New equipment recommendations for four-snake setup?

[merrickmonroe]

Hey folks! I don't really post much but I've learned a lot from just lurking the boards over the years, so thank you for that. I've hit a wall in my hobby and thus, I come to you directly for some guidance.

My roommate and I currently have a collection of four snakes: 3 corns of varying ages (2-5 years) and 1 ball python (3 years). 3 of these 4 snakes were rescues/rehomes, so our current set up is... well, it's rather hodge-podge. You know how it goes. What I need advice on: how we should move forward in making sure our set up is SAFE for the snakes, but the most efficient/practical in terms of equipment.

Current: four tanks, two with UTHs (because that's how they came to us and what the snakes were used to) and three with overhead heat lamps (the 1 tank w/o has a UTH). Any lamps are plugged into an electrical strip that is plugged into a timer; any UTHs are plugged into a *separate* power strip and are always on. We do monitor ambient temps and humidity and everyone is good there! Sheds are normal, everyone is friendly. But I know we could do better... and be safer.

I'm a little overwhelmed digging through older posts, so if anyone can give some guidance for how to properly set up a 4-6 snake arrangement, I would be very thankful!

 

[KornHole]

so it sounds like the tanks with lights only get heat when the lights are on and being on a timer, when the lights go off, so does the heat. That could present problems for some snakes.

Also, not all snakes have the same requirements. A corn snake will prefer 82 to 88 degrees (85 nominal) whereas your ball python would do better around 90 to 95 (92).

A few degrees can make all the difference in the animal's health and well being. You shouldn't try to spit the difference for example and keep all the snakes in the same environment.

Many people with more than a few snakes like to keep them housed in racks. Instead of heating 5 individual tanks, you heat the entire rack.

 

[Dragonling]

Considering you only have four snakes, you could even build your own rack with roomier tubs than the average breeder uses, with taller tubs giving ample room for climbing branches and such. Since you said 4-6, I'm going to assume you might plan to increase your collection? You could set up two small racks set to different temperatures by species, perhaps 4-high for the corns in case you decide to pick up another one, and 3-high for the ball python to give you room for two more. It can be hard to plan for specifics if you're thinking about bringing in more rescues/rehomes, but it'd be a start.

Another option is just keeping them all in the same rack and supplementing with a small heat pad for the ball python just to boost the temperature a little bit.