Is it ethical to keep snakes in rack systems?

[West Coast Jungle]

My experience is primarily with ball pythons so I wouls say they are fine in racks.

Now other kinds of snakes may have more of a need for discovery or visual stimulation.

My thought is it depends on the kind of snake we are talking about and what sucessful keepers of these snakes have found to help them thrive.

Ball pythons spend much of there life in small burrows and are very shy so I would say they are great canidates for tubs and they seem to thrive in them.

The key is to think of the animals comfort/personality and not ours.

[DutchHerp]

Anybody got experience with Lampropeltis in racks?

[dr del]

Hi,

Just an odd observation while we are discussing different species in racks.

When I moved the corns into the colubrid rack I also moved my african house snake.

While I have to say the corns seem fine (as usual ) the house snake has actually changed dramatically.

I was worried the extra space would freak him out initially and also worried about changing his hides for snugger fitting ones (coconut shells to terracotta drip trays ) he seems to absolutely love it. To the extent I actually feel guilty for not moving him into this type of enclosure years ago.

Male african house snakes have a reputation of eating only 50 -66% of the time (when offered once per week ) but since the move my guy has eaten every single week unless he was in blue.

His whole body shape has become stockier as well and he just seems a lot more robust.

I wondered if this was because the new rack has much more subdued lighting plus the tighter hides?

The temps are the same as his old enclosure but the humidity is a fair bit higher in the tub.

I definately plan on trying sinaloans in the rack if I manage to find any at a price and quality I like.

I just wondered if anyone else had similar experiences.


dr del

[DutchHerp]

Hi,

Just an odd observation while we are discussing different species in racks.

When I moved the corns into the colubrid rack I also moved my african house snake.

While I have to say the corns seem fine (as usual ) the house snake has actually changed dramatically.

I was worried the extra space would freak him out initially and also worried about changing his hides for snugger fitting ones (coconut shells to terracotta drip trays ) he seems to absolutely love it. To the extent I actually feel guilty for not moving him into this type of enclosure years ago.

Male african house snakes have a reputation of eating only 50 -66% of the time (when offered once per week ) but since the move my guy has eaten every single week unless he was in blue.

His whole body shape has become stockier as well and he just seems a lot more robust.

I wondered if this was because the new rack has much more subdued lighting plus the tighter hides?

The temps are the same as his old enclosure but the humidity is a fair bit higher in the tub.

I definately plan on trying sinaloans in the rack if I manage to find any at a price and quality I like.

I just wondered if anyone else had similar experiences.


dr del

It's interesting to hear this kind of result from a colubrid, instead of a BP...

[JamieLynn]

There are some great people on here, it realy shows that they love thier snakes. I only have a tank right now, but plan on getting tubs/racks. My bp tends to be out a lot, either in a little dent she made in her bedding by the water dish, or basking. she has not used many of the hides I offered her.but I do agree for a large snake having a 6" high top is just too small

[DutchHerp]

I have an awesome JCP and although he's big he loves to climb, and he rarely hides.
I think he'd hate to be in a tub.

[blackcrystal22]

I have an awesome JCP and although he's big he loves to climb, and he rarely hides.
I think he'd hate to be in a tub.

JCPs are often good showy snakes for that reason, though they can be kept in a tub if you do it right. It might be very difficult though if you want to add climbing ability.

All of my snakes have improved eating habits since being in racks. When I moved my ball python (first) it ate instantly in the rack/tub system. My tough eating corn snake also would start eating f/t and non-mice rodents which he was stuck on for the longest time.
My ball python did the same thing, and started eating ASFs when he refused them previously.

All of my other snakes are pretty good feeders for the most part.

[DutchHerp]

I have a nice divided AP cage coming in hopefully in 2 weeks... that'll be for my BP and my soon to be grayband.

After that I'll think about getting a rack.

[Muze]

Absolutely not. Actually, I've heard more stories from my customers of snakes doing better after being moved from a cage to a tub. Better at eating, shedding, breeding, etc.

A large enclosure is very complicated when it comes to providing the correct environmental conditions when it comes to ball pythons ... tubs make it a lot simpler and in the end, providing ball pythons with the correct temps and humidity is the most important aspect of keeping them successfully.

If you want to stimulate them, regular handling and exercise outside of the enclosure is the best thing to do whether you are using cages or racks.

Hope this helps.

-adam

If this helps, I have a big girl that used to be in a tank and never exceeded 1400 grams beacuse she would skip meals all the time. I've hard her since July of this year (in a 41qt tub) & she has not skipped any meals (I feed her a small rat each week). She is now up to 1851 grams, & sheds perfectly every time.

It is a good thing, though, that you are doing your homework about what's best for your snakes. It shows you are a responsible keeper. I keep all of my snakes in a rack system, btw. & they are all healthy.

[DutchHerp]

My BP eats fine (even though he hasn't eaten these past two weeks, probably because it's the time of year), and I'll put him in an AP cage anyway.

Unless I come across feeding problems, he will stay there.

Otherwise I'll put him in a tub.

It is a good thing, though, that you are doing your homework about what's best for your snakes. It shows you are a responsible keeper. I keep all of my snakes in a rack system, btw. & they are all healthy.

Thank you; I do whatever it takes to make my snakes happy campers!