Snake Cages

Snake Cages

Snake cage image courtsey: hoobly.com

Let them feel as at home as possible.

Snakes are cold blooded animals, cold blooded animals can’t control their body temperatures and their body acquires the atmospheric temperatures if it is unbearable they have to move to places where it is amicable. A caged animal therefore should be provided with bearable setup if they have to survive. Snakes have the adaptability to live and breed in cage provided the environment is conductive. Small air-holes may be provided on two opposite walls for air circulation. Larger snakes require better ventilation providing air holes at the top works better.

How to make it?

Snake cages image courtsey: monster-cages.com

There is not much money to be spent on the cage for a snake as a discarded aquarium will do the job. Or else it can be improvised by simple glass sheets and wood joining together with adhesive tapes. In any case the cage should be 100% escape proof. A flattened model is good for terrestrial snake where as a vertically oriented (with more height than breadth) will do for arboreal types. Side walls can be made of glass or wood or both combined. It is better to keep a single snake in a cage. If more than one put in a cage make sure that all are of a single variety.

The bottom lines.

Snake cages image courtsey: monster-cages.com

The bottom can be made of wood, glass or steel in any case should be filled with adequate quantity of sand or other fillings like shredded aspen for the inmates to move without strain. Wire-mesh is avoided as it may hurt the snake’s skin and scales.

The floor of the terrarium (cages made for reptiles) should be soft and dry, smooth sand is one of the most suited materials. Terrestrial snakes have a habit of hiding in the sand and loose sand is ideal for this purpose. Wet and humid atmosphere may cause skin ailment in caged animals as they don’t have the freedom to bask (lying exposed to direct sunlight for pleasure).

Water absorbing materials like paper towel folded newspaper etc will be best for absorbing moisture and keeping the cage dry. They provide the inmates convenience to lie beneath and relax.

Furnishings.

Snake cages image courtsey: jworlds.net

Snakes are shy and not at home when stared by people all around, therefore the foremost thing to be provided is just a card-board box with one side open for them to get in and seek some privacy. A bowl for storing water that is not easily tipped with a provision to fill it from outside would be convenient. Some news-paper folding and paper towel etc will be fine to the floor so that they can coil around beneath it. The arboreal (those which live generally on trees) ones should be provided with plants, wood or plastic treelike structures with enough branching for them to coil around and relax (These structures should be on firm footing, cedar wood exempted).

Keep it clean.

Snake cages image courtsey: cagesbydesign.com

It is convenient to clean the entire cage at a time after removing the inmate and doing the job thoroughly. The glass walls can be cleaned with mild-soap, sand replaced along with paper-towel and folded newspapers, water-bowl cleaned and filled with fresh stock. Cleaning can be done in once in a week.

The excretions of the snake if any must be removed along with the material on which it fell without much delay.

Pests like ticks may be expelled by keeping slow evaporating (di-chlorovinyl variants in perforated boxes that cannot be touched by snakes) The bottom can be made of wood, glass or steel in any case should be filled with adequate quantity of sand or other fillings like shredded aspen for the inmates to move without strain. Wire-mesh is avoided as it may hurt the snake’s scales.

Humidity.

Snake cage image courtsey: proexotics.com

A thermometer can be of immense help to the owner, temperature variation has its impact on humidity level in a cage which can be better managed by the water-bowl. Land snakes require less humidity and a water-bowl with small mouth will do the trick. The arboreal and semi-aquatic ones need more humidity can have larger and flatter bowls. When it shows the symptoms of molting (shedding off skin) a larger vessel with more water can be provided to get it wet when needed, even sprinkling of water may be needed at times to keep humidity levels.

To be continued...