Snake Caging

Deciding on a snake cage and set-up depends a lot on personal choice as long as a few basic requirements are met. First, it must be escape-proof. After that, you need to make certain the cage is always kept clean. The next step is to decide which heating methods you will use, install them, and get all the adjustments dialed in before you put the snake in. Once these requirements are met and you get the cage to the proper temperature and humidity for the specific species you will keep in the cage, the rest is up to you. You can have an elaborate naturalistic set-up or just a plain (low maintenance) set-up with just a water dish, one or more hide boxes, and the substrate of your choice.

Heating

There are many methods of heating snake cages. You can use light bulbs, ceramic heaters, under tank heat pads or heat tape, radiant heat panels, or just heating the entire room if you have a large collection. If you're going to heat each individual cage, put the heat at one end of the cage. This creates a temperature gradient which allows the snake to move from one temp range to another depending on it's preference at that time.

Lighting

Lighting is pretty simple. If you're using lights for your heat source, put them on a timer set for about 10-12 hours of light per day. If lighting is not your heat source, plain daylight will work just fine too, as long as they're not in a particularly dark room. If you still want light, use a low wattage bulb to light the enclosure without adding excessive heat. Some people like to use a red or black light at night to illuminate the cage and give the snake a warm night-time basking area too. That's up to you.

Substrate

Again, you can use just about anything except cedar chips which give off harmful oils and aromas. Be careful of sand as it can cause skin irritation on some snakes. Other choices are...aspen mulch, pine shavings, cypress mulch, newspaper, paper towels, bath towels (you just throw them in the washing machine when soiled), sphagnum moss, peat moss, soil, commercial reptile bedding, and just about any type of paper product.

Cage Styles

There are many different styles of caging available for reptiles. Glass tanks are good for fancy set-ups since the entire set-up will be clearly visible. Some of the more expensive cages have glass only on the front for viewing. The glass is usually tempered on these to prevent them from cracking too easily. Some people like the Rubbermaid boxes of various sizes. These are easy to maintain their temp and humidity, easy to clean, and are able to house a large number of snakes in much less space than other cages. I personally have used all these cages at one time or another. Each type has it's pros and cons.

This is a good example of a naturalistic glass cage set-up. Notice the hide areas on the warm and cooler ends of the tank. This type of set-up can make a beautiful display cage.

This is the opposite end of the spectrum so to speak. Simple, space saving, and minimal maintenance. Paper substrate, plastic hide box, and a disposable water dish make these very easy to clean, although much less of a display type cage.

For large boas and pythons you can get commercially made cages like these in sizes of up to 8 feet. The sturdy design, ease of cleaning, and tempered front glass make them the perfect cage for giant snakes.

My Personal Preferences

I keep all my enclosures as simple as possible to make cleaning as quick and easy as possible. This reduces the risk of me putting off a dirty cage because I don't have time. I use paper as substrate and use disposable water dishes. For substrate, I use paper that's custom cut to fit each of my box sizes. It's a pretty absorbent type of paper too. My friend is in the printing business and gave me thousands of sheets cut to size for free...you can't beat that! For the arboreal cages I use newspaper. For water dishes I use disposable deli cups and I use 1 3/4 inch deep sections of PVC pipe as a holder so they can't tip too easily. For hide boxes I use upside down planter trays with an opening cut out. I always keep extra ones on hand to make cleaning very quick.

Misc. Photos of Caging, Equipment, & Set-ups

Rubbermaid Racks