Garter snake enclosure size?

[rwgsnakes]

thanks, im going to have two in there.

i still need to put the pieces of plexi glass on the front but it will be another year or so before anything goes in there.

if you want to use carpet you should use repti carpet, its not costly...normal carpet will often have fibers that can eritate the snakes if they get under the scales like if a snake curls up, they could get under.

i know some one who uses that reptile bark/mulch stuff for a ribbon-just about the same as a garter- and he likes it and has had no problems.

you can use aspen, but they borrow like there is no tomorrow in there, soil--which is what i use-- is nice and natural looking, you can also grow live plants in there.

[Cazador]

Hi Justin,

Soil has some drawbacks that are uniquely associated with captivity, so it's not generally recommended. Have a look at this thread for more details (The Best Substrate). Personally, I love the way live plants look in a vivarium, but they might work better if they were potted.

Isn't the repti-carpet very similar to astroturf? If so, astroturf can be purchased from hardware stores for a fraction of the price. About $10 will buy about two yards (meters) of astroturf. Just a cheaper alternative.

Rick

[drache]

the repti-carpet I've seen is more like a thick layer of some felted material, whereas the astro turf I've seen has fibers sticking up - more like regular carpet

[Cazador]

Thanks Rhea. I guess I was thinking of something different.

Rick

P.S. Congratulations on your upcoming 9th birthday .

[drache]

Thanks
I'm much better at having a nine year old birthday now, than I was, when I was nine

[sschind]

I love playing around with old aquariums so my next project will be a 29 gallon laid on its side giving a terrarium of 30X18x12. I plan on two 4" screen panels on each end of the front of the tank (which is the old top of the aquarium) for ventilation, and a 22" fold down door in the middle. The first ones will be for my Arizona Mt. Kings but if they turn out and I decide to keep my garters I'll make others for them. I might go with 37 gallon just to give me another few inches of depth but the cost goes up significantly if I can't get them on sale. I could go with 30 or 38 gallon tanks for more length but the depth will be cut back and with the 30" tanks I can get 12 of them stacked in an 8' space.

My last project (pictured) was a 55 laid on its side with one side removed and replaced with screen. It has a removable divider and two flip down doors. It's heated with a single 11" wide heat tape down the center which can be moved to the end if the cage is ever used as a single large tank which it probably will be once my Bullsnake gets bigger.

Removing the side is a pain in the butt though and that is why I am going to experiment with the front ventilation. I won't be able to use a heat light but my goal is to have them stackable with as little space as possible between them so I was planning on using UTH anyway. Also the 55 is just too heavy and I only have the Bullsnake that will outgrow the 29 (or 37s) anyway so I figured why go through the hassle of having a removable divider. I've also done a couple of 75's this way.

Steve

[adamanteus]

Couple of questions Steve.... If you remove the side from a glass aquarium does it not weaken the structure of it, making it liable to collapse? Also, if you're using aquariums, stacked one on top of another, and using heat mats, do you not find that a lot of heat is directed from above into the tank below? Making accurate temperature control difficult? Maybe this could be avoided by using tin-foil (cooking foil) between the heat source and the glass bottom on the tank. How do you fix your lighting to a glass aquarium on it's side? I like your ideas Steve, I'd like to know how you make it work though.

[Lee]

Got front and some of the top done tonight, gotta add the screen and the hinges/latches and caulk the bits. Should have it up wednesday or thursday!

[sschind]

James:

I have never experienced any structural instability when removing the sides. I leave the framework intact so that keeps it pretty sturdy and the lip around the inside of the top (now front) frame gives me an excellent base for the door. I usually run a 2" piece of glass along the bottom as a litter dam, then I cut another piece for the door and use a flexible aquarium lid hinge. It works pretty well if the door is not too heavy. On the 75 gallon ones I did the doors are 1/8" think glass and are about 22X15 and they do sag a bit so I think that would be the max size. I have found some solid plastic hinges though that would take care of that problem but they are only 12" long so I would need to align 2 of them for a wider tank.

As far as the heat goes, I will have about 4 inches between the tanks to allow for lighting so I don't think there will be too much heat transfer from upper cages to lower ones. I will be using T5 lighting so I might not need the full 4 inches but if I use 2x3 lumber for the racks and allow for a bit of space I think the 4" should be OK. If everything goes as planned I should be able to get 12 tanks in a space of 8 feet by 5 feet by 20 inches. The 5 feet would be from the bottom of the first row to the top of the 4th row so the viewing area should be rather nice and compact. Of course I have a tendency to try to cut things very close so things may not go as planned.

I'll probably use 4" wide heat tape and I might even put a plywood shelf on the racks so that should cut down on transfer even more.

I will try to take some closeups of the tanks I have done already to give you a better idea.

Thanks for bringing it up though, sometimes I don't do enough planning and I get half way through a project and realize I forgot to allow for this or that and wind up starting all over. This will be my 4th or 5th set of cage designs. Most of them don't get through the prototype stage because I usually think of something else in the middle of it all.

Steve

[zirliz]

Just curious but how big a tank can house 4 I'm gonna be moving my garters into their real tanks soon I hope for now they're travelling with me twice yearly I want to leave them in pairs but set similar to pet shops to save space, any ideas? As in put partitions between pairs