Very interesting…might be worth trying, to see if snakes will adjust and learn or sense where to go when cool, hot, etc. After that…why not try to develop it (make sure you speak with a lawyer first!)? I reel when I think of all the advances in my lifetime, and recently. Someone took a chance on habittrails, and so many other innovations…

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

I was just wondering how you’ve been; nice to hear from you. I haven’t seen anything like that, but wouldn’t be surprised if people were doing it for rodents…haib-trail type material is available; some larger pet stores here in NY have some pretty expansive set-ups. Naked Mole Rat colonies cover many acres in the wild, and in zoos they take very well to large plastic tube exhibits; however, they have pretty strict temp/humidity requirements, and are sensitive to vibrations – and not in pet trade….yet! actually, a very unique fellow in NYC had them in his personal collection years before they were seen in any zoos here! He was also especially good with ants, termites, designed zoo exhibits for colonies, so Mole Rats were “a natural” for him.

I’ve not seen anything with snakes, although buried plastic tubes are sometimes as sub-surface tunnels in exhibits.

What are you planning?

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Have you ever heard of anyone using tubes of sorts to allow either snakes or a small rodent(perhaps robo hamsters) little highways out of the cage so they could travel round the home? Kind of like the habitrail thing but on a larger scale. I’m assuming not just any clear plastic would work for the rodents as I think would would chew threw polyvinyl tubing given time.

~Joseph

Nice to hear from you again. Great idea, I’m sure many would take to it but servicing would be difficult without some nifty construction. I’ve always wanted to spend more time with Sunbeams myself; I’ve found Eastern Worm Snakes on a few occasions and toyed with the idea of trying them as well, but not yet…

Many snakes spend more time below ground than most realize. Friends who followed radio-tagged Eastern and Black Pine Snakes found that they were fairly deep below ground most of the time; the root systems of dead conifers seem essential to the survival of the very rare Black Pine Snake.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks for the info on 1 way glass – explains why it hasn’t been used much in zoos. Red light and the newer blue-black lights work very well for some creatures; in fact, the nocturnal animal exhibit at the Bronx Zoo was called the “red light house” years ago.

Reactions vary greatly by species – I’ve kept nocturnal frogs and rodents that would become active at the same time each day, even if lights were left on (during after hours tours at the Bx Zoo, thousands of house mice would emerge in certain exhibits at the usual “lights-out” time!); a green iguana I kept remained on its exact wake/sleep- schedule for 6 months despite being kept under lights 24/7. Fish and inverts, some mammals tend to keep foraging if slightly lit when in dark enclosures – for mole rats, we once installed tiny white lights within a red-lit exhibit, which worked well. Not sure about habituation, but would be likely for mammals…lots of nocturnal species will forage on cloudy days, or even bright days when hungry, etc.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Interesting on the use with naked mole rats. After some further reading it appears that one major problem with using it for burrowers is that the viewer from the lighted side is the one who cannot see through the glass(while the viewer on the darker side can see through). I suppose if you have any particularly shy(but diurnal and ok with light) animals one way glass would be useful to allows viewers to look into the enclosure from a darkened exterior.

I’ve heard in many places that many animals have difficulty seeing in the red part of the spectrum-thus the use of red bulbs for nighttime heat(apparently diurnal lizards can see red, however). If one way glass would not be appropriate-what of red tinted glass?

Actually, do most of the animals you’ve tried this on(reptiles, amphibs, etc.) seem much disturbed by bright light in their normally pitch black tunnels?(would they habituate to it over time if perhaps light intensity was gradually increased?) Tarantulas as you already mentioned will tend to web up the sides.

All the Best
~Joseph

Your comments are always top-notch, keep them coming!

Great idea…We use tinted glass for Naked Mole Rats at the Bronx Zoo, and I’ve seen it elsewhere; slipped my mind when I was writing, thanks. I can’t say I’ve heard of one way glass being used…not sure why – now that you mention it, seems very worthwhile. Perhaps I’ll have a chance to bring it up in a future zoo project – I’ll let you know.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Hope this isn’t too many comments for you from one person-just that I’ve been brooding a few more ideas lately.

Have you ever heard of one way or tinted glass being used for these kind of enclosures(or enclosures for sensitive animals?). Might make the animals feel secure while they are actually in plain sight.

Thanks!
~Joseph