Enclosure Sizing

[Slytherin00]

Ok so my friend who has a couple of snakes, told me that when getting an enclosure for them e.g/ Fish Tank it only needs to be half of what the full grown lenth of the snake will be. I then did a quick google, most sites seem to reflect his opinion

So like seeming I'll probably only be getting a snake which is 1 metre once its full grown, does that mean i would only need a half a metre tank. Because when I was looking at some tanks, I saw like the average 60cm long tanks and thought that looked way to small espcially once you but like decorations and two hides and a water bowl in

So is it true? an enclosure only needs to be half the size of the adult snake.

 

[Albino93]

They can be kept in tanks of that size but the better option is to keep them in tanks that run the full body length of the snake, for example a childrens python normally grows to about 3 feet in length, so the tank size should be 90x60x60(cm).
As Flaviruthless said below, the bigger is always better, imo 90x60x60 should be the minimum size for childreni, i dont like seeing animals cramped up.

 

[Flaviruthless]

Legally that is true. I think that it is cruel though so I think that it is best to go with as large an enclosure as you can fit (within reason).

 

[Rowie]

The bigger the better, within reason. Half the length of the snake is generally the minimum recommended, but any creature would rather live in a larger space than a smaller one.

I tend to overdo it myself. My 2 year old yellow faced turtle who is 15cm SCL has already been living in a 6x2x2ft tank for months, even though he could technically have stayed in his 3ft until he was 20cm SCL.
I'm looking at getting an olive and already decided his final enclosure will probably be 6x2.5x3ft or more when s/he's big enough.


EDIT: What's the general consensus on keeping 2 or more species of snake in the same enclosure? I'm talking about an olive plus a jungle python to be specific.

 

[Icarus]

The rule you heard is a good minimum, but it's always better to have the tank a bit larger. It depends as well on the species - an arboreal (tree swelling) species like a diamond will want the larger length to be vertical, while a terrestrial (ground dwelling) species like a woma will want the larger length to be horizontal.

 

[Slytherin00]

Ah I thought it was better to get it a bigger one, the others just seemed fat to small.

And wow and Olive Python their massive, I think the biggest snake I will get will probs just be a BHP

 

[Rowie]

Olives are my favorite. Back in Darwin we had one on our road that was between 4-5m long. Been in love ever since! But yes, I'm also VERY aware of how huge an enclosure I'll need for a full grown one and I have the space for it.

 

[Xeaal]

The bigger the better, within reason. Half the length of the snake is generally the minimum recommended, but any creature would rather live in a larger space than a smaller one.

I tend to overdo it myself. My 2 year old yellow faced turtle who is 15cm SCL has already been living in a 6x2x2ft tank for months, even though he could technically have stayed in his 3ft until he was 20cm SCL.
I'm looking at getting an olive and already decided his final enclosure will probably be 6x2.5x3ft or more when s/he's big enough.


EDIT: What's the general consensus on keeping 2 or more species of snake in the same enclosure? I'm talking about an olive plus a jungle python to be specific.

Please forgive my ignorance as I am a bit new to herping, but doesn't the larger snake generally ..um.. snack out on the smaller one? And I think for an Olive Python, I'd just forget the tank and redo the spare room lol

 

[Hazordous-Herps]

And I think for an Olive Python, I'd just forget the tank and redo the spare room lol

No thats only for scrubies haha, anyway if you ask for enclosure size your going to get very different answers. This thread seems to be leaning towards the "bigger within reason" which is my preferance, but you will never get one solid answer as most people have different views on this topic.