What is suitable then?

[TSKA Rory Matier]

Hi,

First off Merry Christmas to you all.

Okay, so looking at codes of practice..and these are important.

What do you all consider the 'right size habitat/viv' for your reptiles.

I could list several species here, but it would be a bloody long list, and l don't think l could display it fairly in a poll with only ten options available.

So l now place the burden of the question to you the responsible keeper.

If you could show five snakes from your collection of animals here, not in photograph form but in size requirements only this would prove enormously helpful.

Example, you may just have Corn Snakes and Leopard Geckos , well then just show what you consider to be an acceptable size of their enclosure.

Forward think also if you please.

If you keep them in size A for example, but think that a size B [bigger] might be better then please show your indication to what could be considered as also acceptable. In the case of many mammals there can be a minimum size, but no maximum size. This does not work for reptiles l am led to believe, too big for snakes and there is a chance they may not feed, etc.

So if you keep a snake in 18x18x18 then that is your A size, but if you think that it could also appear in a size of 24x24x18 then this would be your B size recommendation.

I am not looking to cause uproar here amongst keepers, nor condemnation from other keepers to fellow keepers - but l do need to get a feel for sizes of acceptance from your point. If you could also show what stimuli you have in your enclosures then this too would be helpful.but please explain everything that you place as an answer.

I do hope, that this post reads correctly, and if not then l will address it differently.

The core of information l need is not from the perspective of a care guide for these are easily sought, however if one goes to a reptile keeper her/his views may vary from one to the other and it is this viewpoint and opinion that l seek.

Thanks

Rory Matier
Pro Keepers' Lobby

[CaseyM]

My collection many consists of royals so your question is a tough one to answer Rory.

I have 400g royals that wouldnt blink an eye at living in a 3ft viv but i also have a 400g royal i cant get out of a 9 litre box or he stops eating.

I have a 3.5kg female who would live in anything now but went through a stage where she'd only eat if kept in a 2ft cube viv.

As a general rule i have anything up to 350g in a 9 litre RUB, up to 1200g in a 50 litre tub and over 1500g in either 2 or 3ft vivs. These would be my A size recommendations.

That seems to suit them quite well in my experience but then again as my lot prove time and time again, every royal is different.

As for my B recommendations they would have to be whatever suits your royal, if thats a 5ft viv with lots of hides then as long as its healthy, stressfree and feeding who am i to say its wrong.

Glad to see you're better hun

[matty]

As adults? Well, when mine are all fully grown this is what they'll be in..

Royal python - 3x2x2 wooden viv

Jungle carpet python - probably 4x2x2 wooden viv

BCI - not really sure yet tbh..depends how big s/he grows..probably 5x2x2 wooden viv, unless s/he turns out to be a biggie

Cornsnake - 3x2x2 wooden viv

Leopard gecko - what he's in now would probably be fine for when he's fully grown tbh [2ft viv, don't know exact measurements] but if I decide to keep him in a group then obviously the viv would need to be bigger

crested gecko - the largest exo-terra glass viv probably, but may decide to keep a few together, so would have to hunt around for a larger viv, been eyeing up the vivexotic chameleon vivs, thinking a group would look really nice in one of them

bosc monitor - 8x4x4 wooden viv

[Athravan]

I will add my opinion later when I have more time, but I think that this forum is probably the worst place to ask, you will never get anyone to agree on much regarding this as it's just an opinion. I actually hope that one day someone does slap down some minimums so people can stop squabbling about is this big enough, is that big enough.. is this too big.. etc. etc.

[Crownan]

I generally try to adhere to 2 rules of thumb that provide very similar sizing of enclosure:

1: The minimum size of enclosure should provide 1 sq. foot of floor area per ft of snake.

2: Minimum dimensions of enclosure should have 1 length + 1 depth = length of snake.

This rule cannot apply to arboreals though. Mainly for ground dwellers

[lukendaniel]

so what ur saying is if i need 2 put my 14 foot burm in somthing like a 10x4 foot viv that would be outrageous imo

daniel

[brittone05]

I don't think Crownan is saying you SHOULD do anything, he is merely stating how he works his sizing guidelines for his own animals.

Obviously, he will encounter exceptions to that rule if and when he faces various factors that would require him to rethink sizing (e.g feeding problems, aggression due ot excessive space etc)

I always kept my leos (stated for single adults) in 2x2x2 vivs, groups of 2-4 in 4x2x2 vivs with added levels.

Beardies single adults in 3x2x2 vivs, never kept adults in groups so can't say ont hat count.

My snakes were kept in a basic homemade rack system.

[Akua_Ko_Nalu]

With my Blood and Short-Taild Pythons, I house hatchlings and juveniles in 9L Really Useful Boxes, Yearlings then move in to 50L Really Useful Boxes, They step up to the larger size very well, once they become too big for the 50L Tub, usually at around 2 years of age or so, they are moved into a 3'x2' Herptek Vivarium, folowed by a 4'x2' Herptek Vivarium.
I feel that for an adult, full grown Blood Python, a minimum of 8 foot floor space is required, they need the room to stretch out when they need to, high humidity and lack of room to stretch out is the number 1 cause of Respiratory Infections with Blood Pythons.

And with the Ball Pythons, they are kept in Really Useful Boxes, Hatchlings and Juveniles in the 9L model, Yearlings (If feeding and grown on well) Go into the 18L model, and then Sub-Adults and Adults into 50L models, some go into 3'x2' vivariums mind, if they are big enough and the very best of feeders (Which all of mine are.)