Plastic Cages for adult BP

[Jamie]

I know this was covered a while back, but I wanted to hear recent opinions and experiences.

We're considering a quality plastic cage--likely 36x24x12/14--(one that holds heat/humidity, safe, easy to clean, and durable) and are playing with 3 primary (familiar) choices: Boaphile, Animal Plastics, and Pro Line. They are about the same price-wise, so I'm interested in the features/use aspects.

Please let me know your experiences, pros/cons, recommendations. I'm particularly interested in your heating experiences. Have I left out an option (live in Michigan) that I should consider (btw, it'll be easier for me to care for our BP with all my fingers, so I'm not making my own cage

thanks in advance.

[Xeperxi]

I know this was covered a while back, but I wanted to hear recent opinions and experiences.

We're considering a quality plastic cage--likely 36x24x12/14--(one that holds heat/humidity, safe, easy to clean, and durable) and are playing with 3 primary (familiar) choices: Boaphile, Animal Plastics, and Pro Line. They are about the same price-wise, so I'm interested in the features/use aspects.

Please let me know your experiences, pros/cons, recommendations. I'm particularly interested in your heating experiences. Have I left out an option (live in Michigan) that I should consider (btw, it'll be easier for me to care for our BP with all my fingers, so I'm not making my own cage

thanks in advance.

I have 4 Animal Plastics enclosures: (2) 48x24x12" and (1) 48x24x15" and (1) 48x24x24" AP is a great companies to deal with and their prices are good. Any questions I had my e-mails were answered promptly. The enclosures took 5-6 weeks from time of order to be at my door.

The quality is awesome. Extremely heavy duty, light weight and quality materials. Easy to put together too, although I would highly recommend using a cordless/electric drill, there are a lot of screws! lol

[Egapal]

I have a Showcase cage and I have lots of specific points about them. My friend has a reptile basics cage which is very similar to the ones you listed as possible choices.

The following is my two cents. For the record I think that animal husbandry in general is subject to the specifics of the person and the animal. Whats right for me may not be right for you.

36" long by 24" deep is a great size. Any deeper and it would be hard to clean. Any wider is not needed and less than 36" would not be as convenient for hides and water bowl. Height of the cages is debatable. Many people will tell you 12 because it takes up less space and is all they need. I would agree if your criteria for buying is the least space taken up and what the snake needs. I tend to not care about the space taken up as I have 3 snakes and although I may get more it won't be enough to matter. If you plan on having a enough snakes that 18" high is too much space then chances are you should get a rack. 24" is too high. My snake tends to climb and fall. Whats most important to me is getting the most visibility to the enclosure without being too large for the snake. I think that 18" is just about perfect.

As for cleaning, security, getting your snake out, changing water, plastic cages are awesome. I find it a little harder to deal with a refusal of a live rodent. What I mean is that its easier to remove a live rodent from a tub or a tank than it is a side opening enclosure, in my experience.

For heating I think I come out in favor of radiant heat panels. This really depends on the temp of the room that you are keeping enclosure in though. The plastic for my cage is much thinner than expanded pvc so I feel that a UTH is more effective for mine.

That's all I have.

[ravenx99]

I haven't has the opportunity to use one, but I like the design of the enclosures by Neodesha Plastics...

http://www.npicages.com/

I really like the slant-front design for better visibility.

They used to make them years ago (one is pictured in The Ball Python Manual), but discontinued them until recently.

[purplemuffin]

Bryan Hummel uses those for his snakes, and they seem to do pretty well in them! I like how they look like a display but still save plenty of space!

[Jamie]

I haven't has the opportunity to use one, but I like the design of the enclosures by Neodesha Plastics...

http://www.npicages.com/

I really like the slant-front design for better visibility.

They used to make them years ago (one is pictured in The Ball Python Manual), but discontinued them until recently.

I like the looks of them too and love the idea of one-piece molded. The slanted window is great for viewing, though our BP does the BP-thing all day, so we'll just be getting a brilliant view of the her habitat. I still like the idea of a radiant heat panel and wonder how the different shape would affect its ability to create a hot spot/gradient. It's the only cage we'll have, so space and stackability is not a big deal.

Price-wise, they're about the same, though I see that the good modular cages from Pro Line are a bit less expensive (b/c the price includes shipping).

[Vypyrz]

I have recently been looking at PVC cages, and talking to some of the manufacturers. I'm leaning more towards the Pro-Lines for two main reasons:

1) They use a high density plastic, which is supposed to be easier to clean, because they claim it is chemical resistant and nothing will stick to it. The only down side that I can see with that is if you are using hot glue to keep probe wires secured, the glue might not work.

2)The other thing that I like about Pro-Lines are that they are assembled with interlocking dovetail joints, with very few screws.

It's hard to say that one is better than another because everyone has different tastes, as to what you prefer and how much you want to spend. Some companies like Boaphile, Vision Cages, Neodesha, Repti-Racks, and Showcase Cages ship their cages assembled, so due to the bulkier size, shipping charges are higher. Companies like Pro-Line, Boa Master, and Animal Plastics ship their cages dis-assembled to save on shipping, but the trade -off is that you assemble them, and since more hardware is needed to assemble them, they are usually made of thicker materials, which makes them a little heavier. They all pretty much function the same way. It's going to come down to which of the little details that each company puts into their cages that appeal to you the most.

[babyknees]

I haven't has the opportunity to use one, but I like the design of the enclosures by Neodesha Plastics...

http://www.npicages.com/

I really like the slant-front design for better visibility.

They used to make them years ago (one is pictured in The Ball Python Manual), but discontinued them until recently.

I have three and I love them. They're super light weight when you take the tempered glass off. I love this because it means I don't need help to deep clean cages. I ran into issues trying to fit 2 of these hides in one of them - they don't have that much depth. I like their doors because you can open them in the middle or any of the sides and slide the glass all different ways. It's great if you've got some snappy snakes.

I also have a cage from PVC Cages. I like that one too but it's heavier than the NPI cage. I like the way it looks a little better...I'm partial to the black plastic look. It's also got little "handles" on the sliding doors making them a little easier to open. The smudges I leave all over the NPI cages drive me insane. I think these might hold humidity a little better than my NPI ones but just because mine have the two lamp cutouts.

I also might be getting a Vision cage soon so I'll be able to give some feedback on those as well.