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My New Custom Cage
Hi
Alright, so after couple of weeks I finally finished to build my new custom cage.
It's two cages. Top and bottom. Both cages have layer of insulation behind the white plastic sheet. Hopefully the heat will stay in the cage.
Both cages will have a heat lamp. you can see the square on the left side of each of the cages.
The bottom cage have a swing doors and the top cage have sliding doors.
There is vent on the left and the right side of each of the cages and there is lights too...
The bottom cage will host Chuck (my BP) and the top one will host another BP (will get it next week).
What do you think?
Thank you
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2F7XyvheO.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FeQtDVJq.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FIuUmbCe.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FbLmG87x.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FoNOSvIT.jpg
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Overall very cool, I especially like the lighting, are those rope lights? Also, and it may be silly, where did you get the round vent covers? I see those on builds but don't know where to get them or even what they are called to search for them.
My only concern is the flexwatt on the bottom. A: you can't have it on the interior, very high likelihood of causing burns and of malfunctioning due t moisture exposure. And B: I'm wondering how it's wired. It's hard to tell from just a photo by it looks like youre tapped onto one side instead of both.
Dont mean to be overly critical, very cool setup.
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Thank you.
Well, I was worry first about the heat mat but then I found this. I bought it in reptile expo here in Portland.
It doesn't get very hot and its coated with polyurethane so it should be ok.
Lights.
Round Vent
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My New Custom Cage
A couple questions.
Im not sure what the blue color i see is on the top enclosure floor, i first thought Plexiglass with a 1"-2" space above the White PVC floor but i might be 1/2 asleep still. If if is Plexi with a space thats not a good idea at all. The weight of the snake will make it sag/snap even if its supported some how. Liquid will also leak out in between the floor and the sliding door. If i were you, id ditch the Blue Plexi if that's what it is, use the regular floor (siliconed good on all corners and joints) and make a Front Lip to hold piss/spilt water, from dripping under the glass doors. For heating i'd buy 2) $60 - $80 RHP Pro Panels. No inside Flexwatt (sealed or not) IMO.
Heat Lamps & CHE's take away all your Humidity & make it hard to get heat down low enough into a enclosure that is higher than 15".
(Not sure what your interior dimensions are.
The build itself is cool. Id just think about those couple options. You might even come up with some better idea's for the things I mentioned.... [emoji1360]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I like your creativity and how you are creating your own personal look, it does look pretty cool. They are pretty tall for ball pythons, I would think they would be better for an arboreal snake and you could add some really cool branching across each level to make for a really cool display. Maybe something to consider in the future.
My main concern is a few design flaws. The biggest problem imo is what Sully mentioned about the bottoms of the enclosures. If you don't add a lip in front and seal them all the way around you are going to have a serious fluid leaking problem. Piss and tipped water bowls are going to be a nightmare, it will be a mess! It shouldn't be hard to fix but don't put snakes in them until it is because all its going to take is one piss and it's going to seep in anywhere that isn't sealed making it near impossible to clean and get rid of the smell. You could probably get away with the heat mat in the enclosure but I wouldn't do it. It will be a pain for cleaning. I know some of them are sealed and made for that but the snake will have direct contact so you increase your chances of the snake getting burned. A thermostat is a must either way but you absolutely have to have one with a probe attached directly to the heat mat if it is in the enclosure! Keeping the probe on it inside the cage will be another issue because the snake will be knocking it lose, making it a higher chance of burn again. I would try looking into a different heating method, the heat mat in the enclosure is going to cause more issues than it's worth. The other issue is the swinging doors. Do you have a way to firmly secure them? You need to or your going to have a snake escape. Make sure you get these things sorted out before you try keeping the snakes in there.
Otherwise, cool looking enclosure.
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Thank you for your feedback, I more than appreciate it.
You guys mentioned to have a front lip to stop the liquids from touching the sliding doors.
Can you guys give me a link of what you meant? I would like to buy one before putting Chuck there.
You also mentioned to to get RHP Panels. I did read some info about it online but couldn't understand the different between the RHP and UTH.
Thank you!
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I like the lights! Looks like a really nice arboreal enclosure to me too.
RHP goes on the ceiling and heats the air/ambient temp. UTH just heats the floor surface. But if you're using heat lamps, you wouldn't need an RHP, unless you have humidity problems.
The only big thing that stands out is definitely don't put that heat pad/tape inside the enclosure. One pee or poo on it or the thermostat probe, and it will make the heating inaccurate and potentially burn the snake. Or the snake moves the probe off the pad. There's a reason why people always say to put UTH/flexwatt on the outside.
Also just in case- never use tape inside the enclosure where a snake can touch.
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