AP cage set up quetions

I have finally saved up the money for an AP cage, but I have some questions from those of you that use them. I'll start by saying that I have a particular set up that I like and that works for my snake now and I want to transfer that to the new cage somehow.

- What is the best heat source? I only use thermostat controlled CHE's right now and they work great, but I'm not sure the AP cages wire cut outs can handle that temp. (I really don't like the radiant heat panels very much from previous experiences)

- On that note, are the reptile basics hides thin enough for heat to pass through and warm the hide without cooking the top? (his hot hide currently is an upside-down terra cotta pot with the bottom hole enlarged as the entrance)

- Can an UTH even be used with the plastic cage? And if so, how do I keep the hide temperature up given that I use deep (1-2 inch) substrate since he burrows on occasion?

- How easy are they to custom drill for thermometer / thermostat probe placement?

- I know you have to assemble and let the sealant cure before adding the snake and have been told to let it air out outside for a few days, but I don't have an outside (or garage) that I can leave an expensive cage . Will the fumes be too strong to let it cure in the house? (I have a very small 1 bdrm apt, so the snake can't really be isolated from the fumes easily if they are actually dangerous)

- Which door system is best for holding in humidity? I like the hinge, but they look like they have a big gap around them and I can't tell from the picture on the site how they are locked. Does the acrylic yellow and deform over time?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any replies.

I'll answer what I can..

The reptile basics hides are thin but I don't use overhead heat do I don't know that answer

Yes I use a UTH without issue

I let the sealant cure in my house without any odor issues.

They are very easy to drill holes in to customize all you want. Much easier than wood. and I'm a girl ;)

I have the sliding doors and they seem to hold humidity well

I use uths in all my AP enclosures but plan to upgrade to rhps soon for my carpet pythons. Uths are fine for terrestrial snakes. I also use the reptile basic hides and love them. I let my sealant cure inside my house for 24 hours I just opened the windows in that room. I have sliding glass doors and I like them a lot.

i was just looking at the t8. I was wondering where they put the flexwat on these things. It really didn't show up on their website. Is it attached under the enclosure?

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Originally Posted by Bcycling

i was just looking at the t8. I was wondering where they put the flexwat on these things. It really didn't show up on their website. Is it attached under the enclosure?

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They send it with foil tape. You tape it directly to the PVC on the bottom of the enclosure. There is a slot for the thermostat probe routed into the PVC so it can be in direct contact with the heat tape once in place.

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

I have finally saved up the money for an AP cage, but I have some questions from those of you that use them. I'll start by saying that I have a particular set up that I like and that works for my snake now and I want to transfer that to the new cage somehow.

- What is the best heat source? I only use thermostat controlled CHE's right now and they work great, but I'm not sure the AP cages wire cut outs can handle that temp. (I really don't like the radiant heat panels very much from previous experiences)

- On that note, are the reptile basics hides thin enough for heat to pass through and warm the hide without cooking the top? (his hot hide currently is an upside-down terra cotta pot with the bottom hole enlarged as the entrance)

- Can an UTH even be used with the plastic cage? And if so, how do I keep the hide temperature up given that I use deep (1-2 inch) substrate since he burrows on occasion?

- How easy are they to custom drill for thermometer / thermostat probe placement?

- I know you have to assemble and let the sealant cure before adding the snake and have been told to let it air out outside for a few days, but I don't have an outside (or garage) that I can leave an expensive cage . Will the fumes be too strong to let it cure in the house? (I have a very small 1 bdrm apt, so the snake can't really be isolated from the fumes easily if they are actually dangerous)

- Which door system is best for holding in humidity? I like the hinge, but they look like they have a big gap around them and I can't tell from the picture on the site how they are locked. Does the acrylic yellow and deform over time?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any replies.

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To answer your questions, I have 3 AP cages and a Proline cage. For my AP cages, I use flexwatt only with herpstats and it works fine. I have the herpstats set to 95F for my BP which gives around a 90F hot spot inside the caging and I have my boas set to90F on the herpstat which gives around 85F or so. They like it cooler. For my Proline, I use a Pro Products PH3 65 watt RHP on a herpstat and that works fine too. So either will work fine assuming your house temp is kept 75F+. If not then you might need to add a RHP to help bump up the air temp inside the cage. I personally wouldn't add screen on top for a CHE dome as that will kill the humidity. I use less than 1" of aspen for the UTHs which works fine since the snakes will push the aspen aside if they want heat. I also use RBI hides for all my cages and they work fine as well.

PVC is easy to drill through so mounting a t-stat probe should be easy. I use the UTH simply so I don't have any wires inside the cages. I also opted for the LEDs they install, again so I don't have any wires inside the caging. I learned this as my big boa girl would yank down and kind of wiring inside the cage when she was hungry and destroying stuff.

As for sealing, I sealed mine inside the house and it was fine. It smelled for the first day, then after that it wasn't bad. It took about 4 days for the smell to completely go away. The snakes didn't seem to care but I waited those days before putting them in. I would avoid breathing it as it does contain toluene which isn't good to sniff but again, it wasn't terrible and this was sealing 3 cages at the same time so if you are only sealing 1 cage, you probably will vaguely smell it.

