Small time breeder with caging questions.

[Bleepr]

As the topic says, I'm a small time breeder (well... going to be) and I wondering what type of caging is perfered?

I know people scream the praises of racks, and I could see the usefulness of them when dealing with alot of snakes, but I plan on only keeping 4 snakes (2.2. I've got my normal female and pastel male, getting spider female and albino male when I can). I love the display cages over at degei, and I'm in the process of planning mine around thier general concept.

When I get to breeding, I will use racks for the hatchlings (as I will be selling and I don't need permanent fixtures), but I'm just looking for input. At current specs. cages will run about 120 each (for EVERYTHING, hides, heating, lighting etc) and racks are significantly cheaper.

Thoughts? Suggestions? 4 snakes doesn't seem like much to me and I love being able to see them without bothering them too much. I also plan on stacking the enclosures 5 1/2 feet to high? (4 1' cages with an 18" base/storage area )looking to have them just be held together by friction/thier weight. No go?

Thanks for any help!

[Ben Biscy]

Under 10 animals I would recommend visual terariums opposed to racks. Cracked glass tanks are so cheap it's rediculous.

[Bleepr]

Sort of what I'm saying. I'm wanting to make display racks, but each one can be move about as needed.

And one more question. Should I hold off till my snakes are around adult size to do it? or what? I want these to be permanent enclosures, and to my specs, they are about 25 gallon long size. Current snakes are about 2 feet.

[Ben Biscy]

If you have enough cover for the animals to feel secure in a large cage, then by all means, set up large from the get-go. Just because there is a minimum requirement doesn't mean you HAVE to start with small enclosures.

HOWEVER, it is often easier to monitor an animal's growth and progress in smaller enclosures. Again, under ten, terrariums are fine, imo.

[Bleepr]

So I've got another question. Is plexiglass a suitible surface for snakes? I'm thinking I can use as a lining other then the normal birch plywood that my enclosures will be made out of.

[Kaorte]

I find the idea of vivariums very time consuming when it comes to cleaning. Having one snake it was tedious to clean out the tank. Once I moved to tubs, everything went much faster. I know its nice to see your snakes, but they really don't come out of the hides all that much. Maybe a couple days before feeding day and a few times in the dead of night. They really aren't the best display snakes.

I think once you start getting closer to breeding, you will see how much more practical a rack is for what you want to do.

As for plexi, that should be a fine surface for a snake. Plexi is just a form of plastic, which is what most people house their snakes in anyway.