Taking care of reptiles can be a very interesting choice of pet. They may not be as affectionate and playful like most furry pets, but you can you watch their mysterious movements and behavior, which is quite exciting. And for the most important part, when people see taking care of reptiles, they may see you as a cool or brave person. However, once your pet snake starts to want to get out of its cage, then this could be a problem for you. We all know that once your pet got out of its cage, it could be both a problem for you and your neighbors. So the solution for this is using the best snake cages for your pet snake.
Contents
- Choosing the Right Cage for your Pet Snake
- The Size of the Cage
- 4 Types of Cages
- Top 10 Best Snake Cages
- 1. Exo Terra All Glass Small-Tall Terrarium
- 2. Zoo Med Laboratories Medium Terrarium
- 3. Exo Terra Short All Glass Terrarium
- 4. Zilla Reptile Starter Kit
- 5. Exo Terra All Glass Medium Wide Terrarium
- 6. Exo Terra Faunarium
- 7. Reptizoo Mini Reptile Glass Terrarium
- 8. Reptizoo Reptile Glass Double Hinge Terrarium
- 9. Reptile Transparent Container Box
- 10. Tetra Deluxe Kit
- Conclusion
Choosing the Right Cage for your Pet Snake
Choosing a pet snake can be one of the best pet reptiles to put on display, especially if they are properly housed. Aside from your pet snake, the caging is also the most important part of the said display. So in this article, I will only mention choosing the best cages for snake, I won’t be talking about other stuff like hides, accessories, or water dishes. However, I might mention a bit of it just a dictation of how a snake cages is used.
The Size of the Cage
The size of the cage will depend on your pet’s body length and its species. You should consider the overall size of your pet, but so as its activity level. Like for example, a Black Racer snake is more active than a Ball Python, this means that it’ll need more room in its cage. For the generic rule of the thumb, the length of the cage should be around ¾ of the length of your snake. This is not a perfect formula, but it helps give you a starting point. So if your snake lives in a cage that is smaller than ¾ of your pet’s total length, then that cage is too small.
Remember, if you choose a cage for your snake, you should get the one that is at least ¾ of your snake’s length. But if you are to use a lot of cage accessories, or other displaying materials, you should get a much bigger cage, bigger than ¾.
4 Types of Cages
For some reptile owners, the best snake cages for them would be the plastic terrarium. While for some, the glass terrarium is the best for them, especially if they are planning to display their pet in their homes.
So here are the four types of reptile cages:
1. Wire/Mesh Cages
This cage is virtually impossible to control the humidity and heat inside a wire cage, so it is not recommended to use this type of cage as their long-term housing. But using a wired caged can be used as a temporary housing for snakes, you can place them in a wired cage temporarily while cleaning its main terrarium.
2. Glass Cages
If you are planning to put your pet snake on display, using a glass terrarium would be your best choice. Glass terrariums are relatively light for its sizes and very easy to clean. But it can also pose a few problems especially for beginners, glass cages are expensive, breakable, and keeping the right temperature of heat and humidity can be a bit difficult for beginners.
But as long as you make your research on how to maintain the right temperature levels, then you and your pet will be okay.
3. Wood Cages
There are a lot of reptile owners that provide their pets with custom-made cages, they often make a custom cage made from 60-70% of glass then 30-40% of wood. However, custom-made cages can also pose a few problems, like:
- It can be a fertile breeding ground for different kinds of bacteria.
- Some custom-made cages have rough edges, and some are smoothed down.
- Wood-made cages are much heavier than the glass ones. It can be hard to move around the house.
- Wood cages, especially those that have a mesh wire front, can be hard to keep the right humidity and temperature.
- Every time a wood cage gets wet, the highly likely that the wood will warp.
4. Plastic Tub Cages
Nothing beats the cost, durability, and size of a plastic tub cage. Plastic tubs are lightweight, easy to clean, and highly durable if used properly. But like the other cages, plastic tub cages also have a few downsides.
- It’s quite hard to see the snake with a plastic cage, therefore it’s not a good choice for display.
- Plastic tubs aren’t the best choice of snake cages. Snakes require heat, therefore, you’ll use a heat bulb. Plastic and heat are not a good combination.
- The plastic tub’s lid is not secure enough when closed. So you’ll need to use a bungee cord to secure the lid.
Top 10 Best Snake Cages
There is a lot of type of different size, shapes, and styles of cages or terrariums for snakes, and like all other products, some products are better than the others. So deciding on the best cage for your pet will highly depend on its species, activity level, and size.
To help you out, I have reviewed ten different kinds of cages that will suit your pet’s need best:
1. Exo Terra All Glass Small-Tall Terrarium
Terrariums that are manufactured by Exo Terra are made from high-quality materials, a lot of reptile owners purchase their products. This glass terrarium has a raised bottom frame, it is where you can place a substrate heater for your pet.
The glass terrarium’s doors have a dual lock, making it an escape-proof for your pet. You won’t have to worry about your snake escaping or being unnecessarily opened by children. The terrarium’s front window has ventilation, which is good for your pet’s comfort and overall health.
