managed to persuade the boss to give up his office so i can convert it into a room for my burm! has anyone done room conversions before if so have you any good tips?il get some pics of it up soon and measurements

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Build a 8x3x3 viv and put that in the office!

You'd have room for two or three then

Never kept large boids myself but from what others have said it's best not to keep them in room sized enclosures as they can become territorial and aggressive.
Maybe not so much of a problem with a burm as it may be with a retic, african rock, etc, but would you want to walk into a room with a large snake in there that may get a bit confused, see you as a threat and react aggressively?
From what I've heard it's best to keep them in a viv (think of it as a large hide box) and get them out for regular excercise.

well in sayin room, this is quite a small office and i want half of it done so i can use the other half for my rep stuff! i need to put up the proper measurements but i dont think i would have any territory problems with shiney hes a soft big brute!lol but u never give them the benefit of the doubt!!

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if its your bosses office, what happens if you decide to leave your job?

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Baby girl born 7-04-08
My Reptiles1.2 Royal Pythons 0.1 BCI
1.0 cornsnake
1.0.1 Bearded Dragons InvertsSAF L parahybanaAF G roseaAF A semanniP regalisH lividum3 B albopilosum slingsN coloratovilosumG aureostriataMaraca horridaWantedPython brongersmaiGTPDogStaff bitch Puppy

lol the boss is my da!and dont worry no chance of me excapin this place as long as i live!!!

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Can i suggest that this isn't a great idea.

The fact that large spaces promotes territorialistic behaviour is a strong enough case to put anyone off. I had to deal with a rather large retic going nuts at me because she was in a large space all by herself and trust me when i tell you it is sure to leave you shaking (if you don't get caught).

That said i know if you add a cage mate this behaviour can dissapear so you would have to be prepared to put 2 animals in their. However, as i am sure you're aware this brings with it a whole new list of possible problems.

My suggestion would be to make it into a comunal viv. A room is a big enough environment to alleviate problems such as cross species predation as long as you plan the species properly. I did it successfully with a much smaller environment so there is no reason you couldn't in this room.
Plus this way you would be able to sit in there on your "breaks" and enjoy your little bit of jungle while at work (which in fairness sounds pretty damned cool to me)

If you're interested in how to do it let me know and i'll go through the process we did (that i got from a german friend who has had a comunal viv for years) which will lead to a happy place for all the inhabitants.

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k, i need to explain cos this is not a large room im wantin to convert the space is around 6ft by 6ft by 8ft high which i dont think i would have too much of a territorial problem with
i was just lookin advice from anyone whos done this sorta thing as in insulation, heating etc

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Ok, well i'll tell you now you will. That is a HUGE space for a single animal and i have plenty of experience to back that up.

Not to mention the fact that the space above 4 feet will not be used unless you keep scrub pythons. And to put it bluntly you do NOT want to be walking into a room with a large one of these when it can strike at you in the face without moving its base position.

The advice from someone who has done it is don't

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thanks for ur help but i need to get my burm into a bigger viv the one hes in is not ideal and i also want to put him in a viv which will look good as he is goin to be on display to the public. u seem very strongly against the idea which i am havin(although many people who i know who keep large pythons think its a good idea) what could u suggest to me then?

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The first thing you need to adress is who exactly is going to see him. If it is joe bloggs public then you will need to put him in a larger space than is needed just to keep them happy. If it's people that know and trust you/your abilities then you don't need anything dramatic and neither does the snake.

As a male he is unlikely to ever need anything bigger than a 6x3 viv.
If Joe bloggs is looking then you'll need to add a foot in depth so he can coil in a circle (public enjoy seeing them coiled in a circle for some reason) with plenty of space to add ornaments.

If you go from floor to ceiling he will look lost in there so you'll be able to add logs etc, plus you'll be able to get a 3x2 shelf (don't take the shelf all the way from front to back as it creates a space you are not comfy to work in) in there that he will use (maybe make it out of logs screwed together for aesthetic value?)

I honestly would not go much further out than 4 feet. It does not matter how tame he is now, he will become a different animal when provided with excess space. I had to take a burmese that put 22 stitches in someones hand when it changed from a cuddly pet to a territorial predator. I can not stress enough how dangerous this will become if you don't keep on the right side of the line between pretty and dangerous.

I watched as a family created a viv for their burm in the dining room, this thing was huge and the burm loved it. Cost a fortune to make and looked superb. Problems came when they couldnt get in to clean because the burm decided she didnt like people in her space. I used to be all about providing as much space as you can but i soon learned that there is a fine line where the animal develops into a whole new beast. I had a retic that while in a 6x3 viv was a devil by himself, yet when he had a girl in there or was in a 5x2 became tame as any could be. The change is dramatic and if you aren't ready for it then i guarantee it will cause problems.

Your pet burm is still and will allways be a highly developed top echilon predator. No matter how tolerant he is now of handling this can change completely in the space of hours when moved vivs.
I don't want to sound condescending (sorry if i do), it is just a case of been there myself and had to clean up when others ignored me and suffered physical injuries as a result. Not to mention those that just didnt trust the snake anymore and became scared to had to rehome the animal.

Watch how he goes in his new home over the first few weeks, if you need to add more furnishings then do so, the less open space he has the less his terretorial behaviour will develop.

The key factors are having decor on hand to add instantly if needed, never create a space that limits your own ability to work properly and never provide a position that the snake can strike from that will put you at a risk of taking a bite above the neck.

I do hope it goes well for you, i really do as large snake displays are fantastic to look at, just PLEASE do be carefull as the snake will start to show more natural behaviours that hobbiests as a rule don't see.

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