Enclosure and/or Rack System?

[CassLobs]

Hi all,
My collection of reptiles is growing all the time and I can't help myself by scanning the classies and Snake Ranch as well as other sites for 'the next one'.... I have a classroom with 5 pythons in there already and they're all in large enclosures such as the ones below except for my little hatchie who's still in a click clack. As you can see, they take up a fair bit of room. I'm not a breeder and have no interest in breeding them at this stage. I just love them for their looks and personality.

From what I've read so far, snakes prefer dark, hidey places and rack systems provide this small space hence they should be quite happy and content in there. Other's say they prefer to live in an environment replica to their natural environment and enjoy the exploration and stimulus of an enclosure.

Questions:

1. Are their particular snakes that prefer an open enclosure rather than a rack system or is it just us who want to be able to view them i.e. prefer plants, climbing vines, lights, and the view of us?
2. Do you purchase rack systems online pre-packaged or is it better to build your own with specific size boxes for the size snakes?
3. How does the heating/cooling work in rack systems without lamps. I live in Weipa, Cape York (average 35C every day) but they're in air-con most days in our classroom so I maintain temperature with lights, heat mats and position.
4. Can I rotate the snakes from rack to enclosure or would this be horrible for them?
5. Would changing from an enclosure to a rack system adversely affect their temperament?

I appreciate your advice and assistance,
Thanks
Cass

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View attachment 308550Oh my this looks amazing!!!! You can order them for any size and they click together to make a tower. You can see how some suit arboreal etc .... Love this idea

 

[andynic07]

Hi, firstly your last attachment doesn't seem to be working on tapatalk. Secondly I would like to say that I think that setup in the classroom is a wonderful idea and I love it but how does that work with licensing? Do you put the classroom as your home address? I don't have any experience with racks sorry so can't answer your queries but loved what you were doing and wanted to ask a couple of questions of my own.

 

[CassLobs]

HI Andynic07, I live in QLD so have a QLD reptile license with my home address as their primary place BUT I also hold a Permit to house animals in the classroom from the DEHP and have to identify every animals from my license which will be temporarily houses in the classroom. I also have wildlife rehabilitation permit for both addresses and the ranger checks on them to ensure quality assurance and that I'm meeting the requirements. I also have to have all my licenses and permits on display at the front of our building. Once all of the permits have been aquired then I had to do the CARA (Curriculum and risk assessment) which was about 40 pages long as you can imagine which my principal had to sign off on. Let me know if you need more info i.e. links to get them yourselves. Cass

 

[andynic07]

That is excellent that they allow this , I think animals can be an excellent tool for education and helps improve reptile awareness (safety). I don't have a need for this type of permit so will leave it at that but may PM you at a later date if anything comes up.

Cheers
Andy