Perch Size?

Yingarna and Bruce's new AP cages should arrive next week, and I'm thinking about what else I need to get for them.

Ying is a Bredli, currently about 6' long, easily taking Big Cheese small rats (I haven't weighed the big boys and girls in a while), probably about a kilo. I won't be surprised if she hits 9-10'. [emoji15]

Bruce is my JCP, 4-5' long, the other day he took 2 Big Cheese weaned rats (one of the BPs refused).

Ying is getting a 2' tall cage, Bruce a 3', both 4'x2', with a shelf in each. I'm thinking of adding perches, also, what diameter do you like? I figure if we cut PVC end caps in half they'll work as supports, if I want to go bigger/smaller than closet rod.

Also debating wood vs. PVC - PVC would be easier to clean if necessary, but it hasn't been so far for Bruce.


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Prog- for carpets as large as yours I'd think a perch with a 3" diameter would be appropriate. Those Bredli can get pretty heavy bodied. I think I'm going to order another AP cage soon too. I'm torn between the 4x2x2 and 4x2x3. The 4x2x3 is only a few bucks more so I'm leaning towards that one. On another note I'm curious about the prey sizes for your carpets. It sounds like you feed smaller meals than I do. How old are your carpets and how often do you feed them? My JCP will be one in July. He's about 500g and not quite 3ft. He eats a small rat and sometimes a chick every 6 days on average. My Coastal will be two in July. I got him as an 85g yearling last September. He's about 4ft and 900g now. He eats a medium rat, or a small and a chick, every 7-10 days. My Bredl is 140g and he's eating rat pups every 5-6 days. I'm always curious to see different feeding regiments and growth rates. Please post pics of your enclosures when you get them.

Bruce will be a year old next month. I was feeding him every 5 days, last week we shifted to once/week. Ying will be two in October, she's been on a once/week schedule since March (5 days before that). I try to feed to leave a lump, but not a huge one. I'll probably get some chicks or quail for the Morelia (and the red-tailed boa, who is another good feeder) next time I order feeders.

They're both great feeders, I think Bruce was perturbed at me the other day when I fed the VBB and he didn't get anything. [emoji4]

We've got the snakes split into colubrids and pythons for feeding days, with the boas split between the two groups. For a while we had a third group, the big girls (Ying, 2 BPs, and a corn) but now that everyone is on once/week, the big girls got split rolled back into the pythons/colubrids.

I can't say that I've had a plan, mostly it's been going by feel/looks.


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My carpet is a 6 footer. Actually a bit over 6 now. She is in this 4 x 2 x 2 HDPE plastic cage. I use perches of various sizes. I have wood dowels which are about the size of a Red Bull can, wrapped in vines, and I also have couple of natural perches. Perch placement is a factor as you can have some smaller perches, but you'll want to spread them out for weight distribution. The snake will more than likely spread across a few perches, and I stagger the height of the perches too.

You can see it here in the carpet cage.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2626.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2638.jpg


I'm a huge fan of any arboreal activity. It is a behavior I enjoy watching as much as feeding.

Even my 6 foot and much heavier bodied boa constrictor likes to climb and perch. I have the same dowels in his cage but he actually gets a giant tree branch to enjoy along with the 3 other dowel perches.

The top cage is for the royal and she isn't usually a climber, but now that the weather has warmed and she has eat for the first time this year, she has been spotted hanging up on the perches under the RHP.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2657.jpg

IMO you would be best off with a plastic cage.

I bought large closet rod holders for the tree branches. The other perches are made by Ed from Constrictors NW (Pro-Line Cages).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

IMO you would be best off with a plastic cage.

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We are - Animal Plastics. Ali called a little while ago and let me know they are going out today, should arrive tomorrow (5 cage and a base is heavy enough for freight shipping to be worth it).

My PVC vs. wood question was for perch material.

I better get off the couch and make space for the new cage stacks! [emoji3]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Prognathodon

We are - Animal Plastics. Ali called a little while ago and let me know they are going out today, should arrive tomorrow (5 cage and a base is heavy enough for freight shipping to be worth it).

My PVC vs. wood question was for perch material.

I better get off the couch and make space for the new cage stacks! [emoji3]

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That's great.

I need to clarify that when I meant spreading the perches out I should have said keeping them close. If they are close together the support is better.

It sounds like you are all set. Wood perches are just fine.

I actually have no synthetic perches.

When using wood perches should you be concerned about what type of wood? Pine? Hardwood (maple,birch)? I have some stair balusters that are a great size and shape but made from pine. I know that you shouldn't use pine shavings but would the wood be bad for your snakes?

