New PVC cage Reptile Basics - 2'x4' 15" Single Door Cage

It finally came today and after about 3 hours of tooling around (my cordless drill died and I had to literally buy a new tool) I have a brand new enclosure for my Dante.

I decided to go with Reptile Basics as they had the door style I wanted at a perfect price point.

I went with the 4x2 foot and 15 inch high model. This ships flat unlike all their other models so it required assembly. It took all of 15 minutes to assemble and was easy for two people to put together. Now I had a slight issue where the screws accidentally did not come with the package but that has been addressed and I was able to pick up appropriate screws at Walmart for under $2. Not a knock at all on Reptile Basics, they were fantastic and super apologetic for the mistake. I doubt it will happen again but these sort of things happen and it was not a big deal at all. Everything esle came expertly packaged and the quality is top notch.

Biggest surprise is it is actually made by Vivarium Electronics. Has a super cool logo etched on the top of the cage.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/T4fGqzX.jpg


Anyway here are some build pictures. I would have taken more but we were so busy getting it built we forget to shot half the progress :(


Here are the packages that came. I ordered the enclosure. an 80 watt RHP and their preassembled THG heat tape

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/34zRlpm.jpg

Here is what the enclosure looked out of the box (really well insulated to prevent damage)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/3JBG478.jpg

Here is a pic of how the front acrylic door was packaged. The shipping film helped prevent any scratches

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/Mo9MnQ8.jpg

Here are pics of the heat tape and RHP (the RHP is HUGE :O )

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/vQV4vQt.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/XbFkVzb.jpg


I ordered the optional LED bar and it is really nicely installed and super bright

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/L1lKFrT.jpg

Here is the thickness of the PVC panels

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/yQ8cxV1.jpg


Here is the recessed area for the UTH with a cut out for probes.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/pC0pnqs.jpg

Note the aluminum bar at the bottom. That is a nice touch added to the front of the enclosure to improve rigidity. Super easy to install.

I have a herpstat 2 with metal probe options and they fit perfectly without any issue

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/H7UGcXG.jpg

Here is the heat tape all taped down (now unsightly bulge from the probe ;) )

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/XQeJu8a.jpg



Here is a pic of it assembled with probes installed (only had to partially drill one spot to widen the vent slot so the probes could fit)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/r9ncDXl.jpg

Here is a pic of some loose clutter I have (not final placement yet at all still waiting for the silicon I put around the joints to dry)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/Oy2fxdY.jpg


I used black silicon to seal the enclosure and zip tie mounts with the sticky tape removed and hot glued to hold all cables in place. I made a custom probe mount for under the RHP so I could have it in mid air. The thermometers are both acurite.

This is a list of all the main components in this build:

Acurite 00276SC

Acurite 02067M

Herpstat 2 Redline

RBI 2x4 cage heat

RBI 80 watt RHP

RBI 2'x4'x15" PVC enclosure w/ LED bar

So things stabilized far quicker than I anticipated. Took off my humidity/temp remote probe from the old tank and tossed it on the far left side of the tank for additional readings (what else am I going to use it for lol)

Here is Dante in his new home after being rudely awoken and dumped in the middle of it. He spent about 5 minutes exploring, taking a drink, then went in a hide to have none of it.


https://i.imgur.com/AYt0d8l.jpg

Bonus close up shot

https://i.imgur.com/kYNKvzl.jpg


Remote probe info - Acurite 02097M

One last boring bonus shot of him stretching out.

https://i.imgur.com/c6ZQ6tT.jpg

Nice enclosure, equipment, and a beautiful critter.

This is what he was living in. It is going to be put in storage as the bottom left glass panel is cracked and was fixed with not the best methods and I really am not wanting to replace that glass.

36 inches wide
https://i.imgur.com/AkVMkg6.jpg

Very nice setup, may do a couple of these myself in the future since they are stackable.

RBI, VE and tempgun is all the same company tho :P RBI owns all 3

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by oodaT

RBI, VE and tempgun is all the same company tho :P RBI owns all 3

---

Today I learned something new :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDA

Today I learned something new :D

---

Yep :) their bout an 1.5 from me, wish they were right around the corner hahaha, altho that would probably be bad as i'd be more broke lol

Wow, that is really top notch. If I had the money, I would have all my snakes in setups like that.

I didn't want to wipe out the bank account to get this so it was planned for 6 months and I pretty much had a "dante fund". If you add in the LED lighting, size, and that they offer free shipping over a certain $ amount, I really feel this was a great bargain. Worth saving up for ;)

Two quick things I have now found out setting a PVC enclosure up that I have to share.

1) Since I assume you all are Reptile Prime converts by now... don't add any moisture at all to the substrate. Put it in dry. Sweet mother of humidity the first day!
2) Hot glue does nothing (could be because I would/did not score the pvc finish to get glue to stick). It is like a post it note against PVC. You need to either silicone things in or epoxy/superglue them in. Hot glue comes loose and just does not work. Don't bother. Just remember when using any adhesive... less is more ;)

Oh yeah, bonus lesson learned. Your snake will find every cable and swing on it like a monkey. Secure it down well and then secure it down some more.

