cage size

[J.huff23]

I picked up the cage for my corn snake today. i dont know if its big enough for a full grown corn. It is 2 feet tall and 22 1/2 inches wide. I hope it is big enough. I hear corns can get 4-5 feet in length.

 

[J.huff23]

Forgot to mention that the cage is octagon shaped.

 

[JohnEDove]

To my knowledge there are two primary schools of thought on cage sizing for medium bodied terrestrial snakes.

The first says that the snake should be allowed 1 square foot of floor space per foot of snake.

The second says that the minimum side to side floor space should be 3/4 the length of the snake and the minimum front to back floor space should be 1/3 the length of the snake.

 

[J.huff23]

So is my cage too small?

 

[JohnEDove]

Well I guess that you would need someone better at math than I to calculate the total floor space of an octagon but if you are starting out with a baby then it would be fine. If you want it to live in there it's whole life it is to small.
Just off hand I'd say it would be fine until the snake hits about 3 feet which should happen at about two years of age.

 

[J.huff23]

I was going to get a snake about 3-4 feet. How long can it be in the cage untill i get the money to buy a new one? And what are the consequences for keeping it in a cage that is too small?

 

[reverendsterlin]

a 20 gallon long aquarium is often used for adult corns with no problems.
Rev