Putting a divider in a large cage

Would it be OK to buy a large cage, say 48 X 24, put some kind of wall in there so that it's more like 20 X 24, and put a baby ball in there? When it's big enough, I'd either remove the wall or move it down to make the cage bigger. This way the cage would never be so large as to stress it out.

What do you think?

sounds fine, i'm no expert but i can't see any problems with that.



vaughn

Are you thinking about putting something in the other side?

Instead of sectioning it off, you could always provide some cover. Fake plants, multiple ( more than two ) hides, and even multiple water dishes could be used to make it seem "cozy" instead of sectioning it off.

I would think it would be hard to creat a good gradient in a 20x24 aquarium? Long and narrow (or even short and narrow) is mush easier. What kind of heat would you use?


-adam

It would probably be an AP cage, and I'd be using a UTH. I could put the wall closer so that it's like 12 X 24, and make the gradient front to back. Think that would work?

No, I wouldn't be putting anything in the other side, I'm just trying to figure out a way to buy 1 cage that it can live in for its whole life. Everyone says a baby can't be in too large an enclosure.

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Originally Posted by guitrage

It would probably be an AP cage, and I'd be using a UTH. I could put the wall closer so that it's like 12 X 24, and make the gradient front to back. Think that would work?

No, I wouldn't be putting anything in the other side, I'm just trying to figure out a way to buy 1 cage that it can live in for its whole life. Everyone says a baby can't be in too large an enclosure.

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As long as you provide enough cover, i dont see why a baby cannot be in a large cage. You would need to put in some kind of fake vines, and more than two hides ( most likely ).

While I'm hoping that what you're saying is correct, it is contrary to what I've heard many people say. What does everyone think about this?

i was thinki about doin that when i was 1st gettin my bp and did a lot of question asking and i discovered that it would be fine!

I had my bp in 4x2x2 cage for 4 months and he eats fine and i have had no problems. my snake is 4 1/2 months old.

Great, thanks for the replies

Y8up, gonna echo the others here and say that a minimalist cage should be on the small side for the snake's stress levels, but if you provide a number of nice, solid, snug hides, as long as you can provide a proper temp gradient and good humidity you can go just about as big as you want -- I mean, a room-sized enclosure would just be silly for a bp, but a 4' cage should be fine.

i think saying a snake will get stressed in a large cage is a false assumption. i dont think the amount of free or open space will matter, as long as their are plenty of hides, crawl spots, and so on. i had my snake in a 55 gal at first, he loved it, had over 6 places to hide, a bunch of places to climb, and so forth. once the snakes get used to being in a cage, and grow up and realize that they wont get eaten, they will be happier sitting out in wide open spots without fear of becoming dinner. i dont think the overall size of the cage (considering you got the minimal size) will matter, as long as the temps, humidity, and such are right. give him plenty of hides though.. hides are important, they help them feel secure. in the wild a ball will come across many o[pen spots, but they will go for the closest hide.. make sure he has the option of plenty of hides, and they are spaced out so he can make a quik run for the next one if he feels scared.

Certainly nothing wrong with a large cage if setup as discussed above. I personally advocate smaller cages (especailly when it comes to height) because they are far easier to establish a good stable thermal gradient and control humidity in. Also, smaller rather than larger cages are much easier to make a snake feel secure in. Oh, and one more ... smaller cages with less stuff in them are easier to clean. With the busy schedules people have these days and cleaning being so important, I think that one is something everyone can understand.

I've been in an empty pro football stadium on the 50 yard line and I'll tell you what, I felt very small and vulnerable even though there were lots of places to go hide. I'd much rather be in my comparatively tiny house ... LOL.

Big cages, small cages ... it's all good :mrgreen:

-adam

I don't see anything wrong with the large cage now, like everyone said. I think it'd be better than a too-small cage that the snake could not even stretch out in. All the basic points I thought of, have already been made. :)
I would run the whole setup for a few days and make sure the temps will stay in the desirable range.

Kinda late to jump in here , but I also think a large cage is fine . My baby BP lives in a 40BR tank , he's as happy as a snake can be . I personally felt it would be less stressful for him to be introduced to only one home , which he will always be in , as opposed to changing his environment several times .