The New Kingdom.

I'd been procrastinating, then I would get some work done and stop because of all the action here. I finally buckled down the last couple of days and finished up this beauty.

The history behind this cage goes back a bit. I was looking for a big cage for my SD x Dwarf x Mainland, male retic. I looked at 3 manufacturers and when the final numbers came in for the size, I went with Pro-Line by Constrictors NW. Ed Lilley has always treated me well and he built me a custom 6' x 30" x 2" cage.

I enjoy a naturalistic setup so I installed 2 huge perches and 1 smaller perch. I went with a very durable and realistic rock background and decided to try a "one light fits all" system. Giving the cage a daylight white and multiple color options for night.

The cage has a Pro-Products RHP, like all of my cages and I plan to add one, maybe 2 hides. There may be a few additional plant/vine items I may add but for now this is the cage Wallace will get into over the weekend.

The momentum really picked up yesterday once I successfully cut and mounted the perches.
http://i.imgur.com/5YbiIYx.jpg

Then I started messing with the light strip.
http://i.imgur.com/kB6ZETF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uByQgoa.jpg



I knew the adhesive would likely fail over time. I ended up using builder's staples to set the LED strip in place on the ceiling.


Prior to adding Repti-Bark
http://i.imgur.com/PK7gW1L.jpg

With substrate and water source in place.
http://i.imgur.com/LhB9tY5.jpg

Now the colors for night.

Moonlight Blue.
http://i.imgur.com/IiyqDeN.jpg

Jungle Green.
http://i.imgur.com/zagwJOG.jpg

Red.
http://i.imgur.com/lSLFlBc.jpg

There are several other color variations but the basic ones are fine with me.

This cage will be perfect for the retic. I really like the height as it makes dealing with a snake like Wallace much easier. I have 2 drop doors which is helpful during feeding.
I fully believe a healthy retic will display semi arboreal behavior so I provide perches they not only give the snake some options for exercise I really enjoy watching them climb.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

I'd been procrastinating, then I would get some work done and stop because of all the action here. I finally buckled down the last couple of days and finished up this beauty.

The history behind this cage goes back a bit. I was looking for a big cage for my SD x Dwarf x Mainland, male retic. I looked at 3 manufacturers and when the final numbers came in for the size, I went with Pro-Line by Constrictors NW. Ed Lilley has always treated me well and he built me a custom 6' x 30" x 2" cage.

I enjoy a naturalistic setup so I installed 2 huge perches and 1 smaller perch. I went with a very durable and realistic rock background and decided to try a "one light fits all" system. Giving the cage a daylight white and multiple color options for night.

The cage has a Pro-Products RHP, like all of my cages and I plan to add one, maybe 2 hides. There may be a few additional plant/vine items I may add but for now this is the cage Wallace will get into over the weekend.

The momentum really picked up yesterday once I successfully cut and mounted the perches.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/5YbiIYx.jpg

Then I started messing with the light strip.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/kB6ZETF.jpg

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



I knew the adhesive would likely fail over time. I ended up using builder's staples to set the LED strip in place on the ceiling.


Prior to adding Repti-Bark
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/PK7gW1L.jpg

With substrate and water source in place.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/LhB9tY5.jpg

Now the colors for night.

Moonlight Blue.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/IiyqDeN.jpg

Jungle Green.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/zagwJOG.jpg

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

There are several other color variations but the basic ones are fine with me.

This cage will be perfect for the retic. I really like the height as it makes dealing with a snake like Wallace much easier. I have 2 drop doors which is helpful during feeding.
I fully believe a healthy retic will display semi arboreal behavior so I provide perches they not only give the snake some options for exercise I really enjoy watching them climb.

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I wish I procrastinated like you!

That looks awesome!

I guess when the light turns green, you have a lead foot!

Awesome setup!

Stunning , simply stunning !


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Very nice indeed


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Nice build Gio, I’m sure Wallace will use it well. :)

OUTRAGEOUS!!! Wow... droooolllll

Thanks!

I'm quite pleased with how this one in particular turned out. The perches don't totally cover up the background, and there is a lot of clearance to reach in and move things. Getting the perches in and out isn't too bad either.

http://i.imgur.com/Aabl3oz.jpg

Wow that water dish is big LOL!

I can’t wait to see your guy in there !! Keep us posted.

You always build the best cages. Wish my critters didn't piss all over everything otherwise they might be able to enjoy the nicer things in life lol! Can't wait to see Wallace in there!


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Looks good man but to nitpick, get rid of that PVC perch in the front!! Not sure if you knew or checked into it but look at natural bird perch sticks/logs. Bird shops and probably pet shops should have them and you can cut them to how you want them. A guy told me about those for GTPs to give a more natural look than using PVC. Pat is still small so the oak dowels work for him but i am definitely going to look into the real wood for perches when i get him his AP A20 this summer.

Otherwise, like i said, it looks pretty good. Wish i could give Caesar something cool like that but he would freakin find a way to poop on something, break/tear down something, or get stuck in something. I tried giving Dottie and Luna a nice little live plant to bump humidity and give them something pretty.....Dottie sat on her plant to death almost, thing was like a pancake the next morning and Luna dug up half the dirt in the pot and shoved it out of the pot. Luckily i had more soil so i was able to add soil back in and take that away from her lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

You always build the best cages. Wish my critters didn't piss all over everything otherwise they might be able to enjoy the nicer things in life lol! Can't wait to see Wallace in there!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Ain't that the truth. Caesar actually dropped a deuce square on the face of the Acurite gauge. I dont know how he got it out of the corner, laid flat down face up and aimed a deuce right on it but he did :mad::(

Great setup!!! Wallace will be living the good life for many years to come!! He's a lucky boy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Looks good man but to nitpick, get rid of that PVC perch in the front!! Not sure if you knew or checked into it but look at natural bird perch sticks/logs. Bird shops and probably pet shops should have them and you can cut them to how you want them. A guy told me about those for GTPs to give a more natural look than using PVC. Pat is still small so the oak dowels work for him but i am definitely going to look into the real wood for perches when i get him his AP A20 this summer.