Good luck and I love my AP cages. They are sturdy and AP definitely pays attention to the details like smoothing any rough edges and stuff. They did miscount a few screws though as I ordered all of mine with shelves, locks, leds and flexwatt but when I mentioned it to them as just a FYI, they offered to send me more screws. Wasn't a big deal for me as I had that size wood screws laying around and just used them in the back of the cages where you wouldn't see them anyways. Just nice that they offered to actually send me the 4 total screws that were missing from all 3 cages combined.

If you order the t8 without heat tape. Does it still have the slot for the probe? I have heat tape already and wouldn't really need theirs.

What kind of sealant is used and do they send it with the enclosure?

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Originally Posted by Bcycling

If you order the t8 without heat tape. Does it still have the slot for the probe? I have heat tape already and wouldn't really need theirs.

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I'm sure it would come routed already. To make sure, just give Ali a call to confirm. She's awesome and will get you taken care of.

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Originally Posted by Bcycling

What kind of sealant is used and do they send it with the enclosure?

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It's silicone sealant used to make it relatively water tight on the inside. Yes, it comes with and is incredibly easy to apply.

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Originally Posted by Bcycling

What kind of sealant is used and do they send it with the enclosure?

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The stuff they sent me was called Lexel. Its not silicone. It works good so far though. Its more pliable and stretchy than silicone. The only downside I see to it is it takes longer than silicone to completely dry. When I was using silicone, my cages dried in 1 day. Eith the Lexel, it took 4 days for it to set up good and lose the smell. And yes they send 1 tube per 2 cages. Its enough unless you are like me and go gung ho with it. In that case, 2 tubes was just enough for 3 cages lol.

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

They send it with foil tape. You tape it directly to the PVC on the bottom of the enclosure. There is a slot for the thermostat probe routed into the PVC so it can be in direct contact with the heat tape once in place.

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If you use an under the tank heat pad instead of the tape, can you still use foil tape? I assume so, but just want to be sure. Also, what brand - zoo med are the only ones my local store carries, but I've heard ultratherm (? I think) is a good one

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

If you use an under the tank heat pad instead of the tape, can you still use foil tape? I assume so, but just want to be sure. Also, what brand - zoo med are the only ones my local store carries, but I've heard ultratherm (? I think) is a good one

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Yes. What you'll want to do is stick foil tape to the heat pad sticky side to sticky side. Then, you'll have a completely removable UTH that you can take on and off as needed. Zoomed is fine - Ultratherm is good also (but likely won't be found locally). Both will need a thermostat to regulate them.

Another thing to remember is that heat pads do have some thickness to them that heat tape does not. You'll need to raise the enclosure up off the ground a bit in order to use a heat pad with the T8.

Thanks. I have the thermostat already too so that saves some cost. Another question, is there any way a snake can wedge their head between the sliding glass doors and get stuck / injured?

You're welcome. For the sliding doors, I suppose anything is possible, but I would say it's highly unlikely. I had a 60g hatchling in one of mine a few years ago without issue. The gap is much smaller than that size hatchling would be able to wedge into.

Looking at pictures online and the lighting that comes with it looks like a florescent tube light (which seems awful dangerous to me). What kind of lighting is most common? Is there anyway to affix a LED strip safely?

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

Looking at pictures online and the lighting that comes with it looks like a florescent tube light (which seems awful dangerous to me). What kind of lighting is most common? Is there anyway to affix a LED strip safely?

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They actually offer an LED option, it's just not on the website. Call and ask about it. I had them cut the channel for LEDs in the top of the cage and then put my own strip in there. $40 for LED from Animal Plastics or $10 to router the channel for lights and then use your own. They offer either blue white or red I believe. I've got remote controlled multi-color LEDs that are dimmable and love them. Make sure it's an 8mm strip if you use your own


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If you plan on stacking cages at any time, have them install the LEDs. They route a channel on the outside top of the cage where the plug fits in so you can stack cages on top of each other without issues. They offer 3 different color of lighting if you order from them. Red, white and I don't remember the 3rd. I had them just white lights in all 3 of mine I ordered from them. Gonna have them do the same when I order my carpet her cage. The extra $40 is well worth it imo just to have a plug and play unit without having to mess around with it yourself. Also fluorescent tubes will work like T8s. I have a T8 tube installed in my Constrictors NW cage that I installed myself and it works fine with a RHP. The only downside to them putting in lights is it can only be routed 6 inches from the back wall as that is how their router machine is set up so they cant route the lights right behind the front lip of the cage to hide it but really the lights aren't that bright.

I just received my AP cages a few days ago so took a few pics to answer questions. I got 2 carpet cages, which are basically T3s but with shelf standard and 3 inches taller. Pics are of the fluorescent light and sealant it was shipped with, bottom showing routed out bits, and a close up of one of the two probe rout-outs. The light cover is plastic. I still haven't screwed down the top of one of them, so can take any pictures anyone requests. They were SO easy to put together! I really love them. I got sliding glass doors, which are nice and secure with the lock but can be taken out easily as well. Glass is good and thick without sharp edges. All shelf, etc edges are nicely beveled as well. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...9e722f0482.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...034d546672.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...7b29ff2960.jpg

Glass gap question: here is a pic, and I'm really trying to jam that pencil between them. Not safe for, say, a young corn snake, but should be fine for a young BP.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...9f15575394.jpg

Thank you all for the help! I feel even better with this cage now

Another informative pic. The younger ones can fit in between the glass and the edges on the front, like this creative girl. She definitely can't get out at least lolhttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...76fe0f207e.jpg