They can be a lot more difficult to set up properly if you have humidity or temperature problems. Of the two humidity can be the most difficult part.Originally Posted by Munizfire
I do think they get a bad reputation because of all those bad owners out there who will get a cheap tank, oversized hide, undersized water dish, and heat lamp from the pet store on impulse and never attempt to make sure the humidity or temperature is where it should be. When someone sees a neglected snake it's more likely to be in a tank than a tub because that's the type of cage those types of owners prefer.
It can be made to work well if you put the effort into it. Most people don't put the effort into it.
Also, some of the cheap tanks that people get with their impulse pet purchase don't do a good job at keeping the snake from escaping.* I would be curious in seeing a poll where people who have had a snake escape from a cage state which type of cage they were using at the time.
* The glass tanks are not actually aquariums but because they look the same some impulsive pet purchaser might think they can save money by simply putting something over the top of an aquarium they already had laying around. So you get people trying to lay a "quilt" over the top like that infamous case in FL, or people resting an oversized screen over the top & weighing it down with books or bricks. A glass viviarium should have the screen top slide into a locked position so that the snake cannot push it "up" and should have some kind of locking scheme so the snake cannot try to slide it "out." This should ideally be design features made out of metal not cheap plastic.
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