Otherwise, like i said, it looks pretty good. Wish i could give Caesar something cool like that but he would freakin find a way to poop on something, break/tear down something, or get stuck in something. I tried giving Dottie and Luna a nice little live plant to bump humidity and give them something pretty.....Dottie sat on her plant to death almost, thing was like a pancake the next morning and Luna dug up half the dirt in the pot and shoved it out of the pot. Luckily i had more soil so i was able to add soil back in and take that away from her lol.

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Hey, thanks for the kind words and the tip. That's not PVC it is actually oak. I mentioned earlier in the thread that I had a few little modifications left. What I do is wrap the dowels with vines and put foliage on them.

Here are examples from my other cages.
http://i.imgur.com/6K46zfn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BpgQXSW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MSrVGG9.jpg

I like to mix REAL branches in and create my own artificial perches. What you are seeing in the new cage is an unfinished perch. Once I finish, it will blend in with the rest of the decor. The six foot span makes it a bit more of a challenge and I'll have to use more of everything to dress it up.

As far as being easily destroyed or messed with waste; I paid attention to the floor plan. As you can see in this photo below. The only thing on the floor is the water source, I will put at least one hide in there. Cleaning a perch is easy and I have 2 feet of ceiling space to be able to reach in and tend to any "issues". Wallace does show his SD characteristics as he doesn't produce an over abundance of waste. I must be lucky, no pushing, and a fairly predictable elimination cycle.

The perches are set in heavy duty, stainless steel closet dowel holders. I treated them with a coating to prevent rust. One perch (in the back) is a railroad tie sized piece wrapped in twine with foliage inserted into it. The other is an oak tree branch from a few summers back. The snake won't be able to move them so I'm not concerned about any possible destruction. My boa can't ruin his and pound for pound he's stronger and at this point heavier.

You can see in the boa cage above that there are 2 hides and a water source. That is not much more than most people keep on the floor.

If anybody is interested in dressing up their cage, a little thought out engineering will go a long way. It isn't an automatic recipe to annoying maintenance to have a little scenery if you want it. I spot clean my substrate and replace it as needed. I have things down to a fined tuned symphony here LOL!

http://i.imgur.com/LhB9tY5.jpg

Nice, I use the oak dowels on Pat right now. I did have to change them out as first he needed bigger ones and second, the old ones started to mold. That is the one bad thing about the oak dowels, guys i have talked to have had them mold alot in high humidity cages. They have said the natural wood branches used for big bird cages like for parrots and macaws works awesome. Plus they arent perfectly straight so the snake has more 'grip' per say via knots and divets and the wavy shape of the branches.

But looks good like i said. Wish i could give Rosey and Caesar nice stuff. Vicky is the only one i could as she doesnt seem to bulldoze stuff like Caesar and Rosey do.

That looks very nice. Can I ask, how will you go about cleaning the background? I have a Universal Rocks background that I am going to put into my next enclosure, but concerned about the monthly cleaning. Is that background Universal Rocks as well?

I use hot water and a tooth brush. It usually doesn’t need cleaning.

He has taken to it like I expected.

From here out I'll post the updates on the Giant Python Forum however to close out the caging post here, I'll show off the finished product and Wallace inspecting it. Note the front perch is now finished off with vines and foliage.

http://i.imgur.com/JYf50rt.jpg

The photo here doesn't give a good perspective of the actual size of this cage. It is really big.


Here is a shot of the room during "Night Ops". Its grainy and I'll take another shot at some point, but the room is how I want it now.

http://i.imgur.com/20bpGLk.jpg

Alright Gio, I'm gonna have to fly you to Atlanta to design my enclosures! Great job brother!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Alright Gio, I'm gonna have to fly you to Atlanta to design my enclosures! Great job brother!

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I'm sure the temps are warmer.

In the event you move to the Virgin Islands, I'm available for that flight as well LOL!

Where did you get the colored led lights?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

Where did you get the colored led lights?

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A battery store close to home. I saw them and decided to try a different approach than what I used on the first 3 cages. I like the lights. It is an eight foot strip with a remote changer.

Not the exact brand, but very similar to these.
https://www.amazon.com/AVAWAY-Flexib...d+strip+lights

Do they stick or do they have a slide plate to screw it to the top of the cage. Sticky is not an option.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

Do they stick or do they have a slide plate to screw it to the top of the cage. Sticky is not an option.

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They have adhesive, but the HDPE cage doesn't let things stick for long.

In one of my posts I explained I used builder's staples to mount the strip. Be careful doing this as you can staple into the strip and it can cause a few lights to change or go out completely. I have a few random purple lights that now appear in the "white" mode.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

They have adhesive, but the HDPE cage doesn't let things stick for long.

In one of my posts I explained I used builder's staples to mount the strip. Be careful doing this as you can staple into the strip and it can cause a few lights to change or go out completely. I have a few random purple lights that now appear in the "white" mode.

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My son hot glued our LCD lights as well the built in adhesive on the strip and it's worked perfect ...


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Hey man, where did you get the fence post perch that you have in the back of the cage and what type of wood is it? Phyllis would need a solid 4" diameter perch and all I can find near me is pressure treated pine, which I'm a little apprehensive about using