We don’t do that either! 
In the true spirit of space and enrichment, Dane-friend has full run of the place and his own designated queen sized bed (although he prefers mine)
Not sure if they even make crates big enough for a 190lb dog…
7 Likes
What an absolutely majestic giant he is! 
Yeah, I don’t think they make crates that big, at all. You’d practically need a horse stall.
4 Likes
Are you kidding me! You and I are of the same mold furr baby wise! That picture fills my heart with happiness. This is the way it should be imho! Your Dane friend has it made?
Thank you for sharing! 
4 Likes
@noodlehaus and @chesterhf Yes and while you are at it with the horse stall, there are the cutest little miniature horses……
3 Likes
it about being judgmental, so I draw an equivalency. Snakes by nature seek out small tight spaces in an environment where their needs are met. they come out to the open when their needs are not meet i.e., heat, food, water and breeding. I have snakes in bioactive setups and never see them until they are hungry and that’s ok. my snakes in racks are much better with my interactions and that my friend is unequivocal.
1 Like
I plan to keep all of my ball pythons and colubrids in racks, while I want to move all of my “other” species into larger enclosures. Retics, boas, etc.
I do keep my ball pythons on simplistic setups (paper towel with a water bowl) but I do also take them out often when we do cleanings and try to handle them for a bit.
I’ll be keeping my blood pythons in tubs too, I’m not sure how much they would even benefit from a larger enclosure considering they usually just sit in one spot and wait for food to come by
Right now my focus is going to be insulating the garage so I can move all of our rodents out there, and then it’ll give me more space to set up bigger individual enclosures for those other species. As well as more rack space for the ball pythons too.
EDIT: I do want to mention that despite my simpler setups, I do strive to give my snakes properly sized tubs.
I worked for a breeder who imho kept their adult males in way too small of tubs — tubs that I currently only keep juveniles in until they hit 600-800 grams and go up a tub size.
4 Likes
It sounds like you have a great plan! Working for that “ particular” breeder gave you great insight!
IMHO I think that frequent hands on interaction with your snakes is as important as enclosure set ups. If of course time allows……
Thank you!
3 Likes
Ultimately, I think that so long as the animal in question is having all its needs met and is eating, pooping, shedding, and otherwise healthy, then it doesn’t really matter if they’re in a rack or an enclosure.
Bigger isn’t always better. Some species/individuals do benefit from having lots of space and enrichment, but others seem to do better in smaller enclosures. And even active animals that will use extra space still need that space to be outfitted properly to suit their needs. Proper hides, cover, climbing opportunities, etc. is important. All the space in the world isn’t worth much if the animal doesn’t feel secure and refuses to eat.
So in a nutshell, I think the type of enclosure (rack, glass tank, PVC enclosure, etc.) matters less than ensuring the animal’s needs are being met.
Personally, I prefer front-opening PVC enclosures, because I like to be able to see my animals without having to open the enclosure. And I like accessing the enclosure from the front rather than the top. Glass enclosures are just too heavy, don’t retain heat or humidity all that well, and are harder to customize (like adding holes for thermostat probes, which is easy with plastic/PVC). I’ve also used plastic totes with latching lids, and they work fine. Only things I don’t like about them is that even the “clear” ones don’t offer a clear view inside, and obviously they only open from the top. But they’re inexpensive and functional, come in a variety of sizes, and work well as temporary enclosures for babies/juveniles. No point in spending loads of money on something the animal will outgrow in a few months, so my policy is to use the plastic totes until the animal is large enough to be moved into a permanent adult-sized enclosure, then I’ll shell out the cash for a nice PVC display enclosure.
7 Likes