Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Of all the breeders here, if you are using a rack setup for your adult hondurans, what size tubs do you use and / or recomend? I'd like the snakes to be comfortable and have room to move around, especially when they hit 5 feet plus (crossing fingers). I was considering using the under bed storage tubs that are 48" long, is this overkill or would 36 inch tubs be sufficient?

Thanks to any and all who reply,

Dan.
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"Colubrid-aphilia", adj; An inordinate love of Colubrids.

I like to use the Rubbermade 28 Quart size and it seems to do fine for me, and I believe they are 26" long. The 36" tubs would do fine also. The rule of thumb is that the container needs to be long enough that if the snake were to crawl around the perimeter it would only cover 50% of the distance. But like I said the Rubbermade 28 Quart sweatter boxes do fine for me. Everyone that I have talked to has told me that a 20 gallon tank is perfect for almost any adult Milksnake. So when in doubt use that size as a guide.

Dave

>>I like to use the Rubbermade 28 Quart size and it seems to do fine for me, and I believe they are 26" long. The 36" tubs would do fine also. The rule of thumb is that the container needs to be long enough that if the snake were to crawl around the perimeter it would only cover 50% of the distance. But like I said the Rubbermade 28 Quart sweatter boxes do fine for me. Everyone that I have talked to has told me that a 20 gallon tank is perfect for almost any adult Milksnake. So when in doubt use that size as a guide.
>>
>>Dave

I'd be nervous using the 50% rule, especially when they can reach 60" plus. A 36 x 10 enclosure would only be 92 inches total perimeter and a 60" snake would require 120 inches of perimeter to make the 50% rule true.
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"Colubrid-aphilia", adj; An inordinate love of Colubrids.

How could a bigger cage be overkill?? If anything it would give you better temp choices for the snakes. The extra foot or so would be that much cooler by being that much further from the heat source.

Just as a point of mention the animal cruelty laws in Florida and some other states actually states that a snake must have a cage that is as long or longer on two continuos sides as the snake. That means that the long and short end of the cage must add up to more than the length of the snake. The only catch is that the maximum cage length required is 6 feet. LOL The poor burms and retics get the short end on that one because they are the ones that need the protection the most.

The thing with the longer tubs is you start to lose the space you where trying to save which is what the racks are all about. i need to but have not gone to racks myself. Partly because I hate the idea of them so much and partly because that would give me more room which would probably mean more snakes

Later Jason

Hey Jason,

Size is not a problem, currently I have too many tanks in my "office" / snake room. If I did a rack, I would probably aim for the 48" tubs to give them the most room. Idealy I would love to have them all in 40 gallon long tanks that were built into a rack with tracks to let them slide out for access.
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"Colubrid-aphilia", adj; An inordinate love of Colubrids.

LOL Ideally I would like a place with cages built into the walls with access from the back, the walls on the viewing sides painted with murals that lend you to think of their home lands, the cages themselves giving both a comfortable housing while giving easy viewing to those who care to enjoy it and to get paid for the whole gig.

But yeah racks can work too.

Later Jason

We all wrestle with this if we want to be decent keepers.

Sounds like you might want to check out the Freedom Breeders site. They have a large rack called the JUMBO rack that is 48" x 30" and stands 4 high with a clear window if you want it.

A little expensive but you get the convienience of a rack with a cage size tub.

Good luck ,
Bob.

It's a tough one with these animals sometimes. I have in the past gone with overly large cages instead of a rack but in the last few years went for some racks. The convienice is nice especially when your milk snake seems content to to sit most of it's time contentently in a shoebox size hide. Is it better to at least give them a cb70 where they can at least stretch out and still have the seemingly comfotable confines of a box? I don't know sometimes....

On the other hand until recently I kept some large Leucistic black rats in 6' Neodeshas for around 12 years and they almost always drape themselves out on branches their whole length, nice to see.

I recently just ordered 3 - 6' Vision #600 cages for my black milks, I keep fewer animals these days and thought I'd pamper the few rather than keep the many. I hope to be able to provide many more temp/humidity "choices" for them in large cages.

Bob.

It is always more inspiring to see a few well done cages than to see a bunch of drawers with newspaper covered bottoms.

As far as the size requirements it is right in the Fl handout they give you when you sign up as a reptile dealer with them. Funny thing is I have seen the F&W officers itching to get at a guy or shop or warehouse and they never seem to notice this infringement. One guy had a 18 foot burm in a cage that was only 5 feet long and they never noticed. Instead they went after some other stupid thing and the guy got off. He called me to take his burm and told me the story of it all.

Funny thing is animal cruelty violations usually stick in court. It is something for everybody to look into when they put a 5 foot snake in a drawer that has a 42 inch two sided length. If you choose to house in this manner you better not get the rookie Fish and Wildlife officer over the house. Check your local requirements because one angry neighbor can ruin your collection on stupid stuff like this.

Uhh the last paragraph is to those to whom it might apply but nobody inparticular.

Later Jason

focuses their attention on our caging sizes. Is this a matter of policing ourselves before someone else has too? I hope not, I hope we figure it all out on our own.

Food animals being kept in cramped inhumane cages troubles me a whole lot more.

I agree I only have a few snakes and all in what many say are overly large cages.
They will use the room even kings,milks love to climb if given the room and the branches which I do.
I prefer to keep only a few in roomy enclosures . The kings more so than milks (I only 2 milks so not familiar with them that much)will roam the enclosures and climb just "patrol" it and this gives them exercise while the milks still do this but not as much.

Sorry to chime in so late -

I would go with as big a cage as you can afford. 4 - 6 feet long by 1.5 -2 feet deep is by no means overkill for an adult honduran. Of course you need to control the temperature gradient, provide hide spots and keep it clean.

a short term (for a 2-4 year old honduran) solution is a 36" glass terrarium with hinged lid which used to be available at petco for $149 here in CA. glass may be heavy but a joy to clean as compared to plastic.

Mine seem to love their big cages (4ft)- a full size honduran stretched across a big cage is a sight!

i doubt you'll regret it and consider that the snakes will be happier, too. avoid the bargain basement plastic cages.