What kind of boa cage? Try this!

[Gio]

Let me start off by saying these are my OPINIONS and my experiences. There is a multitude of other cages that are made well and beautiful. I wrote this review a while back and I did it to help others that may be on the fence or genuinely interested in a cage like the one I bought.

For a first time buyer an internet purchase of a product like this is difficult as there is no way to measure quality or compare things physically. You end up flying blind or on recommendations of others.

The recent post about caging made me think about this post, and I am posting to HELP people, not just to blab about a certain cage although I HIGHLY recommend the product. I decided not to "link" to the site I originally posted on and just copy and paste here. Some things inside my cage have changed and my snake is much bigger now but everything is still in great, working shape! No, I would not change a thing.

Here is the post:





When I decided I was going to eventually add a second snake to the collection, I knew I had to make my choice as affordable as possible when it came to the cage. I ran through the top plastic cage manufacturers. Initially I was dead set on a preassembled unit that had everything already installed. I did not want to worry about piecing a cage together, figuring out placement of heat tape, heat panels or lights or any kind of wiring. I am not a "handy man" and don't have a lot of spare time. I certainly felt I had my cage decision made until I began to look at size and pricing.

I am by no means an expert when it comes to snakes, but after looking at what I thought was the perfect plastic cage that I could justify buying, I could not get over the fact that the height of the cage was going to be 7" less than my son's 18" Royal python glass Critter Cage.

I decided in order to get a taller cage, I'd maybe consider some of the "assemble yourself cages". That decision opened up a whole new set of options and price points. After looking at what I felt were my 4 best options, I looked at which cage gave me the most space for the best price. I decided I could buy the interior items for heat and light separately and concentrate on the cage itself. Although, I knew I wanted a lock on the cage and saw I could pay $8 for a lock with a Pro-Line or $20 somewhere else something I took note of as locks seem simple enough.

There are a lot of good "chat forum" posts about cages and I read through them carefully noting positive and negative feedback. One thing I started to focus on was the actual plastic used to make the cage. I never gave it any thought up front until I read people's experiences with ease of cleaning, stains, retained smells and durability. I like quality when I buy something, I will pay a bit more money to get quality if I need to. Oddly, the price of the cage I started to focus on was not more because of "good plastic".

At a glance all seemed equal except the plastic when I was looking at my last two choices until I did the math and the SHIPPING cost was calculated into the mix.

Still there were some questions I had, and that's when the customer service part came in. It didn't take long to have e-mails, texts and even phone calls answered quickly and professionally by Ed. I was quite impressed when I was told NOT to spend extra on a shelf, or a background which saved me money and took an easy sale and extra $$ out of his hands. I was thinking, "Wow he could have told me to buy all of that stuff."

I finally decided on my cage. It was the Pro-Line 48" x 23" x 14" for a male BCI. Ed suggested using 1 heat source, a radiant heat panel, and he set me up with Bob at Pro-Products for that. I had decided I'd figure out a light later.

I DID NOT KNOW ED PRIOR TO THE PURCHASE. I DO NOT NOW WORK FOR PRO-LINE.

This post is basically a reflection of how happy I am with a great product and service. I also want others who maybe are in the same spot I was to see how things went. After all, it was the reviews by others that helped me.

Delivery was faster than I thought and communication was excellent throughout the purchase.

This is what arrived.


It was packaged nicely and intact upon arrival.


No work shop needed for assembly. I used a dining room table. There are only a few screws to put the cage together. The cage slides together and sets up quickly. I followed along with the assembly video posted on the Constrictors NW webpage.




The setup was very fast. Once you are at this stage, you can seal the inner seams which is very easy, and then concentrate on the top of the cage and placement of your heat panel (if you use one) and your lights.



Ed provided the perfect length screws for the heat panel. It was VERY easy to mount as was the LED strip light I purchased.


It was finished quickly. I did wait 1 day for the sealant to set up before putting on the top and screwing down the top panels the bottom panels were screwed in prior to sealing.


The rest is up to you. The cords and thermostat probes fit easily through the rear vents in the upper right and left hand corners on the back or the cage. I used a template to mount the perch holders evenly. I saved money because Ed advised the perch setup would work better in this cage than the shelf for my heating plan.



I was not asked to post this info. I posted to help people address the issue of caging that may be on the fence or concerned about self assembly.

I am completely satisfied with the product and service and I want to pass along my top rated experience.

I have contacted and been contacted by Ed since the purchase. He is a nice guy and has a lot of information. Certainly I would do this all over again, plus I have a new friend to BS with about snakes. That says a lot considering my hobby is his day to day business, and lots of people want to forget about work when the day is done.

Feel free to PM on this board if you have questions.

[Rickys_Reptiles]

Really nice setup! Thanks for sharing