Reptile Husbandry

[Chris89]

Hi, I thought that I might just throw this out to the members of APS to gather their thoughts and opinions on the different methods of housing reptiles.

In the last few days there has been alot of discussion about what you should be keeping your snakes in, ( eg, enclosures, click clacks). I have had discussions/debates on msn messenger with someone from APS - ( well they've been banned.. 3 guess who ) They seem to think that there's only 1 method to housing snakes ( pythons in general ) the correct way.

So. . The question is - ( What do people find better keeping their pythons in, A) Click Clack or B) Enclosure ) Also if you could please explain your reasons as to why you have come to this decision.

I have been told by a few people that hatchling snakes cannot handle going into an enclosure very well, and should be in a click clack up until they're around a year old. Does anyone have any proof of this or personal experience?

I can understand that reptile breeders keep their hatchlings in click clack containers, as it takes up less space and is easier to manage ( hygiene wise ) Also the fact that the hatchlings in question are generally going to be sold within 1 - 3 months of them being hatched.

What I don't understand is : ( Hatchling pythons/snakes cope better in click clacks than enclosures ) How have ( you ) come to this conclusion? I know that the majority of reptiles that we buy are captive bred - excluding some states. However, a hatching snake/python isn't born in the wild and then placed into a click clack. Yes they may hide under rocks etc to feel secure, but that still doesn't justify as to why click clacks are considered better than enclosures for younger snakes.

In reference to this topic, I've had a few people criticize me for putting my Stimson Python into an enclosure when she was at a young age. People informed me that it would stress her, cause her to go off feeding, make her become aggressive and have problems shedding. I didn't see how that could be possible if I provided the correct heating, and pleanty of hides so if she felt insecure she could hide.

In my own personal experience, my Stimson Python appeared to be happier when I moved her into an enclosure, the enclosure wasn't that big - Length: 60cm, Width: 60cm, Height: 65cm. Soon as I placed her in the enclosure, she went straight up into the branches and started exploring her whole new enclosure. Every afternoon to evening she'd be out sitting on her branches, exploring etc. Around 3 weeks after I put her into the enclosure she shed ( around the same date as her last shed ) it was a perfect shed, and she still had a very strong feeding response ( she even has the same feeding response to this day, even in the new bigger enclosure ) From my own personal experience with moving her into the enclosure over the past 8 months there has been no negative signs from moving her into the enclosure.

Before anyone says anything about Ziggy escaping from her new enclosure the other night, it's my fault that she got out ( not necessarly because of her size ) the newspaper that I had along the gap wasn't thick enough, so - Yes I take responsibility for that, and now it has been corrected and she cannot escape from the enclosure.

If anyone decides to read all of that, could you please post your own personal experiences with different methods of housing pythons, and let me/ everyone else know of the outcome of your choice.

Chris

[hornet]

for juvies i prefer click clacks because of 1) price 2) hygene. Takes me only a minute or 2 for a quick clean, a little longer if they have deficated. For larger snakes click clacks is what i use but going to get some nice melamine enclosures soon. I only use newspaper, gets rid of spot cleans which still leave bacteria, you change the entire substrate each time.

[spilota_variegata]

Click clacks for juveniles for the same reasons as Hornet. One more pro for click clacks is security. Has anyone ever had a juvenile escape from a click clack before? I honestly don't think putting a small snake into a larger container/enclosure will stress it so long as you provide safe spots (hiding spots) for it and ensure it gets sufficient warmth.

[Dan123]

i use click clacks for juvies for mostly same reasons listed above but also because i have seen hatchy stimmis and even a hatchy cape york carpet squeze through the gap where the glass overlaps on full enclosures.
i do have a darwin hatchy from last season in a 2x2x2 enclosuure and has been in there for last few months. he seems as happy as can be. eats fine, comes out a lot and is very placid.

[Chris89]

I thought that more people would of commented on this thread.

I found that if you put really thick newspaper inbetween the gaps, so it's wedged in really tight the snake cannot push it out, ( the last newspaper that I had in wasn't really tight ) The new newspaper now you have to really force it in or out.

[Dodie]

But why would you go to the effort of putting newspaper in there every time? Especially seeing as it always isn't effective, you could end up losing your pet..

I wouldn't risk it

[CASHO_B]

well i just got my new snakes and they are 9 month old macs and i put them straight in their enclosure 1mtr l x 50cm d x 60cm t and they are fine, i went with opening doors to eliminate the fact of the snake being able to get through the gap in between the 2 pieces of glass. the snakes went straight in the enclosure in hides and after half an hour and then explored the enclosure and now they hardly even use the hides they curl up on the branches in full view and don't mind.

[ace#74]

i find click clacks easier for hatchies never tried them in larger enclosures the way i see it why buy big fancy enclosures for little snakes that will be just as happy in a smaller enclosure if you have one or two snakes it may be all good but if you breed its not cheap to provide every hatchling with a large enclosure.as for adults i use large enclosures

[Logan & Allana]

I use click clacks or tiny hatchie enclosures for my smaller guys. 1) I find them to be less aggressive 2) they don't escape 3) most hatchies I've found go off there food when placed into a bigger environment (I know there are exceptions to all these but more times than not this is what I've found. I haven't had a baby snake stressed due to being in a click clack or hatchie bay although I have had stressed snakes from going into a big enclosure and like stated so hard to make sure there's not a gap anywhere (cause they are escape artists). Each snake is different so if anyone wants there snake in a enclosure then try it as you can always place your click clack inside the enclosure if need be but personally definetly click clacks or hatchie bays for me (I love the hatchie bays cause there like a mini enclosure, you can see your snake and they don't stress).

[dickyknee]

I always use click clacks for the first few months , i normally keep the click clack inside of their permanent enclosure , and after a few months i just leave the lids off their click clack , they will come out on their own after a few nights , and they always go back in during the day for a few weeks , once they dont use the click clack any more i remove it ...


I did this with my diamond hatchies too , one still uses his tub and i leave it in there for him to use , the other two climbed up onto their branch and never came back down hehehe.

On the other hand i put some bredlis into a bigger cage and they did seem to get a bit stroppier than when they were in their click clack , i found that in the cage they were very defensive and would both strike a lot when you went near them , but back in the click clack they calmed down quiet a bit ...... would still bite etc , but did seem less defensive . the cage was a childrens cage so it was not huge ...

as for the gap , i use a plastic strip from bunnings , i silicon it to the inside piece of glass so it cant be knocked off , never had any escapes as it sits tight against the outer piece of glass .

[noidea]

When we first picked up stella she went straight into an enclosure, and within a month became the snappiest lil chainsaw around. but as soon as we took her out and put her into a click clack she settled really well. she is the most placid and calm snake now and also when it comes to cleaning it is soo much easier to clean click clacks then a huge enclosure. in saying that if you want something a little more asthetically appealing then a plain old click clack the plastic hood aquariums are handy and still quite cheap at around 11 bucks each(we use these for our young coastals)

[JJS.]

I use enclosures, even for juvies. Provide plenty of hides and well setup and they have all loved it. Always exploring and have absolutely no problems. Click clacks are cheaper and take up less room, but space isnt really an issue for me.

[Chris89]

Originally Posted by JJS.

I use enclosures, even for juvies. Provide plenty of hides and well setup and they have all loved it. Always exploring and have absolutely no problems. Click clacks are cheaper and take up less room, but space isnt really an issue for me.

Same.