2.5 to 5 gallon tank

[ScalelessTime]

I looking to decrease the size of my snake cages to around 2.5 or 5 gallon tanks so there can be more room for others in the future. I currently have a 5 gallon narrow tank and a 50 gallon narrow tank. There will be no trade, but if anyone could give me advice where I can find it cheap, that would be nice.

[Jim Smith]

Unless you plan on adding some snakes to your collection that will remain extremely small, I can't imagine why you would even consider doing that. I guess technically you could keep a full sized milk snake or king snake in a tiny tank but it would not thrive in those conditions and quite possibly become sick from the very cramped conditions. If all you're looking for is more space for your growing collection, I would suggest that you invest in a stack of cages to utilize the vertical space rather than limiting the space your snakes have to live.

[kelzerman]

Look on craigslist. There is a lot of people looking to dump old tanks.

[ScalelessTime]

Yeah, maybe I was a little to dramatic on the sizing, but when I see the size of the tank, either it would be a yay or a neigh. Sorry about the confusion. Heh, I do know what my snakes need to thrive in, it's just I don't have the measurements down.

[kelzerman]

Idk how that post got on this thread... I thought I posted that in your other thread about finding cheap pages. Work is starting to eat away at my brain.

You could get into tarantulas. They require very little space.

[ScalelessTime]

lol, I'd like to keep my babies and have some more. I am keeping my 50 gallon for a spider ball I am expecting.

[mmarchl23]

Petco currently has a $1 per gallon sale. I've picked up a few 40Bs for my smaller guys. you can get the larger tanks for less than half price.

[CosmicOwl]

Cages can never be too big, IMO.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

Cages can never be too big, IMO.

Not an opinion, it's a fact.

[CosmicOwl]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Not an opinion, it's a fact.

On the extremes, I'm sure it would start to become impractical. However, I can find no justification for keeping a snake that gets 3-4 feet long in anything smaller than a 40 gallon or equivalent enclosure. When I see somebody say that a corn snake can live out its entire life in a 20 gallon, it makes me angry. Sure, they can live in such a small enclosure, but I can't imagine it's a satisfying existence.

This is my opinion, but I think breeder procedure has crossed over too much into the common practices of snake keepers. A lot of people seem to view snakes as pretty baubles to be collected, rather than living creatures with instincts and drives. When I see home keepers with racks full of snakes, I can't help but wonder about their motivations.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

On the extremes, I'm sure it would start to become impractical. However, I can find no justification for keeping a snake that gets 3-4 feet long in anything smaller than a 40 gallon or equivalent enclosure. When I see somebody say that a corn snake can live out its entire life in a 20 gallon, it makes me angry. Sure, they can live in such a small enclosure, but I can't imagine it's a satisfying existence.

This is my opinion, but I think breeder procedure has crossed over too much into the common practices of snake keepers. A lot of people seem to view snakes as pretty baubles to be collected, rather than living creatures with instincts and drives. When I see home keepers with racks full of snakes, I can't help but wonder about their motivations.

I agree completely. People do it for selfish reasons, it's so they can get as many animals as they can fit into their home, without really putting much consideration into the needs of those animals. How about giving more to less animals, instead of giving less to more animals.

[BryanB]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Not an opinion, it's a fact.

Not true you put a tiny GTP in a huge enclosure I have heard they stress and do very poorly.

[poison123]

Originally Posted by BryanB

Not true you put a tiny GTP in a huge enclosure I have heard they stress and do very poorly.

Provide plenty of cover and I'm sure they would do fine. Instead of the traditional 1 or 2 pearches and thats is.

Any snakw would stress if you put them in a large enclosure with almost nothing in it.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by BryanB

Not true you put a tiny GTP in a huge enclosure I have heard they stress and do very poorly.

An enclosure can never be too big, it can however be too empty and insecure for whatever animal is living inside it.

I know people don't like to compare wild animals to captive animals, but I think the example I am about to use holds some value.

Green tree pythons in the wild do not live in small boxes that make them feel secure. They live out in the open rainforest, with as much space as they want. However they have trees, leaves, branches, hollows...etc to use as cover.

Same rule applies to any size enclosure. It's all about security. You can house a green tree python in a house sized enclosure as long as there are plenty of hiding spots and a steady temperature gradient is in place.

[LiL Zap]

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

Cages can never be too big, IMO.

Agreed...as long as you have adequate hiding spots.