Front or top?

Where do you think a hot terrarium should open from? Front or top? I've been asking different people and some say front others say top. What are your opinions?

A not well defined question in my opinion. You won't have much fun with a 2 meter high Dendroaspis cage opening on top *LOL*

Peter Zürcher wrote:: A not well defined question in my opinion. You won't have much fun with a 2 meter high Dendroaspis cage opening on top *LOL*

Good point Very Happy

O.k. The question won't include the exceptions (big snakes that need very high terrariums)

Hi,

I would say front due to two main reasons which come to mind at this moment:

1. Practicality: if you have front opening cages, you could stack as many as you want on top of each-other...

2. I think any snake would react better to facing you on a similar level than it would if you were standing up on top if it like most of its natural predators...

Except for my plastic cages (ferplast) where I keep my baby snakes, I only have front opening terrariums and have been working like that for many years... I think it's much easier to feed snakes from the front, to take them out of the cage, etc...

I read somewhere that upward strikes are not as accurate as forward strikes. Is this true? I hope you understand me Very Happy

Quote :: I read somewhere that upward strikes are not as accurate as forward strikes. Is this true? I hope you understand me

I'm not sure about this but I'd say that the probability of a snake trying to strike is greater when you're standing on top of it Smile

Because predetors in the normal habitat attack often from the top, I think the snakes are more calm when you take them from the front.
I keep only small and young snakes in boxes or other enclouseres, that can be open from the top.
There it`s more easier to pick them up and you don`t have the problem with openings between the glases.

Front.

Top opening cages are difficult to organize and the snakes seem more difficult to hook and control.

all my cages have openings from the front, for very good reasons. i can see the animals better and it is just a better handling for me...

it might be different if you have only like 10 snakes, but let me tell you, if you got to deal with hundreds, than it needs to be practical, and to me the front openings are better. doesn matter where the snake like to strike...

I keep my live venomous specimens in top opening cages; specifically, glass aquariums with weighted screen tops, which I prefer to be about 30 to 36 inches off the ground. This allows for good visibility, so that specimens can be seen readily and it allows me a minute or so to think about what I'm doing as I'm removing the weights and screen lid before intruding into the snake's cage. Also, this arrangement allows me to stand directly above a live venomous specimen rather than in front of it and that, in turn, allows me to maneuver my hook so that a snake can be picked vertically rather than using the hook to pull a snake towards me. My experience has shown that it is much harder for a snake to strike upwards accurately as opposed to striking out horizontally. Back in my day, if one of my mentors ever saw me pulling a venomous snake towards me with a hook- let alone keeping a live specimen in a front opening cage- I would've been cautioned about the dangers of a specimen bracing itself against the back or side of the cage or some other structure in the cage or using the substrate to gain enough purchase so that it could launch itself forward in a strike that exceeds what would be normally possible if it were in an unconfined, open space. To each their own, of course. I only know how to keep and handle snakes the way I've always kept and handled snakes. Sincerely, Jon Davidson .

I prefer a top opening cage for most snakes. That being said, enclosures for fast moving, large and potentially dangerous species such as Dendroaspis I've always maintained in large, front opening enclosures with provision for a shift box to be mounted on the side.

I've always had safety as my priority, and being able to securely isolate the snake without having to physically interact with it has maintained a great margin of safety for me while reducing stress to the snake. Smaller specimens can be handled in a straight forward manner with a hook from the top, but for a large Gold's Tree Cobra, for example, a shift box is the safest way to maintain it.

Getting a snake into a shift box can be accomplished with a trick an old time reptile keeper taught me- he would light a cigarette, and blow a puff of smoke through a ventilation hole! The smell of the smoke would drive the snake into the box, as it looks for a safe place to hide!

April Mandel wrote:: Getting a snake into a shift box can be accomplished with a trick an old time reptile keeper taught me- he would light a cigarette, and blow a puff of smoke through a ventilation hole! The smell of the smoke would drive the snake into the box, as it looks for a safe place to hide!

Damn, I stopped smoking about ten years ago ...

I use both... I prefer front opening for stacking, etc. but I also prefer top opening for the ease of hooking or sometimes grabbing (i.e. heloderma). It all really depends on the species, the room set-up, and the handler. If there is a question as to what is best, why not use or try both and then simply determine the answer per situation? All animals are individuals and it is quite possible that you may prefer to use both as well. Best of luck!

I suppose Rubbermaid containers in racks, would be considered top-opening. I use a lot of them, and the ones that contain venomous, I pull open with a hook, as you can not see exactly where to snake might be.

But I also have about 45 Neodesha front sliding glass cages, from 2 feet long to 6 feet long, and they are great cages for Cobras. Except for 0.1 Bitis g. Rhinoceros, 1.0 P. rossignolli (sold), 1.0 C. adamanteus x atrox cross, all other 100+ snakes are Cobras and King Cobras.

I have kept several species of New Guinea/Iryan Jaya elapids, as well as some E.A. Green and Black Mambas, and I kept them all in the front opening Neodesha or home made cages.