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adult burmese cage

spbgundam Jun 16, 2003 04:16 AM

Is 4'x2'x2' an ideal size enclosure for an adult burmese? or is that not enough room? what do yall think? i need recomendations on what size i should make like 8'x4'x4' or?? what?

Replies (8)

krystal19_85 Jun 16, 2003 09:00 AM

you really need AT LEAST 8 x 4 x 2 (they don't need hight, there too big to climb), but I would make bigger, but that's just me I spoil ALL my animals as much as possible.
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~~~ Krystal - a teenager who admits she dosen't know everything, or even close! - Future breeder of Pythons, Geckos, we'll see what else later! Specalizing in Ball Pythons and Leopard Geckos ~~~ www.geocities.com/krystal19_85 ~~~

JDP Jun 16, 2003 01:07 PM

I dont think you need AT LEAST 8x4x2. First, is it a male or female? Females generally need more room than males since they are bigger. 8x4 would be perfectly adequate for an adult female of around 16'. A smaller male 11-12' will do fine in a 6x4 cage. No need to go super huge. It will be overly expensive and overly difficult to build since plywoods only come in 8x4' or smaller. Not to mention it is harder to properly heat such a massive enclosure over 8x4.

siberiankhatru Jun 16, 2003 01:04 PM

4x2x2 is way to small, if your burm is only 7.5 feet he has alot of growing to do more than likely. You mentioned in an earlier post you usually keep him outside. What part of the world do you live in?

spbgundam Jun 17, 2003 11:51 AM

I live in South texas, i only keep him outside sometimes but usually im out there with him for a while Thank you all for ur suggestions

vareptilerescue Jun 16, 2003 08:16 PM

I get a lot of flak from folks because I provide my Burms with cage that is 8'W x 4'D x 6'T. My cages provide shelves and/or limbs for climbing. This provides not only more floor space, but allows for both a horizontal and vertical temperature gradient.

The common myth is that Burms don't climb, and don't need the vertical height. My experience is just the opposite - they can and WILL climb when given the opportunity. Further, my experience, and that of several other Burm keepers I've talked with in the past, is that providing larger, taller cages may (note I said, "MAY" ) help prevent respiratory infections that other folks seem to have problems with. My informal, non-scientific poll of Burm owners indicated that, indeed, larger cages APPEAR to correlate with fewer (or no) respiratory problems. I've heard several theories as to why this might be.

Of course, this is providing that all other parameters are correct - heat/humidity/etc. Any sized cage that has otherwise inadequate conditions won't be healthy for the animal inside.

Bottom line: I believe that mother nature knows best - and she provides an entire forest for these animals. Why do we think that a tiny cage will suffice?

My opinion, others will vary.

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Bonnie Keller
VA Reptile Rescue
www.vareptilerescue.org

1snakeman Jun 16, 2003 08:58 PM

some of my cages are almost that tall.

ball_boi Jun 16, 2003 09:41 PM

True as that may be, you have to remember that the forest is not inhabited ONLY by Burms. It shares the forest with thousands of different animals. I'm not attacking your opinion, but that's just mine. As long as adequate exercise is given and taken out of its cage i think that would be fine. Plus, i don't call 8x4x2 tiny.

BrianSmith Jun 17, 2003 07:28 PM

While I agree with Bonnie that we as keepers should provide as much space for our reptiles as is humanly/practically possible, I wouldn't go so far as to try to mirror mother nature or use the wild as a reference point or example of what we "should" do. By that logic I would have to toss in a few natural preditors and cause an ocassional deluge of rain and etc. So I won't look to nature for tips on how my environments should be beyond optimal temps and humidity levels.
Another thing,.. in the past I have used whole rooms for python environments and they still curl up in a little ball in the corner for days at a time. They rarely stretched out and were hardly ever on the go unless it was food-hunting related (hungry). But I did still enjoy giving them the space and the option to move about freely at will.
Now it just isn't feasible to make enormous cages as I keep a great number of reptiles and don't as of yet have the space to house such giant cages. So for now my cages are a fairly standard size/dimension etc, but more than adequate. But when I do finally get my future facility built and completed they will all have ample space once again. This will take place within the next 2 years for sure, possibly within the next year.

>>True as that may be, you have to remember that the forest is not inhabited ONLY by Burms. It shares the forest with thousands of different animals. I'm not attacking your opinion, but that's just mine. As long as adequate exercise is given and taken out of its cage i think that would be fine. Plus, i don't call 8x4x2 tiny.
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