Advice on Mussurana Home.

[Nic Bednarz]

Hey strangers. I'll try not to be too long winded.

My Mussurana is probably getting close to two years old now, time flys. It's time to move her to a bigger enclosure. She's about 30" maybe, I don't weigh her often because feeding has never been and issue.

I need to move her to a larger enclosure, and I would like it to be her forever home. I only have two snakes, so no racks. I want a "vision" style cage. After looking and grumbling over the more common names, I found and am leaning towards a Pro-line cage from Constrictors Northwest.

My Question really comes down to what size would be good for a colubrid that can grow up to 7' (so I've read). I like my animals to have a good amount of free space to roam, contrary to common BP husbandry guides I know. I plan on populating the enclosure with plenty of cover and probably live plants, so I doubt stress from being vulnerable would be and issue.

I'm figuring 24" deep, and a minimum of 16" in height. I'm uncertain on what would be a good width, I was thinking 5 foot.

Do you think it's a bad idea to put a still relatively small snake in such and enclosure?

I'd love to see pictures of anyone's setups.

I really appreciate any advice, opinions, concerns etcetera...

Thank you.

[Neal]

Might just be me but I don't really like Constrictors-NW cages. I prefer Animal plastics, especially since they seem to build more for what you want. Again, this is purely preference on my part. I've got little experience with Mussurana, so if you can give me a little insight on them I can give you my recommended specs.

Do you have a male/female and how long will it get?

Another knowledgeable person that seems to know everything is Skiploader.

[Nic Bednarz]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't have much experience with any of the cages other than what my local reptile store uses, mostly vision cages. They keep their burms in what I think are A/Ps (they don't remember) and they look kinda rough, I'm unsure of their age.

They live in various climates in the wild. Black pearl reptile keeps them at 82-75, doesn't mention ambient humidity. I figure 70% should be about right.

I've got a female. I read they'll do 5 foot plus, up to 7. I assume the females get bigger but I haven't seen it in writing.

Black pearl's site also says they keep adults in cb-70 racks.

[Evenstar]

Your size dimensions are fine for a Mussurana. They are large colubrids, but not quite as large a cribos or Indigos. There is nothing wrong with Constrictors NW. I like their ProLine cages myself. And Ed is very helpful. Its just important to remember that the HDPE plastic he uses is different from PVC. It feels different and is a totally different product. But it cleans better and doesn't stain like PVC can so I like it better in the long run. JMO...

60-70% humidity is fine. Temps are good. Black Pearl has good care sheets/info as you've already found. Did you buy your girl from John (Black Pearl)?? He will help you with whatever you might need.

Skiploader here is very knowledgeable too.


As far as the cage goes, personally, I would order the PLM 60x26x16 from Constrictors NW. He has it marked at $375 shipped and that's a good price for the size. You could also easily do the PLM 48x23x18 for $350 and get the shelf option with it. Those are 2 really good choices.

[Skiploder]

A 5' cage is fine for a fully grown clelia or boiruna.

As for a breeder choosing to keep his breeder is V70 sized tubs - well, to each his own. Mussurana are not ball pythons that like tight spaces. Stuffing a large, active colubrid into a 34"x17" tub isn't my idea of a good time.

[Nic Bednarz]

Thank you so much for the advice. When I purchase and get everything up and running I'll check back in.

My Mussurana came from a local reptile store, Ben Siegel, though she appears to the same locality/subspieces. Although I saw some were, if I recall correctly Black Pearls site, that they are diurnal. I'm assuming that's a typo, mine's very nocturnal. Haha.

Thanks again!

[Skiploder]

Thank you so much for the advice. When I purchase and get everything up and running I'll check back in.

My Mussurana came from a local reptile store, Ben Siegel, though she appears to the same locality/subspieces. Although I saw some were, if I recall correctly Black Pearls site, that they are diurnal. I'm assuming that's a typo, mine's very nocturnal. Haha.

Thanks again!

I'm pretty sure they are nocturnal. If they are black - they are boiruna. I'm not familiar with Black Pearl's stock, but most mussurana sold are not clelia spp. but boiruna.

I keep clelia rustica and the juveniles are in CB/V 70 tubs. Adults go into 48" or 66" Freedom Breeders. If given enough room, these are very active snakes. As the adults can get in excess of 6', I'm astounded anyone would stuff one into a 34" tub..................