Whoo, gorgeous setup!:gj:

What I have in mind when Khaa is full grown, but I'm probably gonna go bigger, like a BCI sized enclosure just because I love my baby to death(spoiled snake bebe) and want him to have all the space I can afford to give him lol.

Last shot of this setup to show my finished decorating.

https://i.imgur.com/igIS9Gf.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDA

Last shot of this setup to show my finished decorating.

https://i.imgur.com/igIS9Gf.jpg

---

What size tank is this? And what size beep would you put in it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My title shows the dimensions (4'x2'x15"). This is a perfect forever home for an adult ball python.

Would it also be sufficient for a large(compared to a male) female?

Dante is 4 feet long and he is in snake heaven. I hope that gives scale enough for you.

That looks like a perfect tank. Mine is 36"x18" floor space and is fine for my adult male, but he could use more room when he is active. I think 48"x24" floor is much better, it looks amazing! Great job SDA!

Just wanted to put an update in case anyone actually looks at this ;)

I have had a bit of a humidity issue partially of my own doing. It has been 90+% humidity outside for the past few days so not sure if that is playing havoc or not. The substrate is retaining humidity a bit much. This week I decided to actively do something about it. Since I do not own AP cages I don't know if they have the same issue but I assume they do. Due to the limiting of ventilation, there is not always great air flow to remove condensation created by heating in the enclosure.

So what I did was this morning I removed all the decor and agitated the substrate. I moved it all around and took a towel and blotted up the one damp spot under the substrate still. This took care of any remaining moisture areas under the surface but now I had the issue of "fogging" up again on the acrylic and walls

To combat this I took a few spare computer fans and an AC adapter I had and attached the fans onto a pole and placed them blowing outward from the outside of the cold side air slot. Computer fans weren't necessary, I just had them lying around and they were small and powerful enough to do the job.

Since placing them around 3 hours ago, the humidity has dropped from 90% to 72% (was 82% prior to agitating the substrate).

If you have a PVC cage and are having humid issues, try a small fan or even a computer fan or two over the cold side vent. For me that was were the majority of condensate was still hanging out so this helps keep things flowing. I may make this more permanent and have an option to lower humidity as needed but for now I hope that after a week it should balance out.

Just also to note I didn't have an issue with damp substrate or condensation on the walls except the first two days. I did have an issue with high 80s or higher humidity in the enclosure so this is my attempt to resolve it.

This should be the final update about this setup. For the first week and a half he was really active testing the boundaries of this enclosure. Starting a few days ago he has settled in and stopped trying to dig everything up. So I would say that it would not be uncommon if you upgraded to a PVC setup to have your BP a little antsy for a few weeks.

He is now snuggled into his warm hide after burrowing down to the heat.

Yeah, any time you switch enclosures of any kind at all, it can cause that behavior. They eventually settle in to their new home, as long as husbandry is good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDA

Last shot of this setup to show my finished decorating.

---

That looks great! Thanks for all the tips!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDA

Last shot of this setup to show my finished decorating.

https://i.imgur.com/igIS9Gf.jpg

---

That's a great looking viv set up !


Seems to be the way things are going ... I'm gonna have to up my game I can see ...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

First shed in the enclosure went amazing. The humidity has stabilized at 69-70% and he had a perfect shed even if I had to lift him out of his hide to clean it out.

Can I ask how you're liking this cage now that you've had it for several months? It's the one I'm planning to get. How's the acrylic door holding up? Thanks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WhompingWillow

Can I ask how you're liking this cage now that you've had it for several months? It's the one I'm planning to get. How's the acrylic door holding up? Thanks!

---

I absolutely love it and never have to worry about Dante's shedding or temps. The acrylic door is holding up really well and it makes it super easy to access the cage and feed him. He is able to stretch out and explore the dimensions and can regulate his temp as needed.

My only complaint is the LED lighting isn't dimmable but that isn't an issue really just something I would like to do with a programmable dimmer that I can't with these lights provided.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDA

I absolutely love it and never have to worry about Dante's shedding or temps. The acrylic door is holding up really well and it makes it super easy to access the cage and feed him. He is able to stretch out and explore the dimensions and can regulate his temp as needed.

My only complaint is the LED lighting isn't dimmable but that isn't an issue really just something I would like to do with a programmable dimmer that I can't with these lights provided.

---

Thank you! I'm happy it's still going great with the enclosure! Probably ordering my first one from them on Tuesday :)

It looks awesome!!! Congrats on his new home!

Still enjoying the cage? I just ordered mine today and can’t wait for it to come in. How long did it take for yours to ship and for you to receive it? Also where did you mount the thermostat probe for the RHP?

thanks!