# Snake Enclosures



## dds7155 (Aug 21, 2012)

Why are snakes enclosures so small ,i'm not a snake person so i only see ones on tv or internetand they areall about the same size,,, where as the goal with tortoises are the bigger the better ,


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## StudentoftheReptile (Aug 21, 2012)

One thing is feeding behavior. Snakes do not eat often compared to lizards, turtles, and tortoises which tend to forage, and eat daily. The foragers need a lot of space to constantly look for food.

Secondly, there is a territoriality. Most snakes don't exhibit as strong of a territory as lizards and tortoises. The males of the latter are often roaming and constantly keeping watch over their territory and/or mates, where as snakes don't seem to care as much.

In a nutshell, as long as a snake can eat, and has a place warm enough to digest its meal, it doesn't require a whole lot else. True, some species are a little more active than others, such as some colubrids and arboreal species. But that is why you can keep snakes in a relatively small enclosure and it will fare fine for years.

Lizards, turtles and tortoises do a LOT more moving around on a daily basis, so they need more space to do it in.


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## dds7155 (Aug 21, 2012)

Thanks, i have been wondering ,,


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## poison (Aug 21, 2012)

if your talking about snake racks then that is something i disagree with. i dont see how any body can put a snake in such a small enclosure


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## StudentoftheReptile (Aug 22, 2012)

poison said:


> if your talking about snake racks then that is something i disagree with. i dont see how any body can put a snake in such a small enclosure



It depends on the snake.

But you know what? Explain to me how many snake species do better in those rack systems (feed better, shed better, breed better, etc), than the typical glass tank. Like I said, most snakes like snug, cozy quarters, not huge, spacious enclosures. Think about it. You go to a zoo and see a big wide, open display with a snake in it; 95% of the time, the snake is coiled up in a motionless lump trying to hide in the corner. They DON'T like a lot of space. That's why the rack systems work.

Curiously enough, some lizards are the same way. Pro Exotics had been trying to breed Gila monsters for a while. They tried to give them nice, spacious enclosures like they used for their monitor lizards. No luck; the gilas didn't like it. They randomly decided to house the gilas in a rack system like their big snakes. Instant success; the gilas started breeding! They loved the rack set-up.

Most people who don't like the rack system set-up are people who know little or nothing about it or the animals it is designed for, much less tried it themselves. I have often heard the silly argument that these snake breeders who keep their snakes in racks are akin to puppy mills. Comparing the two is ridiculous. Keeping dogs and snakes are entirely different worlds.

Now I can understand wanting a nice, display enclosure for any reptile in your living room for you to enjoy as opposed to a shelving unit with plastic tubs to keep muliple snakes in your basement or closet. It just depends on what you are doing. Most breeders cannot afford the space to house every single snake in glass tanks, not too mention glass tanks are not ideal for keeping snakes anyway.


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## Floof (Aug 23, 2012)

+1 Student. There is also the size of the snake to be considered--all those little tanks you're seeing are probably housing smaller species such as corn snakes, nothing particularly big.

My biggest snake enclosure is 4x2x2 ft, for a 5' python (of an active species, at that). If I gave him more space than that, would he use it? Possibly. But does he need it? No. He's perfectly happy where he is. My hatchling corn snakes are in sandwich tubs... Literally, to line the bottoms takes a single select-a-size paper towel folded in half. Thing is, they are MUCH happier in these small tubs with a good hide and a proper temperature than they would be in big, open 10 gallon tanks.


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## Itort (Aug 23, 2012)

I keep a 5' milksnake in a 20l tank with a 10" dog bowl in center for water and two 10" coconut shells one on cool side one on warm side. Guess where to find snake: in one of the coconut shells. Tank size is for thermoregulating only.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Aug 25, 2012)

Neat question.


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