caging idea...not the norm

Most of my tanks are turned sideways like you are planning to do and they work just fine. I don't have any stacked on top of one another except my small 15 gl. on top of the 20 gl. The rest are placed sideways into the shelving unit I have because I couldn't fit them any other way. Without a little lip of something to keep in the substrate though, the stuff tend to end up in the lip where the screen lid slides, or it spills on the floor. I haven't found that to be enough of a problem to want to do something about it though. My new house is going to have a dedicated snake room so I'm hoping my husband will build me proper wooden cages for all the snakes that will be a uniform size and shape.

Originally Posted by MegF.

Most of my tanks are turned sideways like you are planning to do and they work just fine. I don't have any stacked on top of one another except my small 15 gl. on top of the 20 gl. The rest are placed sideways into the shelving unit I have because I couldn't fit them any other way. Without a little lip of something to keep in the substrate though, the stuff tend to end up in the lip where the screen lid slides, or it spills on the floor. I haven't found that to be enough of a problem to want to do something about it though. My new house is going to have a dedicated snake room so I'm hoping my husband will build me proper wooden cages for all the snakes that will be a uniform size and shape.

i would be interested to see how you have yours set up if you dont mind

Originally Posted by Billybobob

The bottom of a glass tank holds most of the weight when full of water. The glass pane on the bottom is also normally thicker than the sides unless you are using a tank that is made for reptiles then the bottom is also made of the same thinner glass as the sides. I was trying to help you avoid stress fractures from having to much weight on the sides.

This info comes from working at Central Garden and Pet Supply (A pet and garden supply where house). They were very strict about how you were supposed to stack glass aquariums because if you stacked them on there sides they the ones on the bottom would get stress fractures and be useless.

I have know doubt that you can do this but just be careful of how much weight you put in it and you might want to add support to the edges that have no support.

i understand you are trying to help, i appreciate it
i also dont want anything to happen like stress cracks.
which is why im researching first before doing anything

you said that tanks made for reptiles have the same thickness glass all around... wouldnt it be just as prone to cracking no matter which way you put it then?

Originally Posted by NYCrestie

i understand you are trying to help, i appreciate it
i also dont want anything to happen like stress cracks.
which is why im researching first before doing anything

you said that tanks made for reptiles have the same thickness glass all around... wouldnt it be just as prone to cracking no matter which way you put it then?

The main thing that stops the stress cracks on the bottom in glass vivs made for reptile is the fact that the bottom has suport on all for sides. Plus many glass vivs for reptiles also have a support on the bottom that gose down the middle of the glass.

I'll try to post a picture this afternoon. I have to take a picture.

Laying a tank on it's side is not out of the norm for reptiles. It has been used with some regularity with chameleons, arboreal snakes and arboreal tarantula's. There should be no problems structurally with what you are doing as you are not putting water in the tank . . . duh!

D80

Also be careful of the screen front. Snakes tend to push against screen and develop nose rub. Maybe plexiglass would be better there.

Originally Posted by BeckyG

Maybe plexiglass would be better there.

No, it wouldn't. You gotta have some space for air flow, and even plexi with holes drilled in it will not allow enough air flow to keep the humidity down.

Do make sure you have the screen top locked down effectively as the snake could potentially have more leverage to push against it. As for nose rub, it sounds like you're putting in a plexi 'dam' at the bottom to hold in substrate. The bottom is where most of the rubbing typically takes place in my experience . . . that and the edges.

D80

He is talking about putting the screen across the front as the door, just above the plexiglass dam. At least that is what I understood from his post. I would still be concerned about nose rub. I have a snake that has it from pusing against the screen TOP of his cage.

When I was a child, before I knew any better, I kept a snake in a wire mesh cage. He pushed all over that cage, not just along the bottom.

Originally Posted by BeckyG

He is talking about putting the screen across the front as the door, just above the plexiglass dam. At least that is what I understood from his post. I would still be concerned about nose rub. I have a snake that has it from pusing against the screen TOP of his cage.

Correct, I'm not sure what I said that may have indicated I thought otherwise, but okay! I also didn't say not to be concerned about nose rub, but covering the front of the tank with plexi would not be the answer. You wouldn't have nose rub to worry about, but you would most likely have scale rot and potentially mold and fungus to worry about. I'd rather deal with 'potential' nose rub. I currently have 6 cages with screen tops and 3 homemade cages that have tin 'screen' as tops . . . not a single case of nose rub in 5 years (probably 20 some snakes through those cages at various times). That doesn't include the snakes I kept well before my children were born . . . which were all in tanks with screen tops (no nose rubbing problems).

But nose rub is a different conversation entirely. So, on topic, yes you can lay the tank down sideways, yes I'd put in a 1 1/2" plexi damn to hold in substrate, yes I'd use a screen top on the front which should be locked down (or locked sideways in this case! ).

D80