PVC Husbandry (Animal Plastics, Boaphile, Vision Cages)

[jylesa]

Hey guys! It's been awhile since I've posted on here. I've been thinking about upgrading Bazzy (BP) from his Sterlite bin enclosure to a professionally made PVC enclosure. I am interested in several brands at the moment (listed in the title) and have poked around here. It seems like the consensus falls in favor of Animal Plastics in terms of product quality and customer service. The more I read, I am leaning more and more towards AP as well.

I found this review here particularly helpful: http://www.reptileinsider.com/showth...n-Use-and-Not)

That being said, I have a few considerations I wanted to ask you all about:

1. If I go with the AP enclosure, I'm thinking about installing a radiant heat panel to help maintain ambient temps especially in the winter. However, I am not a handy person. How easy is it to do this?

2. I'm hoping to get a red-tailed boa one of these days. The stackability of the AP and Vision enclosures make this appealing. Considering my current snake (3 yr old, about 1kg), what is the most appropriate size for him? I'm thinking T8 for my BP and T11 if I get the boa.

3. Do you all have a preference for sliding/swing doors? I prefer glass to acrylic.

4. In the review linked above, it says the AP tanks can be equipped with flex-watt; however, it is fixed in place by crimping and using plastic clips. According to the article, it mentions that the use of plastic clips be a little more dangerous. This makes sense, but I've never heard of this happening. What is the best way to remediate this (other than to do it myself...not very handy; not sure I'd trust myself to do it right)?

I look forward to hearing your opinions! Thank you

Attached some pictures of my Baz, just for fun and since it's been awhile

[chrid16371]

I own 3 visions which are v400, v221, and v211. I also own a AP T10.

IMHO the vision cages look more professional, I love the looks of them and the one piece design and would buy all visions if it wasn't for the price. I bought the v211 and v221 used for real cheap and bought the v400 new for around 400 shipped. I could of bought 2 AP T8s for that price. I bought the T10 new in box from someone for a great price. I would of bought the T8 bc I don't need the extra 3 inches of height but I just happen to come across the T10. The T10 has swing doors which I'm not a fan of, I just don't like the way they look and really like the looks and operation of sliding doors. You can use rhps with any of these cages, I do.

Rhps are easy to install, only takes 2 screws. You shouldn't need a uth of flexwatt when using a rhp, the rhp will heat the whole cage. If you buy a 48 inch cage you would want around a 22-24x12 rhp and I set my thermostat to 90 and put it on hot side and get a 90 hot side 80-82 cool side. For any cage you would want a rhp that is about half the length x half the width. You can get rhps from reptile basics or pro products. If you explain what cage, species, room temp to pro products that will tell you exactly what rhp to buy. IMO a rhp is the best way to heat a cage.

Your snake should do good in a AP T8 or v400 with a 80w rhp from reptile basics depending on your room temp. Like I said above you can contact pro products and give some information and they will tell you what to buy, pro products is a little more expensive but make a really good rhp.

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[chrid16371]

If I may add, you should buy 2 large reptile basics hides for your snake when you get a new cage, if you don't have any yet. They are not very thick so the heat from the rhp penetrates good giving your snake the correct temp inside the hide. A thicker hide will have problems getting heat in. Plus they are very easy to clean and provide a dark secure hiding place. I use them for all my bps. I say large size bc my ivory is 1072g and fits in a large quite well so your 1000g snake should have no problem fitting.

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[LittleTreeGuy]

Hey guys! It's been awhile since I've posted on here. I've been thinking about upgrading Bazzy (BP) from his Sterlite bin enclosure to a professionally made PVC enclosure. I am interested in several brands at the moment (listed in the title) and have poked around here. It seems like the consensus falls in favor of Animal Plastics in terms of product quality and customer service. The more I read, I am leaning more and more towards AP as well.

I found this review here particularly helpful: http://www.reptileinsider.com/showth...n-Use-and-Not)

That being said, I have a few considerations I wanted to ask you all about:

1. If I go with the AP enclosure, I'm thinking about installing a radiant heat panel to help maintain ambient temps especially in the winter. However, I am not a handy person. How easy is it to do this? As said, it's super easy. You can pre-drill the holes if you want, it makes it a little easier, but isn't necessary. If you know you're going to use an RHP, get it before you put the enclosure together. It's much simpler that way.

