Looking to get some input on what others think for adding another animal into my reptile room. I’ve got a spare 20g long tank that I kept from back when I tried to get into breeding freshwater fish. A hognose is definitely number 1 on the list currently of potential occupants, but open to suggestions from others as to what would do well in that tank.
lol! You will probably get a lot of suggestions! Lol! Here are mine:
Stimsons python
Gray banded king snake
Sand boa
Rosy boa
Bi color python
African house snake
I have all but the Stimsons python. But I had one at one time…….
Or you could have a giant isopod/springtail/snail and whatever farm…….
I second the Sand boa! I had a little Kenyan for over a year, she was great, I just never got to see her except for at night lol!
Yes my little sand boa is the sweetest little boy! And he is a great eater as well!
A male House Snake could fit comfy in a 20, and I am biased that way! A male Hognose would be great too. If it’s got any good vertical height, I’d say a Spotted or Stimson’s/Children’s python would climb all over a good twiggy jungle gym in there.
I guess some deciders would be what you like in a snake, like diurnal/nocturnal, or amounts of climbing behavior, or so on… Or if you’d prefer amphibians, or a lizard. Most lizards need more space as they grow than a 20, but not all. A colony of Mourning Geckos would be fun in there, for instance.
Most kinds of frog or toad would do well in a 20 if you wanted to have a few, so that’s worth looking at if you like them.
Wicken’s Wicked Reptiles on youtube has done a series of Habitat Size based recommendation list videos, and they’re very helpful IMO.
Just curious, is a 20g long too small for a female hog? I’ve been told to try to get a female if I were to get one. As they typically are more reliable feeders.
How big do house snakes get? This one is tempting for me because it honestly makes me think of a tiny version of a MBK, which is something else I’ve considered getting as well.
Female hognoses need comparatively more room than males since they do get an awful lot bigger than the little males. I don’t know if one would be comfy in a 20 gallon. Size varies, though, and I don’t have hogs or know much more than that. I’d rather go with a smaller snake in a bigger habitat.
For me and mine, I like giving a snake the biggest enclosure it is still comfortable with, and only a few will insist on smaller spaces if the big space has enough cover.
House Snakes are pretty awesome, the males are a decent bit smaller than females, and the size depends on the species of House Snake but my Black or Brown House Snake, Boaedon fuliginosus, is one of the smaller ones, is jet black when fired up, and will be lucky to hit 22 inches with the way he eats. Or doesn’t. 3 to even 4 feet is reported for Females.
Now, the fuliginosus are known to be extremely dodgy eaters as babies, and hard to switch to F/T. Mine sure is!
If that’s not your favorite thing to have to work through, get an established eating adult, or other types of House Snake, like capensis, or lineatus. The 'KZN Red" color/locale is my other fave and if i were to go for one that wasn’t Black that’d be the ones. Reach Out Reptiles have a full rainbow of morphs and colors they are raising up so email them or look here on MorphMarket . They’re listed under Other Colubrids despite being Lamprophids, strictly speaking.
They ACT like teeny tiny Retics. Micro-Retics. Curious, active, docile in gentle hands, nocturnal, skittish as babies but not really inclined to being bitey, and they move like a bigger snake in miniature.
I have a male hognose snake that has been a sporadic eater ever since I got him around 3 years ago. However the previous hognose I had (he is now a classroom pet) would eat all day every day. So I really don’t think eating wise, it makes a difference between a male and a female. However females do get a bit stockier but lengthwise I think either would be fine in a 20 gallon long.
I have a Cape African house snake that is also a sporadic eater, go figure. I think house snakes are totally underrated because they are absolutely beautiful imho. However if you do decide on a house snake, I would just go with the ordinary inexpensive brown house snake. They are velvety and beautiful and will probably be the best eater.