Assembling 5 cages and setting them up took all weekend. Decided to skip the sealant in favor of having a usable living room again sooner (and so far water-dumping has not been a snake pastime). The snakes are in with hides and water bowls, adding more artificial plants tonight. We decided to build freestanding jungle gyms, so we've got 60' of PVC and lots and lots of fittings under foot.

Ying and Bruce spent yesterday bagged in the sand boa cages. When we put them in their new quarters they expressed their opinions with messes. [emoji849]

Here's a couple quick shots of the cage stacks (already had two of the T8s and the smaller cage). In the second picture you can kinda see Ying to the left of her Ace Hardware bukkit, and Bruce in the cage below.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4633f858db.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...91dfc79fd5.jpg






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Looking good there!

What is the "Tall Boy" on the bottom? Is that a 3 footer?

Great looking setup!

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Originally Posted by Gio

What is the "Tall Boy" on the bottom? Is that a 3 footer?

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Yes, the base of each stack is an A20 - 2x4x3 (JCP and VBB), Ying the Bredli is in a T12 - 2x4x2, there's four T8s with dividers (BPs, corns, King, and milk), and the oddball 2x2 footprint from another company (spotted Python).

We started cleaning up the living room last night, and then the beagles found a couple bags with interesting smells this morning, so there's shredded paper from one end of the room to the other, on top of the layer of spilled/tracked aspen. [emoji849]

Got the cages done this weekend! Husband built the VBB's jungle gym on Saturday (Colubrids > Ratsnakes > Beauty Snakes thread for pictures), and on Sunday he built Bruce's. Put Bruce in, and he started exploring:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...27f4d842b4.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...422aa1be9c.jpg

Bruce was such a good boy while I festooned vines a little later that afternoon, his head popped up out of his hide to see what I was doing, but he didn't try to escape or object, even when I was reaching in and working right over his hide (partly because he was about to shed, but still!).

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...0896364a97.jpg

After shedding overnight, Bruce spent most of the day more or less wrapped around the vertical leg going to the shelf. Mostly loosely, but I suspect it gives him an anchor/security blanket.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...1cd18fcdb6.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...5a9a447c6c.jpg

Yesterday husband built Ying's jungle gym. Not as elaborate as Bruce and the VBB's, since she's got the shorter cage. Husband even built around her bukkit perch/hide. [emoji4]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e899c9e6de.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...0f03ec956e.jpg

Pictures aren't the best, as Ying doesn't have a light yet. And we'll be upgrading the catches on all three big cages - the auxiliary catches are screwed in, so every time you use them you tighten or loosen them. We'll be replacing them with nylon bolts and wingnuts.

Bruce and the VBB's jungle gyms are made with nominal 3/4" PVC, which is 1" OD. We ended up with some thin-wall (partly leftovers from other projects), so we used that for the VBB, as he'll be long, but skinny. Ying's uses 3/4 for the base, uprights, and IIRC one of the perches. The other perches are nominal 1" (1-1/4" OD).

The bases are glued, but most of the upper structures are not, so we can make changes, ur upgrade Ying if/when she needs larger perches. In that case we'll have to either get creative with supports or completely replace it, as larger diameter PVC is categorized as drain lines, and Thou Shalt Not combine drain and supply lines. [emoji6]


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FWIW I tend to find perches that are roughly the same diameter of the snake work well, at least that's what I did with carpet pythons.

When they got big enough I stopped using perches and had a raised shelf about half as deep as the enclosure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

FWIW I tend to find perches that are roughly the same diameter of the snake work well, at least that's what I did with carpet pythons.

When they got big enough I stopped using perches and had a raised shelf about half as deep as the enclosure.

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Do you still have your coastal?

I haven't seen you post here for 2 years, maybe longer unless I'm just not catching the threads.

I'd like to see your carpets if you still have them.

Nah unfortunately about two years ago I got married, uprooted, moved out of and back to the US, eventually ending up in Washington D.C.. I rehomed the half dozen animals I had.

Luckily we've just about guaranteed that we won't leave the US again for a significant move, and I started lurking again. I've still got some of my husbandry equipment and keep dreaming about getting back in the hobby.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

Nah unfortunately about two years ago I got married, uprooted, moved out of and back to the US, eventually ending up in Washington D.C.. I rehomed the half dozen animals I had.

Luckily we've just about guaranteed that we won't leave the US again for a significant move, and I started lurking again. I've still got some of my husbandry equipment and keep dreaming about getting back in the hobby.

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OK that makes sense.

I know you were a Twin Cities guy for a long while. Thought I'd eventually run into you but not in DC LOL. Glad you are lurking again.

What was the final size of your coastal. It was getting big in your last posts.

Good to see you here again!!