2. I'm hoping to get a red-tailed boa one of these days. The stackability of the AP and Vision enclosures make this appealing. Considering my current snake (3 yr old, about 1kg), what is the most appropriate size for him? I'm thinking T8 for my BP and T11 if I get the boa.

3. Do you all have a preference for sliding/swing doors? I prefer glass to acrylic. I got the glass and really like it. I have heard that over time, the acrylic will scratch and possibly warp. Also, you have hinges that become points of failure. The sliding glass doors are simple, and should never wear out.

4. In the review linked above, it says the AP tanks can be equipped with flex-watt; however, it is fixed in place by crimping and using plastic clips. According to the article, it mentions that the use of plastic clips be a little more dangerous. This makes sense, but I've never heard of this happening. What is the best way to remediate this (other than to do it myself...not very handy; not sure I'd trust myself to do it right)? I decided to use RHP's and belly heat with my T8 as the room can get chilly in the winter months. I instead went with 12" heat tape from Reptile Basics. I got a 2' long piece so it goes from the front to back of the T8. I had RB wire it for me as well, and it was cheaper than the flexwatt from Animal Plastics. I was ordering hides and water bowls from Reptile Basics so that's what I got... I'm glad I did. It's been great. I will say that my RHP provides about 100% of the heat in my enclosure. The heat tape doesn't do much, but should the RHP ever fail, I guess it's there as a backup.

I look forward to hearing your opinions! Thank you

Attached some pictures of my Baz, just for fun and since it's been awhile

I can't see the picture of your snake, as photo sites are blocked for me at work... But I'm guessing it's an adult, so you won't be needed the divider in your T8. I would go with an 80w RHP from Reptile Basics and just install it a little left or right of center, depending on what side you want to be your hot side. That should be plenty as long as your room doesn't drop below 68 degrees or so.

[jylesa]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. I have a secondary question. I currently use the Hydrofarm tstat, but I always hear horrible stories of tstat malfunctions and the horrible things that could mean for my snake and for safety in general. I know this one got decent reviews, but I'm always paranoid. Should I stick with this one or start looking into a new one?

[LittleTreeGuy]

I have no experience with the Hydrofarm products... but I'll tell you that I started with a cheapo thermostat and then upgraded to a Herpstat 2. Difference was night and day and I haven't worried about it one day. I'm definitely a fan of the Herpstat product.

[chrid16371]

I personally would buy a new one if your going to upgrade to a nice PVC and rhp setup, actually I would buy one anyways.

I agree with little tree guy, Herpstats are packed with features the competition doesn't have. They also hold a pretty steady temp instead of shutting on and off which will make your heating device last longer. For one snake get a Herpstat 1 or for 2 get the Herpstat 2. Spyder robotics does make a herpstat 1 basic and Herpstat intro models that are a little cheaper but they don't have the safety relay which IMO is a must for keeping a snake safe. They do make the Herpstat intro + that's a little cheaper that does have the safety relay but doesn't have the features of the others but the casing style is more for being built into a rack or something and only use 2 prong heating devices but would work for a cage. The other models besides the intros are designed to just set right on top of the cage or stand and actually are visually appealing. Vivarium Electronics by reptile basics makes a good thermostat with a saftey relay but you wouldn't want anything less then the ve-200 but it would be worth the little bit extra for the Herpstat 1. I own 2 ve-200, 1 ve-200d, 1 ve-300 and 1 Herpstat 6 and 1 Herpstat Pro (older version of 4) and I love them all and would buy any of them again but for feature per dollar you can't beat the Herpstat and it's not much more then a ve-200.

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[DennisM]

I much prefer the sliding doors. The swing doors offer much more opportunity for the snake to come bursting out when opened at feeding time. I have nearly 2 dozen AP cages with acrylic sliding doors. And I've had a lot them for a long time. Scratching and warping are not a problem at all. I've got T3 stacked 6 high without warping.

[AKA Dave]

AP makes some nice stuff. RHPs are easy to install. As for sliding or dropdown, that's all on you. My personal enclosures are dropdown, but I've done both. Curious as to why glass over acrylic though. I've had no issues with my acrylic doors. I also second the Herpstat 2. Outstanding unit.

Dave

[jylesa]

Thanks again for the replies. I'm looking at the herpstats and I think they may definitely be worth the money with the safety features and the dimmer style of maintaining temps. Thanks for the recommendation!

Hydrofarm is good for what it's worth, but these definitely seem appealing