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I'm looking to buy a Yellow Rat and I was wondering what size cage I'll need for an adult? Is a 29 gallon ok? And also what temps should I keep it at. Is an under the tank heating pad necessary? Thanks for your time

Dan Ketterman

Hi Dan. In response to your question, I think a 29 gallon would be fine for an average-sized single adult as long as you utilized all the available vertical space, i.e lots of shelves and branches and several hides at different levels. Keep in mind that these guys can and do reach 4, 5, even 6 feet and for an adult of that size, bigger would be better. Also, if you're getting a hatchling or young juvie, you may want to start off in a smaller rubbermaid or sterilite until it establishes. The smaller size enclosure will help eliminate any stresses and promote a good feeding response. As far as temps go, shoot for 80-85 daytime temps and nighttime lows around 75. You can do that by UTH, heating pad, spot lamps etc. Overall, I've found my yellows to be extremely easy to care for, but a bit "feisty". Billy

>>I'm looking to buy a Yellow Rat and I was wondering what size cage I'll need for an adult? Is a 29 gallon ok? And also what temps should I keep it at. Is an under the tank heating pad necessary? Thanks for your time
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>> Dan Ketterman

I would think a 29 gallon would be just a little small for the snake. I would reccomend to get a 55 gallon, or a 34 long (i think thats the gallon size, i'm not exactly sure)... that is the same base size of a 55 but just shorter. I feel that i'm keeping these animals from their natural habitat for my own pleasure/learning, so i want to make it as comftorable for them as possible.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

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Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

If you get a 04 Yellow, you can start with a 10 gal., but plan on ending up with a 29 gal. or larger cage. These snakes like to climb. Provide the snake with branches to climb on.

I would keep the temperature between 78 and 85 degrees. Make sure that there is a hide in both the warm area of the cage and in the cool.

I have been keeping Yellows for over a year and all four of them are doing just fine. They are great snakes.

I'm looking to buy a Yellow Rat and I was wondering what size cage I'll need for an adult? Is a 29 gallon ok? And also what temps should I keep it at. Is an under the tank heating pad necessary? Thanks for your time

Yellow rats max out at about 6 feet. I would recomend a 55gal for and adult. You want a tank to be at least 3/4 the length of your snake but the larger, the better. You should also have a warm and cool side in your tank so the snake can choose which side it wants to be on. Both sides should have a hide on it, and the water bowl should be placed on the cool side. An under tank heating pad is not necessary, but highly recommended. I have heating pads under all of my snakes enclosures.
~Matt