Also, it has closeable inlets to keep the tubes and wires at bay. This will keep the wires from hanging all over the place and will not get in the way.
2. Zoo Med Laboratories Medium Terrarium
This is an open screen cage that can be the perfect home for small species, if a medium-sized Zoo Med cage is too small for your pet, then you can look for a much bigger terrarium.
This snake cages has a large front door that can give an easy access to its interior, the cage also has a bottom door that will make the removal of substrate easy. All of the things that you need in assembling this terrarium, will only require you to use a screwdriver. This terrarium can provide plenty of ventilation for your pet, with its glass windows it will allow you to see your pet snake in its natural habitat.
3. Exo Terra Short All Glass Terrarium
Here is another well-known product of Exo Terra, it is made from high-quality glass that will surely last for a long time. With this terrarium’s short and wide structure, this will be a much better housing cage for your pet snake.
Like the previous cages, this also has front opening doors which will make it easier for you to feed your pet. This can also help you easily clean out your snake cages. The bottom side of this enclosure will enable you to fit in a substrate heater, this will depend on you if you want to use a heater to heat up some of the enclosure’s flooring for your pet.
4. Zilla Reptile Starter Kit
This is an ideal habitat for reptiles that are dwelling in the tropical area. The Zilla Reptile Starter kit is a perfect kit for beginners, the kit includes a cage with a 20.25 x 10.5 x 12.56 dimension, 5.5’ reflective dome, a heat mat, and an analog thermometer gauge.
The included materials are necessary when taking care of a snake or other kinds of reptiles. The dome light fixture can help keep your pet warm and healthy and provides light as well. The use of a thermometer gauge is important to help you monitor the temperature of the enclosure. Heat is important for snakes to help keep them warm and active.
5. Exo Terra All Glass Medium Wide Terrarium
This terrarium will allow you an easy access in its internal for maintenance, feeding, misting, and heating. Since it has two doors, you can keep the other one close while the opening the other while you feed or maintain the cage.
This cage is already included with a natural looking rock background, so you don’t have to look for other backgrounds for the enclosure. But if you prefer to change it, then you can freely do so. This has a waterproof base so you can create a water feature if you want to. Since it has a fixed front lower panel, it will allow you to put a deep layer of the substrate for your pet snake.
6. Exo Terra Faunarium
If you are looking for a plastic tub cage, then this would be your best choice. This is ideal for transporting your pet, as a temporary housing, or when it’s time to take your pet snake to the vet.
This plastic tub cage is equipped with an easy-grip handle to make it easy for you to carry around. It also has a top clear window open for a simple placement or removal of pet. Aside from that, this Faunarium is easy to stack, disinfect, and to clean. However, since this tub is small it’s only good as a temporary housing, do not use it as your pet’s main home.
7. Reptizoo Mini Reptile Glass Terrarium
The top of this cage is made out of a metal screen to help provide enough amount of ventilation for your pet. With the metal screen on top, you can use a heating bulb on top of it to provide your snake’s heating needs. This enclosure is water-tight, that means that it can hold water without causing any leakage.
The said cover is designed to be a feeding a port, as well as a visual of your pet. The sliding has a unique function of lift and pulls which is quite simple and convenient, this would help keep your pet secure.
8. Reptizoo Reptile Glass Double Hinge Terrarium
Here is another Reptizoo product for your pet snake. This enclosure has a strong, durable screen on top, it helps provide a proper ventilation for your pet, and it could allow the penetration of UVB and Infrared lights into the terrarium.
Infrared and UVB lights are also necessary when taking care of a snake, heat, and light will help keep them healthy and will make their skin more healthy-looking. Like other glass terrariums, this also has a raised bottom to allow a substrate heater to fit below the enclosure. Also, the bottom of the enclosure is waterproof.
9. Reptile Transparent Container Box
Here is another plastic box cage for your pet, but unlike the previous plastic tub cage, this one is much bigger and can be an ideal cage for your pet snake. This transparent reptile container box can be used as a terrarium, nursery, animal pen, and a pet carrier.
It has a solid and durable structure, made to last for years, and complete air ventilation for your pet’s comfort. The box also has double sided opening doors, making it easy for your feed, and also maintain your pet’s enclosure.
10. Tetra Deluxe Kit
The Tetra Deluxe Kit is actually made for aquatic animals, but you can also use it a reptile’s enclosure. If you are looking for a large terrarium for your pet snake, then this is what you are looking for.
This terrarium has a dimension of 30” x 12” x 12” inch, you can even place a big python in this enclosure if it fits. This Deluxe kit includes 2 dome lamps for heat, perfect for maintaining warmth and providing a basking spot. Snakes also bask once in a while, or every day. With the tank’s huge size, you can heavily design this snake cage without worrying about the amount of space that will be left.
Conclusion
So there is your list of best snake cage that you can choose for your pet snake. Follow the guidelines above so that you can get the best type of cage. Make sure that you get the right size to keep your pet comfortable, having a small space can stress your pet.