cage sizing for young Mainland Reticulated

Hello, I bought a baby mainland retic a few weeks ago and have been keeping him in a properly sized cage with proper husbandry. I know hes going to need a very large cage one day so I am currently building a large cage for him. I am almost done with it and its 6 ft long by four feet deep by 2 ft tall. I hope this will be big enough for him as an adult. I'm only waiting on one more thing for the tank, A very large RHP and another herpstat to go with it. MY MAIN QUESTION IS, would it be alright to put him in the large tank if there were lots of hiding places and things to climb and explore or? or should i wait a year before putting him in there, would he be scared or not do well being a much much bigger enclosure? Hes currently about 4 foot long and kinda skinny. I think he was definatly under weight when i got him. Thanks everyone for any answers you may have!!!

I've run retics in enclosures larger than what they really need. As long as they have a place (or several places) to hide while they are small they are fine. Many adults don't even outgrow a 6x2x18" so the enclosure you built should be plenty large.

With that much height I would give him stuff to climb on as well as they do like to perch.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I've run retics in enclosures larger than what they really need. As long as they have a place (or several places) to hide while they are small they are fine. Many adults don't even outgrow a 6x2x18" so the enclosure you built should be plenty large.

With that much height I would give him stuff to climb on as well as they do like to perch.

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Okay, awesome. I'm really going all out on this cage for him. Gonna be one hell of a display case! also, i saw your profile pic was a mustang, do you have a mustang? kinda off topic lol.

Yes, a 1969 convertible.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Yes, a 1969 convertible.

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Sweet! My dad and I have a 2007 gt with a big blower on it. Super fun to drag race.


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Originally Posted by bcr229

Many adults don't even outgrow a 6x2x18" so the enclosure you built should be plenty large.

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For real? I have no experience, but I've seen videos and stuff of adult mainland retics that are like 15-20ft long? Is this super rare, or will these fit in a 6' tank?



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I think 6x2x2 is standard.


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Originally Posted by wowmattsays

For real? I have no experience, but I've seen videos and stuff of adult mainland retics that are like 15-20ft long? Is this super rare, or will these fit in a 6' tank?
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There are some locality mainlands, such as Sulawesi, that get larger than others. Also the biggest of the big are females not males.

Can I ask the same question as the OP except pertaining to Burms? Hoping to pick up a baby male very soon but I don't know if I should set up a smaller enclosure that will probably only last a year or can I put him straight into a big 6+ footer?

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

Can I ask the same question as the OP except pertaining to Burms? Hoping to pick up a baby male very soon but I don't know if I should set up a smaller enclosure that will probably only last a year or can I put him straight into a big 6+ footer?

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I think the consensus on retic and burm cages is; justt so long as there are adequate hides i think you could really start em off in the big 6 footer and not mess around with smaller tanks! Just have lots of hiding spots and places to climb.

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Originally Posted by dylan815

I think the consensus on retic and burm cages is; justt so long as there are adequate hides i think you could really start em off in the big 6 footer and not mess around with smaller tanks! Just have lots of hiding spots and places to climb.

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This. I would also give them stuff to climb on as well, both retic and burm youngsters like to climb.

Cool, i'm going to start building a 6 x 3 x 2' tall and when/if the Burm grows out of that (9ft+) by then my female boa will be a good size to move into it (she's just a little 3 foot yearling now). I'm probably going to use melamine, does anyone think it's worth putting a big piece of heat tape under it or will the floor just absorb all the heat??
Sorry if this is getting into a thread more fit for the caging forum, I'm going to start pouring over posts there soon, I just figured while I seem to have a couple of ears I'd ask real quickly.

A 6x3x2 cage made of melamine is going to weigh a TON. That stuff is heavy as heck. Also make sure you seal it VERY well especially the corners since you are going to have rather high humidity and that stuff just falls apart if it gets wet.

Also i wouldnt use heat tape on a wood cage. Wood is a good insulator so you would be fighting that to try and get the heat through it.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

A 6x3x2 cage made of melamine is going to weigh a TON. That stuff is heavy as heck. Also make sure you seal it VERY well especially the corners since you are going to have rather high humidity and that stuff just falls apart if it gets wet.

Also i wouldnt use heat tape on a wood cage. Wood is a good insulator so you would be fighting that to try and get the heat through it.

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Yeah, I am aware and not terribly happy about the weight of the thing, it will be on the ground, probably with a lumbar frame under it so that it's not actually touching the ground. I'm also thinking of assembling it with bolts and threaded inserts rather than wood screws so that it will be more collapsible if I ever need to move it or otherwise disassemble it.

The density is why I was suspicious of using flex watt, I guess I'll just have to pick up another RHP. Do you think running a moderately sized one all the way to one side would create enough ambient heat to carry all the way to the other side and get it up to the proper cool side temperature?

No idea as i dont know how cold your house is kept. Retics dont need it all that hot. Caesar used to sit on his hot side as a baby but now he spends most of the time on the cool side or 'begging' for the door to be slid open which he then just curls up next to the open door with either his head on the litter dam or completely curled up sleeping im assuming.

I would personally use a RHP that is 1/3 the length of the cage or if you want belly heat, you can look into a Kane heat mat. They are made for farm animals and dogs and stuff so they can go inside the cage and easily cleanable. They arent cheap though but I've seen a lot of people use them in wooden cages.