# Unusually-sized tank Question



## emmyred18 (9 mo ago)

Someone is offering to sell me a tank of dimensions I've never seen before. I'm thinking of adopting a corn snake - I've been wanting to for a while, but now I've actually found one in particular. He's four years old and about 2.5-3 feet long at the moment. The tank someone is offering to sell to me is an old chameleon tank. The dimensions are 22 high by 30 across by 12 wide/deep, meaning it's about a 34-35 gallon tank according to the math. Is that a good size for a corn snake? Or is it too tall/odd-proportioned? Here's a picture.


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## Fizzy1991 (8 mo ago)

I personally think it’s 2 small for a adult corn have you not thought about morning geckos or crested geckos will work for I’m not a lover of top opening enclosures my self tho find them a pain in the arse 😎👍


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## Elly66 (Feb 27, 2021)

Minimum for an adult corn snake would be 3ft x 2ft x 2ft. Glass tanks are not great, you'd definitely need to cover 3 sides of one. You'll need a way to supply heat and I also provide uva/uvb, though not all keepers do. Heat mats aren't great, heat really needs to come from a lamp, che or similar.


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## spigotbush (Feb 8, 2019)

far too small and glass tanks are awful for a lot of things. i would personally advise you find a wooden/plastic viv or build one from scratch (its not that bad) and give it a reasonable space. a corn will really enjoy a varied environment and it will reward you with a much more interesting pet. keeping it in a cramped space where you only ever interact with it from above will likely give you a frightened and nervous animal.
i have a corn in a wooden 4ft high, 20" tall and 2.5ft deep and i would hate to put him in anything smaller. if it hadnt been for current money issues i was planning on having him in a 6ftx2ftx2ft by now. i keep him semi naturalistic with soil, branches, platforms, overhead heat and potted live plants. he is out on show up on his shelf almost all the time and curious about anything going on around him and he uses every inch of that viv.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

What is it with so many posts where people are looking at using glass fish tanks to house a snake or lizard. Glass tanks make awfully vivariums for several reasons (seems we have to repeat them again as people can't be bothered to use the search function to find previous discussions on the same subject). Poor ventilation, poor heat retention, problems with humidity levels, not to mention access from above which most reptiles read as a threat.

To the OP, you are in the US where PVC sheeting can be picked up from any large home depot type store. If you can't find a company in the US that make traditional vivarium's then make your own from 18mm (3/4") PVC or melamine faced particle board. An adult corn, being active snake, will use as much space as it can. 60" x 18" x 18" would be ideal. A 48" x 18" x 18" would be the absolute minimum I would consider for a Corn snake


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

I bet that chameleon didn't last long in that viv!!

While we all agree that wood or UPVC is far superior to glass for vivs, it's always worth bearing in mind that in the US, glass tends to be the standard material used. My understanding, which may be wrong of course, is that wood vivs are really not readily available over there.


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## QWERTYOP (Apr 5, 2021)

Malc said:


> What is it with so many posts where people are looking at using glass fish tanks to house a snake or lizard. Glass tanks make awfully vivariums for several reasons (seems we have to repeat them again as people can't be bothered to use the search function to find previous discussions on the same subject). Poor ventilation, poor heat retention, problems with humidity levels, not to mention access from above which most reptiles read as a threat.
> 
> To the OP, you are in the US where PVC sheeting can be picked up from any large home depot type store. If you can't find a company in the US that make traditional vivarium's then make your own from 18mm (3/4") PVC or melamine faced particle board. An adult corn, being active snake, will use as much space as it can. 60" x 18" x 18" would be ideal. A 48" x 18" x 18" would be the absolute minimum I would consider for a Corn snake


Seems to be the preferred method in the US for many. Availability seemingly the main reason. Agree they’re a poor option though.
OP - Way too small for a corn. 4x2 minimum IMO.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

ian14 said:


> My understanding, which may be wrong of course, is that wood vivs are really not readily available over there.











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Or that they are grossly over priced - $400 for a 30" x 16" x 16" !!!!!









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That's more competitive - 4' x 2' x 1.5'

There are more... so PVC vivs aren't quite as rare as rocking horse poo !, but yes it does seem common to see glass enclosures being used as the default material in the US


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## QWERTYOP (Apr 5, 2021)

Malc said:


> Buy Premium Reptile Enclosures Online | Kages
> 
> 
> Our premium, custom reptile enclosures are as functional as they are beautiful and modern. Check out our easy assembly guide, and order yours today!
> ...


I wouldn’t be surprised if my next viv was PVC even though they are silly expensive. The sides of my wooden enclosure are starting to warp very slightly.


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## Elly66 (Feb 27, 2021)

Malc said:


> A 48" x 18" x 18" would be the absolute minimum I would consider for a Corn snake


Yes, definitely a preferred minimum. My size was going on absolute basics. Something I've learnt with my Royal is that we drastically under estimate vivarium sizes needed.


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

A 36 x 24 x 24 viv actually gives a larger volume than a 48 x 18 x 18, while giving the same surface area


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