Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thanks to all the advice from everyone, Ive decided to buy a blood from a local breeder soon. He is a big adult at about 48". Of course before I buy him I have to have a good cage setup. I like taking on ambitious projects and Ive decided to make my new snakes evironment as close to zoo quality as possible. I plan on building a 5.5'long x 3'wide enclosure with a large soaking dish, an above ground hide box ,two artificial burrows (one above a heating pad and the other without) plenty of foliage and a climbing/rubbing apparatus. What I need to know is how many square inches of area and how much height would an artificual burrow need to have for a big blood like this to comffortably hide. Thanks.

That sounds great .Your blood will appreciate the encloser,however BLOODS DON'T CLIMB.They are STRICTLY GROUND SNAKES !!!Bloods do appreciate a large tub to soak in,and deep substrate to burrow in.One more thing,when you build the enclosure keep HUMIDITY in mind.It is extremely humid in the islands of Sumatra.Other than that GOOD LUCK!!!Congratulationson your new aqusition.
-----

Yeah, I know bloods dont climb. When I said "climbing/rubbing apparatus" I didnt mean it was gonna be a big tree or anything. It will probably just be a peice of drifwood for shedding purposes and to make the terrain of the cage more interesting for Vlad (the snakes name).

Good thing bloods don't crap very often. Sounds like your going to have on hell of a cage to clean up. Sounds like Vlad will enjoy it. Just don't be suprised when he spends 99.9% of his time in one spot of that big enclosure.

If Bloods sit in one spot all day then why does the breeder (who dosent sell cages) advise me to have a 4'x2' cage at the minimum? Im not saying you are wrong (read the second reply to "blood dont climb" to see what im responding to), Im just wondering why the breeder would have advised that size cage if the snake dosent need much space. Any idea anyone?

Just because they spend 99% of their time in one spot... and they DO, trust me... doesn't mean they don't need to stretch out during the other 1% of their time. The space also allows enough room to provide a heat gradient and large soaking dish for your snake.

I think your display tank is an excellent idea. Just keep your snakes wants in mind that while you're making something visually pleasing, and you'll do great. The people here just have a simple is easier tendency. If you're up for the extra work for some eye candy... then by all means go for it.

Because they take up half of a 4x2 cage when their curled up! so they can atleast have a hot and cool side. Its also nice to strech out when they want to, there also gonna have to move around to shed and poop etc etc.. So you need a decent size enclosure, but they dont like large spaces to begin with so it shouldn't be too big.

J
-----
"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

If the Bloods sit in one spot all day then why does the breeder (who dosent sell cages) advise me to have a 4'x2' cage at the minimum? Im not saying you are wrong (read the second reply to "blood dont climb" to see what im responding to), Im just wondering why the breeder would have advised that size cage if the snake dosent need much space. Any idea anyone?

I'm not saying the enclosure would be too big. Just that they are an ambush predator. Sit in one spot all day. Rarely will mine come out of her hide at all. She's got a couple but sits in one all the time. Her idea of coming out is to poke her head out the opening to look around. What I was trying to get at was that if you put all this work and effort into a really NEAT looking cage, he'll probably only take advantage of it when your not around. When it comes to bloods, simpler the better. My 2 cents. I'd go with whatever the REPUTABLE dealer says. Hope everything works out for you.

I would ask the guy you are buying the snake from about how big the snake is when coiled up. If he's about 18 inches across when he's curled up, then his hide should be just a few inches larger than that. They like tight spaces. I'd make the box easy to remove so you can both clean around it, as well as replace it with a larger one as he continues to grow. The guy you're buying the snake from should appreciate that you're trying to provide the best enclosure possible and help ya out with the information you need.

Sorry man,when you said ABOVE GROUND HIDE.I mistook it for a hide high up in the enclosure not ABOVE GROUND.
-----