Re: Snake size?

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Posted by Jonathan Crowe on September 27, 1999 at 19:41:16:

In Reply to: Snake size? posted by Corey on September 27, 1999 at 14:08:46:

I think you need to read a few books, my friend, because the answers you seek may be found there. A good start is the Bartletts' Corn Snakes and Other Rat Snakes (Barron's, 1996) which covers black rats and corns, so is just the thing for you. There are lots of other titles, too, but I'll leave them for you to discover. For the moment.

But to provide some quick answers to your questions (which books will answer better and in more detail):

A black rat snake can get fricking huge: up to over eight feet long. But a cage big enough for a full-sized adult would be much too big for a hatchling. You'll have to provide it with successively larger cages.

How big? Well, I've been told that the length of the snake should not be longer than the length plus width of the cage. For example: a 25-gallon tank measuring 30 inches by 12 inches could hold a snake up to 42 inches long. A foot-long hatchling would probably feel a little lost in such a cage, and a six-footer would be so crowded as to eventually get sick.

What should you have in it? A water dish, of course, changed frequently. A hide box small enough that the snake can feel cozy therein. Climbing branches, because black rat snakes love to climb. And something on the bottom of the tank/cage for their periodic dump-taking. I use paper towels, others use newspaper, still others prefer something more naturalistic (but harder to keep clean) like bark chips. And an absolutely secure lid. These are the essentials, especially the water dish and hide box. And the lid.

: HOw big will a normal black rat get? what size cage should i get? and what should it have in it?

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: I think you need to read a few books, my friend, because the answers you seek may be found there. A good start is the Bartletts' Corn Snakes and Other Rat Snakes (Barron's, 1996) which covers black rats and corns, so is just the thing for you. There are lots of other titles, too, but I'll leave them for you to discover. For the moment. : But to provide some quick answers to your questions (which books will answer better and in more detail): : A black rat snake can get fricking huge: up to over eight feet long. But a cage big enough for a full-sized adult would be much too big for a hatchling. You'll have to provide it with successively larger cages. : How big? Well, I've been told that the length of the snake should not be longer than the length plus width of the cage. For example: a 25-gallon tank measuring 30 inches by 12 inches could hold a snake up to 42 inches long. A foot-long hatchling would probably feel a little lost in such a cage, and a six-footer would be so crowded as to eventually get sick. : What should you have in it? A water dish, of course, changed frequently. A hide box small enough that the snake can feel cozy therein. Climbing branches, because black rat snakes love to climb. And something on the bottom of the tank/cage for their periodic dump-taking. I use paper towels, others use newspaper, still others prefer something more naturalistic (but harder to keep clean) like bark chips. And an absolutely secure lid. These are the essentials, especially the water dish and hide box. And the lid. : : HOw big will a normal black rat get? what size cage should i get? and what should it have in it?

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