Building Enclosures.

As a lot of you may of seen, I built my own enclosure in the DIY forum.
I was looking at a lot of the cages at Repticon today and I was thinking, I can build better cages than that and probably be able to charge less. Shipping from Fl to Ca (furthest I figured) is only $35 for 50lbs.

IF I were to start a business building and selling cages, do you think it could work?
Also, would creating a 'flat-pack' IKEA style cage be a good idea? This would cut down on volumetric shipping and allow the buyer to feel they did the majority of the work in building their snakes enclosure, as well as allowing them to customize them (surface finishes etc...)

I have to bump this. More than 40 views and no replies :(

Hi,

Well, to be fair, it's quite a complicated question. :confused:

A lot of it depends on your designs and materials - for example if you went with the flatpacked design how would you adise people to seal the cages or would they be racks where no sealing would be required?

Have you worked out how long each would take and given yourself a liveable hourly rate as well as all the materials and tool expenses?


dr del

it sounds like a cool idea, but i'd need more info. like, a lot more.

materials, what kind of tubs would it use and what sizes, how does it hold heat/humidity, does it move well, does it use tub lids?, what kind of heating, cost, etc.

Shipping is a lot because the racks weigh a lot. I'd say my fully assembled 6tier rack from AP (economy line) weighs more than 50 pounds without any snakes in it. they yse 3/4'' stuff and it is almost indestructible.

The flat pack ones would be completely finished, all someone would have to do would be put the provided screws in the correct predrilled holes.

My approach is going to be more of a custom one, in that a customer would tell me their ideas and what they want. I'd create a 3d model on the computer to get the design they want and then build it. I also already have all the tools I need due to working in construction. Price and 'salary' from a cage would depend on the complexity the customer wants and size and material. I'd just advise the customer to what I feel is best.

The humidity in the last cage I built stays between 45% and 50% so I mist it, but I know what I did wrong there. The cage is way too tall so there is hardly any humidity at floor level in comparison to the ceiling, which is unfortunately 16" above the snakes head. But as I said, I have learnt from that experience.

I was looking at cages at Repticon this last weekend and I just figured I can build better cages for better prices. It's something I enjoy doing, and if I make a little money doing it, why not?

Hi,

I would have thought you would need a bead of silicon sealant along all internal edges at the very least to prevent problems with the snakes waste, spilt water and good hygene? :confused:


dr del

cages NEED to have a dry-out period. Average relative humidity needs to be up there for BPs, but if the cage is never aloud to dry out you're going to end up with a lot of problems;

- belly rot/scale rot
- respiratory infections
- mold/mildew
etc

Would this be a custom CAGE or a custom RACK or? Because most people with bps don't put them in cages. I'd say of the 3 options (rack, glass and cage) cage is the least used one.

Would you be making these for balls specifically or larger snakes or smaller snakes?

I think, if you do the math as completely as possible, you'll find that you either can't sell your cages for less than what the big cage makers do, or you can but you will be much less profitable than they are, even relatively. Keep in mind the time you spend building the cage, packaging it, etc. It's fine if you can sell your cages at a reasonable price, but if you make $1.38 an hour doing it...

I'd also say that wood cages are in less demand than xpvc. Will you be able to compete with companies that can provide a lighter, seamless product?

Do I think it's possible to start a business making cages? Sure... But I think you'll lose money for the first few years, especially while you're trying to make a name for yourself.

My suggestion? Figure out what it would cost to build a cage and then post an ad on Craigslist or Kijiji or whatever is most popular where you are LOCALLY. Hopefully you get one or two people interested, you build them cages, and then you know how well your business plan works without such a significant stake in it. Don't worry about what it will cost to ship a cage across the country until you've been shipping them across your city!

Keep up the work though either way, your cages look good, even if they're only in your home.

I'd do both racks and cages.
And I appreciate the input from all of you, this is definitley giving me something to think about... I think my market would definitely be snake owners such as myselves, ones with only a few snakes and who are relatively new to keeping them.
Also, I'd build the cages for whichever type of animal the customer has. With a little modification, the rabbit hutch I'm building could easily be used to hold snakes.