Hi everyone! I’m on the path to getting a new MBK next month and by the time I get her she will be ~5 months old. I’ve been doing research on what size enclosure to get for her and just recently learned that getting a bigger tank could be stressful for baby snakes.
My sibling is kind enough to give me their old 40 gallon tank 36"×18"×18" from their bearded dragon who passed years ago, but I’m worried that could be too large and could stress her out. I’ve read and watched only a few claims that a 12"×12×"12" or a 10-20 gallon tank will be suitable for her size.
So I’m hear to ask: what are your inputs on this? Would the 40 gallon tank be doable or should I look for a smaller tank until she is about to outgrow it?
Usually it’s much easier to start with a 10 gallon. You can find the snake easily for feedings and they can figure out the water and hide situations.
It’s not unheard of for some to start their babies in a larger setup, but you do need to make sure there’s multiple water bowls in an enclosure that large for a tiny noodle.
You could always take them and move them to a deli cup or a safe escape proof keeper of some kind to feed while they are small. Eventually when they’re older and used to you it should be easy enough to feed inside the enclosure. If they don’t take a meal from you in the first 15 days that would be a sign for me to move to a smaller setup.
There are some great colubrid keepers here so I’m sure they’ll chime in with advice as well.
I would, as @armiyana suggested, start out with a 10 gallon tank, and no larger. I would also use paper towels instead of loose substrate for awhile. You will be able to monitor for healthy poops. The main reason though is you will not have to hunt for the snake to feed it. I highly recommend feeding the snake in its enclosure. It’s a lot less stressful for the snake. Make sure you have a hide on both the warm and cool ends, with some clutter in between to make the snake feel secure enough to eat.
I recommend feeding frozen thawed. I had a MBK that came to me eating FT. Sometimes young MBK’s want live only so make sure it’s eating FT. I can’t stress that enough. A friend of mine has an MBK that will eat live. Period.
Thank you so much! I didn’t think about the paper towels so I can look out for good poops, that’s such a smart move! I’m pretty sure she’s been fed FT, I’ll make sure to ask all about that when I pick her up, as well as the last time she was fed.