Another Caging Question

[jtyson123]

Alright I know there are a hundred threads like this, but I want fresh opinions.

I deal mostly with ball pythons, but I have a few others as well. Two big ones now, one of which is a 12ft male tiger retic that I was just given yesterday. He is currently in a 6'x2'x3' glass tank - thats what they had him in and gave it to me.

He needs a bigger house, and so does my female burm. I was thinking about building a double decker type enclosure. Thoughts on measurements were 8'x4'x4'(2' for each cage) I think this should be plenty sufficient as far as size goes, but I am curious about materials.

I build everything I have, because I can't bring myself to pay retail prices for anything. With these big snakes, would I be able to get away with using 3/4" melamine? Or Oak Plywood the same size? I know I would need to seal both options. What type of sealer do you suggest that isn't harmful? Also, as for the doors, I imagine either plexi or lexan. I don't like dealing with glass because I can't cut or drill it myself. If I use Plexiglas what thickness do you guys use? I have 1/2" available but that seems like it may be overkill. Same with lexan, what thickness?

OR...

If anyone knows someone who is getting rid of giant visions or boaphiles for next to nothing I may consider buying them.... Yeah I know its not realistic but may as well throw it out there.

Thanks in advance everyone!

[alohareptiles]

I hope you're not planning on moving it anytime soon and making it in the permanent location...That will weigh a ton with 3/4" melamine and two stories...

Kudos for the idea, but I'd suggest just going for a good 8x4x2 or 3 cage and set-up him up nicely...You can even make it a single story Taj Mahal...Then you can put the rest of the money to feeding that big boy...

[jtyson123]

I am a big guy with quite a few big friends so moving it isn't all that bad. As long as there is pizza and beer, I won't even have to touch it myself.

[tomfromtheshade]

I'm going to make some suggestions based on having built some battleship cages for burms over the years.

1. Make your enclosure smaller than 8' x 4'.
-> You won't really be able to clean a 48" wide enclosure all that well.
-> I would suggest a width of 30" as your maximum width.
-> 84" is the maximum length I would suggest.

comments: Making your enclosure considerably smaller than 8'x4' will also allow you to make the cuts to your material and allow you to easily square all of the corners perfectly. When you design an enclose that is 8'x4' you must rely on the sheet of plywood being perfectly cut, which it never is.

2. Use 1" furniture grade plywood for your enclosure.
-> This will be sturdy enough for large burms and retics.
-> This will not require any type of framing on your part.
-> This will cut well, assemble well, and hold heat well.

comments: Using a higher quality plywood when building your enclosure means that you will have to do less prep work to make the enclosure snake ready. This means less sanding which means that the wood will take your finishing epoxy more easily.

3. Do not exceed 18" in height for your enclosure.
-> Heat rises.
-> Humidity is harder to control in larger enclosures.
-> Higher space is wasted by large constrictors.

comments: In my experience 18" is the ideal height for large constrictor enclosures. You will be able to effectively use radiant heat panels or flexwatt heat tape or both to heat your enclosure.

4. Use sliding glass doors.
-> This allows you to control the size of the opening to your enclosure.
-> This is the absolute simplest door to install, maintain, and repair/replace.

comments: A sliding glass door is preferable to a drop down or swing open door because you control how far you open the cage at all times. This is particularly useful when you are doing things like feeding, cleaning, or pulling eggs.

5. Properly seal and "paint" your enclosure.
-> Caulk should be applied to all of the seams inside your cage.
-> Caulk should be applied pretty heavily to "round corners" to make cleaning easier.
-> Use porch epoxy/enamel to seal your enclosure.

comments: Caulking can make or break your cage. You will learn how to do it well as you go, but you will find out exactly how well you did the first time that your burm takes a leak. When you purchase your porch epoxy/enamel take the advice of the professionals at the place you buy it. Make sure that they know what you will be using it for and that it will have to stand up to high temperatures and humidity.

6. Do NOT build a two story enclosure!
-> Build two separate stacking enclosures.
-> Two identical plywood enclosures will stack easily.

comments: Building a two story enclosure is neither easy nor advisable. You are always better off building two cages that will stack easily. This will allow you to move them more easily and will allow you to repair or replace on enclosure at a time if necessary. This will also allow you to stack additional enclosures if you get more animals.


When you are considering heating options for your enclosure I have to wholeheartedly recommend radiant heat panels. These are the absolute easiest heating sources to install and they do a great job of heating your enclosure. They won't burn your animal and they are very durable.

When you are considering providing water for your snakes I implore you to resist the urge to provide them with a place to soak. I recommend a heavy earthenware bowl that is suitable only for drinking. You can clean the bowl easily and fill it easily and also remove it easily for feeding.

Burmese pythons and reticulated pythons are large and messy creatures. They will rearrange cage furniture, urinate and defecate in copious fashion, and they will feed with the type of enthusiasm that will knock over and break any cute little trinkets that you may think look "nice" in their enclosure. Simple is always best for these monsters.

Substrate choices should be limited to paper products. Newspaper is generally abundant and very economical. In fact, if you learn what days your town and your neighboring towns put out their newspaper for recycling you can generally acquire a veritable ton of it for free in a very short amount of time.

Hopefully some of this advice will help you in your quest to build these animals some proper enclosures. These are just my opinions, but they are opinions formed after years of making mistakes raising Burmese pythons. I don't have a TON of experience with retics, but the housing requirements are generally the same.

Good luck!

[jtyson123]

I'm going to make some suggestions based on having built some battleship cages for burms over the years.

