Snake size = what tank size ?

[Droptines]

When starting off with a new snake,what is the general rule for viv size.I have 2 tanks that I could use for now,a 10 or a 30.
How big is too big for a 10 and/or how small is too small for a 30 ?.
As far as UTH goes,,can you use "things" between the tank and the pad to get the temp where you need it.For instance;surface temp on viv warm end is 85,,a thin mag in between drops it to 81...would this work ?.

[Lennycorn]

When starting off with a new snake,what is the general rule for viv size.I have 2 tanks that I could use for now,a 10 or a 30.
How big is too big for a 10 and/or how small is too small for a 30 ?.
As far as UTH goes,,can you use "things" between the tank and the pad to get the temp where you need it.For instance;surface temp on viv warm end is 85,,a thin mag in between drops it to 81...would this work ?.

What size snake are you talking about? A 10 gallon will do for a hatchling. And as it gets bigger you could move it to the 30 gallon one.
As for the "thing" you could use between the tank....The best set up would be a thermomstat connected to the uth and a thermmeter with a probe. Do a search on the subject and you will find lots of info.

[BeckyG]

There is no such thing as too big of a tank. After all, wild snakes aren't limited to a 20" x 12" space. Just be sure to provide plenty of places for the hatchling to hide. The rule I use is that the snake shouldn't have to go more than 2/3 its body length before finding another place to hide. This will make him feel secure.

My king snake Onyx went directly into his 40 gallon tank as a hatchling. Now, two years later, he seldom even goes into his hides, even sleeping out in the open. He is very secure in his environment.

[BOO!]

I was going to start with a smaller viv, and get a larger one when needed; but I got such a great deal on a 40gal viv I just went with that. The snake has lots of hides, and with about 2" of aspen substrate to crawl through, he is just fine. He burrows all over the place, so he can actually traverse the entire tank 'under cover' if he feels like it.

Ditto on the thermostat. You might be able to fiddle with placing 'things' over the UTH to get the right temperature, but for real peace of mind (and safety of your snake), why not get some definite control over the temps. I also think it would be much simpler than the latter, too.