and clean, etc.

Oh... I see what ya mean... Do you think 2.5' is high enough for a burm and RTB?

If so, I'm gonna complete the design with that in mind.
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Coastal Carpet Python 0.1
Albino Burm 0.1
Columbian RedTail 0.1
Kenyan Sand Boa 1.0
Common Snapping Turtle 1.1
RES 1.0

Yeah it's funny how I do a better job of explaining with fewer words

A height of 2.5' may be okay but it depends on the height of the upper and lower lip of your cages and how deep they are from front to back.

If your cages was 4' from front to back and you both the upper and low lips of your cage were 6" (the bottom lip to block substrate, the top lip for support and to hide heating elements) that might not be enough.

In the above example, the window portion of the front would only be 18". That would make for poor viewing if the cage was indeed 4' deep and it would also be hard to lean in there to clean, as I said previously.

The best thing to do would be to figure out what different dimensions you can fit through your door. Remember that you can make the cage wider (or deeper) as you decrease the height.

You'll end up with an infinite number of possibilities between the two extremes. One extreme being a cage that is very low but very wide, the other extreme being a cage that is taller but not as wide.

Based on those two extremes and how tall you want your upper and lower lips to be will determine what's best for you.

Okay, there I go getting verbose again. Let me post a picture.

In this cage the height is 28.5". The upper and lower lips are 6" each. The window portion is 14" (minuse a bit for the glass track). The floor and ceiling make up the other 1.5".

Now imagine this cage being shorter in order to add more floor area. The window are would be very small and it would be hard to clean the back corners. You could reduce the height of the lips but then you'll lose support and it won't look as nice. I think visualizing that will better help you understand the tradeoffs you'll have to deal with.

I've got a pretty good idea on how to build it. Not the most sane of ideas.

I think I can build the cage as far as snake area, not lights and other stuff, to be 6'Lx3.5'Dx2.5'H. Then after the inside is all seales and ready to go, fabricate (one of my fave words since Monster Garage) a wood frame to fit the cages. One cage will be about 6" off the ground, and the other will be 6" above the lower one to make room for all lighting and electrical. Then I can make some covers out of the same wood as the cage to cover the lighting if need be, or make a hood that fits on top that will contain all the lighting, making it possible to move it in and out when needed. and thats not for at least another year.
Now I'll draw up this wacky design and figure out someway to post it so you all can pick it apart... I love feedback on stuff...it makes me think harder.
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Coastal Carpet Python 0.1
Albino Burm 0.1
Columbian RedTail 0.1
Kenyan Sand Boa 1.0
Common Snapping Turtle 1.1
RES 1.0

For the carpet python, you can do something like 3'W x 2'D x 4'H or however high you want to go. Just have some shelves in there. I saw a carpet cage that was 3x2x6h, and it housed 2 adult Coastal carpets easily with room to spare. It had some 2x4s instead of branches and was heated from the top (ceramic emitter) and on a portion on the bottom (Flexwatt). It was neat seeing the carpets perched way up there, although I'm sure they used the floor sometimes too.

Adult female Burms need caging that borders on rediculous in size.

For the great majority of adult female boas, 6x2.5 floor area is plenty of room, and for most you can go smaller. For example, an 8ft female Colombian will easily fit in a 5x2.5 cage.