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Top vs. Front cage
- Thread starter ara35
- Start date
AshleyShadows
It piss me so bad.
I don't think that one would necessarily be better than the other if properly used. I certainly prefer ones that open from the top just because there's no view obstruction as there is with front opening. I like a clear look at my babies.
Teddy Roosevelt
i loev cronsankes
Front-opening lids are generally for racks. For a corn snake hatchling, which will spend a large part of it's time at the bottom of it's tank, it could be an easy escape route - or an easy way to accidentally snap off a wandering tail or head. Top-opening lids are much easier to find, anyways.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
For adults, I only have one top opening viv, the rest are front opening. That's mainly because the front opening ones are easiest to stack - I wouldn't have the floor space for all top opening ones.
I've never found any disadvantages to either, other than with one male who tried to squash between the sliding glass doors and managed to crush himself. He's the one in the top opening viv. Have to say, that's a very unusual situation.
Hatchlings I always keep in smaller ExoTerra type plastic tanks or cricket tubs (for the very young ones) with lids that snap on and off securely.
I've never found any disadvantages to either, other than with one male who tried to squash between the sliding glass doors and managed to crush himself. He's the one in the top opening viv. Have to say, that's a very unusual situation.
Hatchlings I always keep in smaller ExoTerra type plastic tanks or cricket tubs (for the very young ones) with lids that snap on and off securely.
Floof
New member
Front-opening: More convenient (though this may be a bit of a subjective comment). Rather than having to reach in from the top, you can reach straight in through the front... When you have to move things, it's horizontal movement rather than the more precarious vertical movement. It also helps when dealing with the snakes themselves... Not having to "lift" heavier/skittier animals; being able to "scoop" instead... For that matter, a hook is much easier to maneuver with a front-opening enclosure than it is with a top-opening if you have an aggressive and/or massive snake. (Oh, how I wish I had a front-opening enclosure for my Beauty. I think it would cut the stress of hooking her out of her tank in half!)
Top-opening: Don't have to worry about setting things against/in front of the enclosure. Don't have to worry about doors getting in the way (though where you put the tank lid while fussing with the tank is a different matter). Can rest/attach branches/decor to the front of the enclosure, rather than carefully tailoring decor so it doesn't have to rely on the front wall. (This really is the only downfall of my larger front-opening enclosure... I would much like to turn the large branch around for the top to be at the front, but, by the very nature of a front-opening viv and the style/weight of said branch, I cannot.)
Given the choice, I'd go front-opening all the way. I only have two at the moment, but they're definitely a million times easier to deal with than tank enclosures. (IMO, at least.)
Top-opening: Don't have to worry about setting things against/in front of the enclosure. Don't have to worry about doors getting in the way (though where you put the tank lid while fussing with the tank is a different matter). Can rest/attach branches/decor to the front of the enclosure, rather than carefully tailoring decor so it doesn't have to rely on the front wall. (This really is the only downfall of my larger front-opening enclosure... I would much like to turn the large branch around for the top to be at the front, but, by the very nature of a front-opening viv and the style/weight of said branch, I cannot.)
Given the choice, I'd go front-opening all the way. I only have two at the moment, but they're definitely a million times easier to deal with than tank enclosures. (IMO, at least.)