1. Make your enclosure smaller than 8' x 4'.
-> You won't really be able to clean a 48" wide enclosure all that well.
-> I would suggest a width of 30" as your maximum width.
-> 84" is the maximum length I would suggest.

comments: Making your enclosure considerably smaller than 8'x4' will also allow you to make the cuts to your material and allow you to easily square all of the corners perfectly. When you design an enclose that is 8'x4' you must rely on the sheet of plywood being perfectly cut, which it never is.

2. Use 1" furniture grade plywood for your enclosure.
-> This will be sturdy enough for large burms and retics.
-> This will not require any type of framing on your part.
-> This will cut well, assemble well, and hold heat well.

comments: Using a higher quality plywood when building your enclosure means that you will have to do less prep work to make the enclosure snake ready. This means less sanding which means that the wood will take your finishing epoxy more easily.

3. Do not exceed 18" in height for your enclosure.
-> Heat rises.
-> Humidity is harder to control in larger enclosures.
-> Higher space is wasted by large constrictors.

comments: In my experience 18" is the ideal height for large constrictor enclosures. You will be able to effectively use radiant heat panels or flexwatt heat tape or both to heat your enclosure.

4. Use sliding glass doors.
-> This allows you to control the size of the opening to your enclosure.
-> This is the absolute simplest door to install, maintain, and repair/replace.

comments: A sliding glass door is preferable to a drop down or swing open door because you control how far you open the cage at all times. This is particularly useful when you are doing things like feeding, cleaning, or pulling eggs.

5. Properly seal and "paint" your enclosure.
-> Caulk should be applied to all of the seams inside your cage.
-> Caulk should be applied pretty heavily to "round corners" to make cleaning easier.
-> Use porch epoxy/enamel to seal your enclosure.

comments: Caulking can make or break your cage. You will learn how to do it well as you go, but you will find out exactly how well you did the first time that your burm takes a leak. When you purchase your porch epoxy/enamel take the advice of the professionals at the place you buy it. Make sure that they know what you will be using it for and that it will have to stand up to high temperatures and humidity.

6. Do NOT build a two story enclosure!
-> Build two separate stacking enclosures.
-> Two identical plywood enclosures will stack easily.

comments: Building a two story enclosure is neither easy nor advisable. You are always better off building two cages that will stack easily. This will allow you to move them more easily and will allow you to repair or replace on enclosure at a time if necessary. This will also allow you to stack additional enclosures if you get more animals.


When you are considering heating options for your enclosure I have to wholeheartedly recommend radiant heat panels. These are the absolute easiest heating sources to install and they do a great job of heating your enclosure. They won't burn your animal and they are very durable.

When you are considering providing water for your snakes I implore you to resist the urge to provide them with a place to soak. I recommend a heavy earthenware bowl that is suitable only for drinking. You can clean the bowl easily and fill it easily and also remove it easily for feeding.

Burmese pythons and reticulated pythons are large and messy creatures. They will rearrange cage furniture, urinate and defecate in copious fashion, and they will feed with the type of enthusiasm that will knock over and break any cute little trinkets that you may think look "nice" in their enclosure. Simple is always best for these monsters.

Substrate choices should be limited to paper products. Newspaper is generally abundant and very economical. In fact, if you learn what days your town and your neighboring towns put out their newspaper for recycling you can generally acquire a veritable ton of it for free in a very short amount of time.

Hopefully some of this advice will help you in your quest to build these animals some proper enclosures. These are just my opinions, but they are opinions formed after years of making mistakes raising Burmese pythons. I don't have a TON of experience with retics, but the housing requirements are generally the same.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the detail, I will take all of this into consideration and probably change the plans I had a bit. I too have some experience with Burms, but none with Retics. This is my first. I am actually considering just buying some large cages too, so we will see what happens. Thanks again!

[Jadonh]

Just remember that a Retic WILL outgrow the enclosure. i went from a 500 gallon to a 1000 gallon in a couple of years I have pics of it on here. My Retic is six years old and weighs 154 lbs and is 17 foot. I do not over feed or power feed. She is eating a 20 lb rabbit once a month and I am about to switch her over to Pigs so that she will hopefully slow down a bit on her growth . Good luck

[tomfromtheshade]

Just remember that a Retic WILL outgrow the enclosure. i went from a 500 gallon to a 1000 gallon in a couple of years I have pics of it on here. My Retic is six years old and weighs 154 lbs and is 17 foot. I do not over feed or power feed. She is eating a 20 lb rabbit once a month and I am about to switch her over to Pigs so that she will hopefully slow down a bit on her growth . Good luck

A 20 pound rabbit? That's one bad a** rabbit. I don't think that I've ever seen one that big.

[jtyson123]

Just remember that a Retic WILL outgrow the enclosure. i went from a 500 gallon to a 1000 gallon in a couple of years I have pics of it on here. My Retic is six years old and weighs 154 lbs and is 17 foot. I do not over feed or power feed. She is eating a 20 lb rabbit once a month and I am about to switch her over to Pigs so that she will hopefully slow down a bit on her growth . Good luck

Good lord a 20lb rabbit? I have never seen a rabbit that big. Just so you know though, pigs don't slow growth. That is what my burm is on.

*Edit* I had a hard time believing someone was actually feeding rabbits that large. So I checked out what I could find... this article makes me think 20lb rabbits may be a bit far fetched or maybe some sort of special home grown breed nobody knows about http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/giantrabbit.asp