Tent enclosures for reptiles - new product

[Caitlin]

Some of you know that there's a community of keepers who have modified grow tents for plants into enclosures for various species of reptiles. These have worked quite well for years now, though a good amount of DIY work is required to modify the grow tents to allow for reptile- and keeper-specific needs.

One of the members of an active Facebook group devoted to this method of keeping has spent the last few years working on developing tent-type enclosures for keepers, and he recently put up a website announcing their availability. I thought I'd share it here (I hope this is OK but admins please delete if it's not).

I'm sharing this as an FYI and not as a recommendation, as I haven't yet used these. However, tents have been extremely successful as enclosures for a variety of species, and appear to be good at maintaining both humidity and temperatures. I know multiple keepers who have been using tents for some time (including a friend who has been keeping his 11-foot Spilotes in one with great success), and I have tormented them with countless questions - to date, I am confident that their enclosures are very good. The prices on these things are far less than PVC enclosures, and I do plan to try using one for my young Morelia bredli. I'll definitely report back - even if I don't ultimately use it as a long-term enclosure, it'll still be a good enrichment space.

The creator of these enclosures is a very nice guy who loves reptiles and is open to discussion, questions, and suggestions. I love that folks like him continue to innovate, improve, and provide more husbandry options.

https://reptiletents.com/

[Lord Sorril]

How would you maintain ambient temperature in one of these vs. the room temperature?

[Gio]

I like the concept. It appears the cages are based on proper outdoor or indoor ambient temps and humidity levels.

As far as permanent housing, I am not sure if the cages would work in environments where it gets very cold or dry.

I would have concerns adding any type of heating source. Fire hazard issues need to be addressed concerning the materials used for making the cages if they are stating heating sources can be added. Maybe that's been done? I looked at the link and I didn't see information about things of that nature.

I do like the fact you could bring a pet outside in the right conditions and feel fairly confident you could leave it for an hour or two.

[Homebody]

Here's their Youtube promo video.

[Bogertophis]

Here's their Youtube promo video.

Very interesting- they've come a long way from just re-purposing the tents made for growing plants.

[Malum Argenteum]

Some things that stand out to me:

The FB group for this product ("Reptile Tent's") is a private group. That's a little strange for a product page.

I would not trust velcro to hold a reptile. Enclosure security is no place to skimp. Just one high profile escape by a snake in a velcro tent would not be good for the already poor public perception of herp keepers.

Based on this video, the tents have a steel tube framework that is inside the tent. Steel rusts, for many herps and in many reptile rooms. Also, disinfecting that tubing would be much more challenging than disinfecting a sealed PVC enclosure.

Based on that video, the tent part simply fits around the tube framework (as opposed to, say, being sleeved). This presents an unacceptable risk of an animal getting trapped between the tubes and the tent (I have a few experiences with herps getting themselves stuck in poorly thought out caging details). For me, that's simply a 100% dealbreaker.

Flexible vinyl sheet is much more of a heath risk than PVC, as it contains large amounts of plasticizers that include heavy metals (lead, cadmium) and phthalates (rigid PVC contains no plasticizers). These tents look to be made overseas, and I very much doubt that this is a regulated product (as is, say, children's toys).

In my opinion, we need to raise the bar for keeping herps, not lower it.

[Bogertophis]

I'm so glad for your input, Malum Argenteum- I've been too busy to think much about them in depth, but I was thinking the same thing about the security of velcro.

[Homebody]

When I saw the promo video, the velcro door shocked me. Glad to see that I'm not alone.

[Malum Argenteum]

When I saw the promo video, the velcro door shocked me. Glad to see that I'm not alone.

Yeah, my worry isn't so much that Velcro is inherently weak, since I've encountered some strong stuff (when it is newer, anyway -- and an enclosure should be a longterm piece of equipment). My worry is that any design that allows a herp (I'm thinking primarily of snakes here) to get their nose into an opening even a little bit will be an invitation for the snake to work that spot until they find their way through. All it would take is one sloppy closure (corner not quite snug; a wrinkle in the material) on the part of the keeper and the snake will figure it out.

Judging from the promo video you linked, the manufacturing quality looks to be not very high (unraveling material, poor stitching), so I'd expect at least some trouble spots in the enclosure itself, too. That would be something that would become more apparent as more people use them, but like I mentioned it would only take one escape in the news to start some 'snake keepers keep dangerous animals in plastic tents, by Jove!' thing. Better if someone would come up with a titanium enclosure with three locks on it (and two keys, like the missiles on a submarine), if only for public perception.

[Bogertophis]

With a soft-sided enclosure that gives a little when pressed, it's much more likely that a velcro closure won't securely adhere enough to contain a nosy snake, since you can't have one hand pressing the outside & another holding it firm from the backside.