Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, I have a JCP that I bought a couple years back and love her! Anyways I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on cage sizes (even for snakes in general). Currently, she is about 5 feet long (haven't officially measured her) and lives in a 29 gallon high aquarium. She has a heat pad and a heat light, plus climbing branches. I know she is about ready for a larger cage and plan to put her is something either like a 55 gal or something more custom and taller. What are your guys' opinions about snakes and the space that they actually use? I have a ball python (about 15 years old and I have had her for 12 of them!) but she lives in a large spacious tank. It's about 4 feet long and two and a half feet wide. I know she probably doesn't "use" all of that space, but I feel like she deserves to live in a large space instead of being confined to a small box. I know balls and carpets are two totally different snakes, one being mostly arboreal and the other not, but what I want out of you guys is your opinions on what space we feel our animals should have. I think the larger the cage, the more natural our pets can feel. The closer that we mimic the animals natural environment (even though most are captive bred) the more natural they will act and be healthier overall. Just my two cents...thanks for listening, and any suggestions you have are appreciated!!!

Susan

Susan, I have some adult jungle carpets too. Aren't they fun! Anyway, I keep my male in a plastic cage from BARRS that has dimensions of 24x24x24. He's rather small at just over 4', so it's sufficient for him. Most females will do fine in a cage that measures 36x24x18, but remember some females can get quite large. I've heard of one reaching 9', with most between 6'-7'. The large females would require at least a 48" to make me feel comfortable. Anyway, just throwing some ideas your way. Hope it helps.

Matt

yeah 5' in a 29 high is getting cramped.

55-100 is good if you're keeping a "tank". otherwise check out the med - large vision cages.

well first off the idea of keeping snakes in a huge tank is okay for some snakes but not for all. am arboreal likes the freedom of being able to go from the ground and up certain climbable obstacles where as a non-arboreal likes the ground and has no intentions of ever getting off the ground. no matter how much you love your pet unless it is a large arboreal it doesnt need a huge high tank. this will only cause problems as snakes need hiding places and if they have a huge tank it takes them longer to get to their hide. i have many ball pythons (9) at the house and they are quite fine in a small rack system. also if you have more than one balls love to ball up with other like snakes so if you have more than one you may try to put them together.

as for the jcp, i have a 3-5 year old jcp that is around 7.5' to 8' long and she is in a 36"x24"x18" tank and she is fine. yes a jcp is a semi-arboreal snake but as big and heavy as she is this would require a HUGE tank with reinforced support beams or some crap that would be needed to support her weight if and when she decides to go exploring. i let her out everyonce in a while and let her play on the stair railing at my house and she loves it.

Image

I would suggest a 48x24x24 minimum...taller if you can get it....they really like to climb, just get yourself a couple sturdy branches and they will love it.

I house my 6 foot JCP in an 80 gallon size tank with 2 big branches that stretch from bottom corner to opposite top corner. she loves them. she is on her branches alot. i'm wondering though if she gets any bigger if she'll out grow the 80 gallon tank.(its approximately 48"long X 24" high X 18" deep). she also spends a great deal of time in her hide boxes on the ground, esp at shedding time.
i do take 'safari' out for exercise time so that helps keep her from getting bored and she can really stretch out.