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Cage Size and room to Roam? long post .

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kcaj Jan 27, 2006 01:47 PM

Hi All, I am a relative newbie in keeping dry's and got my first one last Nov. I believe that the larger the enclosure is for an adult dry the better, of course most of us are limited on space. I like sighthunter's idea on an outdoor enclosure during warm weather. I had the same idea awhile back and e-mailed one of the forums largest keepers of drys, who most of us would agree has some expertise with them ( I am not naming him because I didn't ask his permission to quote him ) about the Idea of keeping Eastern Indigo's outside all the time ( weather permitting ) and he said that he, in the past had kept some Eastern's in outdoor enclosure's and saw no difference in the overall appearance or health or breeding ability of his snakes, when kept outdoors compared to keeping the snakes indoors. I have read in several reports that adult male Indigo's have ranges that are between 400 acres to over 1000 acres and females somewhat less. But I believe that they have such large ranges because of their basic needs in the wild. With their being a top predator in their habitat with very few natural threats as adults maybe alligator's,bears,feral hogs,a bigger Indigo and of course man. All snakes live only to fill their basic needs food,water,and reproduction. I believe that snakes in general conserve energy when ever possible and that Indigo's have such large ranges because of their size and their need to have enough prey items. That if they could find all their needs met in a small area they wouldn't range far. A fully fed Indigo doesn't go cruising around, They would eat,hide and digest and at the right time go looking for mates. just some thoughts.

Jack

Replies (4)

Sighthunter Jan 27, 2006 02:46 PM

You bring up more than one issue. The outdoor enclosure is not for more room but a break in their routine like a snake coming out of its burrow to roam. I have kept snakes outside year round and find that it works but ties up the cage space and you are back where you started a snake with same space nothing new. An outdoor cage gives you time to interact by carrying the snake it will look forward to you as providing more than a meal. Snakes appearance I would give more credit to a good vitamin rich diet.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

simias Jan 27, 2006 04:44 PM

If you think about the variety of sights, smells and textures available in even an ordinary sized outdoor enclosure, the behavioral enrichment for an indigo outdoors seems pretty compelling and obvious. Even if there are not obvious health benefits, there have to be psychological ones.

That said, I have to say that my paranoia about escapes might prevent me from putting a snake as valuable and precious (and inquisitive) as an indigo outdoors - we all know so many horror stories about snakes escaping from escape-proof cages....and allowing that would be unforgivable.

Craig

Fred Albury Jan 27, 2006 05:04 PM

Guys,

First: the post that I put below was tongue-in-cheek. Not meant to be viewed as the infinite opinion, but as SATIRICAL in nature.

Let me clarify: I have kept and bred Drymarchon in 6 ft cages, 4 foot cages and, 8 foot cages. All with a wide variance in success. For the most part,these cages are more PRACTICAL in size than an outdoor enclosure,which requires both more space and
dont lend themselves as well to the "Industrial-Business Breeder" set up of cages of all the same size and racks upon racks of sweaterboxe/blanketbox racks.Indigos arent corn snakes and keeping large numbers of them in industrial setups is a bloody nightmare. They are messy snakes.

But Indigos can and HAVE been bred and kept in cages of these dimensions, and even raised in blanket boxes until of such a size as to be transferred to a larger"cage"

Do I think that having and outdoor enclosure would benefit Drymarchon? If built securely and with safety and the prevention of predation by natives animals in mind, yes I do. I think that the *STIMULI* from moving over a different type of terrain than a plastic cage bottem, and of the light and heat/moisture cycles as well as the novelty of not being stared at incessantly, all these things cant help but be good for the snake.And yet the snake is still captive, which alarms me not one little bit...

But not everybody can afford that type of set up and not everyone has the room to do so, even for just a pair of Indigos.
This isnt as big of a catastrophe as it sounds, people still keep Drys in cages of the 4, 6 and 8 foot length and even breed them in those cages. With seemingly no dire consequences.

So, Indigos(Drymarchon) can be kept EITHER way, either in large outdoor enclosures or in cages kept inside that are smaller.
I do not beleive that this is giving PETA fuel for the fire,it is simply stating that these snakes prosper in BOTH situations, depending on your ability to provide them. Variety, thats all it is. Given the choice,I would try both. Cutting back on having large numbers of them and having less definetly increases the quality of the care in my opinion. I cant imagine having really large groups of them anymore, it is just to labor intensive and assembly line like. Like Rob said, less is more..

Remember, my original post was tongue in cheek about Indigos messiness and was satirical in nature. Robin always says that I have a strange sense of humor, I guess that I would have to agree.

Sorry for the confusion.

Fred Albury

frankdunham Jan 27, 2006 07:13 PM

No clarification necessary. It was a funny post.Just triggered an impending spew from another old crusty guy ripe to express opinions while having a particularly bad day.. I don't post much for obvious reasons and because I am pretty busy, but when I do I tend to ramble and inadvertantly offend. Glad you got scarface again. Sounds like something Rob would do. Now lets talk about the Cheetah in my basement. Just kidding. Used to live in Africa and have a hard time seeing big cats and elephants in any sort of captivity. Cockatoos too, and hunting dogs in cold lonely kennels instead of sleeping with their beloved people. Wait a minute, now I sound like the PETA guy. Today I offended Fred and Rob and Jeff. Maybe tomorrow I can get Dean, but the guy never says anything even remotely contraversial. Take Care Frank