Newb question on caging

[whispersinmyhead]

Yeah I want to do this right so I really appreciate all the time and expertise you guys have given me. Thanks Kitedemon and The Serpent Merchant!

[whispersinmyhead]

Powerhouse Displays is out of Mississauga, very similar to the Boaphile cages. I'm checking them out at the expo in Woodbridge this weekend and I'll report back.

Fernando, one of the sales reps I am assuming, is really helpful and I was emailing him back and forth last week.


**kite was waaaay ahead of me.

Somehow I missed your post. If you would post here after you have checked them out that would be great! I won't make it down for another month or two depending. It will be nice to see what you think.

[UpNorth]

Somehow I missed your post. If you would post here after you have checked them out that would be great! I won't make it down for another month or two depending. It will be nice to see what you think.

I actually went over all the pricing for the Animal Plastics, and it is a better deal to have a T8 shipped than buy a Powerhouse.

The T8 (48x24x12) with a divider (essentially two 24x24 now) is $215+ tax shipped

The Powerhouse 48x24x12 is $289+tax, or $153+tax for a single 24x24x12.

Long term, it seems that the AP T8 is still a better deal regardless of me getting more snakes down the road.

Andrew

[whispersinmyhead]

Well I am trying to find room for one of these cages and the width isn't the problem it is the 24" depth! That is a very deep cage and most spots I can fit it will fit a max of 20". I didn't realize how deep it was until I started measuring places for it. I haven't found any that are less deep.

I may have to go glass now and I feel bad for asking all the questions about the PVC cages but I am still trying to see where I can put it. I have one large and tall "furniture" type cage already for a Beardie made of plywood (oak) and sealed heavily. I could put the new cage on top of that but I is just over 5' tall because of the cabinet under it and that will make it very hard to maintain. I just don't think that will really work well.

If I have to go with a glass terrarium it will have front locking&sliding doors. I think if I cut 1/4" acrylic and use silicone to fix it on the top of the screen lid just leaving room for a heat lamp that should help keep heat and humidity in.

The last option is well a sad one and I don't know if it will really work. My beardie is passing away due to a large tumor right beside the brain. He has been hanging in there but not going to well. I just finished his big cage (4x2x2) and stand (3' high). It probably can be modified to be safe for a ball python. The lights need some heavy wire covers over them but it is escape proof and holds heat pretty well. I am wondering on how to heat the snake from the bottom though as it is ceramic tile. I have seen a couple cages that had flex-watt attached to acrylic and siliconed to the cage bottom. In my case it is tile that is grouted and sealed. I may post a pic tomorrow and get an opinion. It will hold heat and I think humidity well.

Any thoughts are more than welcome. I can't stress enough that any setup will be fully setup and correct before introducing the snake. Maybe glass can work for me and I can get another beardie or I can convert his old cage. Any thoughts are welcome and to be honest I had my heart set on a PVC but 18-20"D x 36-40L is more realistic for our house unless I convert the existing beardie cage. I also have to keep my wife happy LOL and I just spent a lot on building the beardie cage. Has anybody had any experience with plywood enclosures? They may not work well for snakes and that is ok if that is the case I thought it may be better than glass although not as nice as PVC.

Sorry for all the questions. I am anxious to start getting this set up and well the cage itself is the first purchase. It is late and I need to be up in a few hours so my thoughts are a little scattered. Too long of a post....

[The Serpent Merchant]

Hey, we've all been there. Belly heat isn't necessary, a heat lamp will work. But a heat lamp will be kill your humidity. This can be worked around though. I would recomend that you use a infrared heat bulb 24/7. I definatly think that you can make it work. Pictures of it will help us help you though.

[whispersinmyhead]

I am working on posting some picks tonight. I will post my rough plan and let me know what you think.

[whispersinmyhead]

The cage measures 4' X 2' by 2' and the cabinet is roughly 3' high with and open back. Plywood is 3/4" Oak vaneer stained and sealed. The ceramic non-porous tiles are glued down using PL Premium and grouted. The grout is sealed with a non-toxic water based sealer as well. All seams are cocked with G.E> Silicone (not the kitchen and bath stuff).
Cost was about $500 CAN.


IMG_0015 by Whispersinmyhead, on Flickr


IMG_0013 by Whispersinmyhead, on Flickr


IMG_0016 by Whispersinmyhead, on Flickr


IMG_0017 by Whispersinmyhead, on Flickr


IMG_0018 by Whispersinmyhead, on Flickr

The first thing that would have to happen is move the diimmer switches down into the cabinet (no problem there). I will separate the lights into two circuits and the fluorescent will be on a timer and the heat will be full time.

I will need a lock for the 1/4" sliding glass doors. (shouldn't be hard to find)

The next and slightly more challenging is covering the lights (or 1CHE + 1 Red light would be my first instinct). I have seen nice rectangular wire guards on similar cages but have yet to find out where to get them. Not sure if I need to cover the fluorescent or not.

I may have to replace the metal vents (that have screen on them too) in case the snake cuts it's nose.

Substrate won't be an issue and it is sealed with water based polyurethane 4 or 5 coats.

I feel bad planning out his cage for after his passing but we (nor does the vet) think he will last the year. He may only have a couple months.

Humidity is the unknown for me but maybe a large water dish near the middle of the enclosure will help.

Lots of decor for He/She to hide in and of course two hides.

Right now that is where my thought process is at. I think it could work out better than a glass cage except for my biggest concern which is belly heat? How do I make sure he will be digesting properly?

(I feel bad planning out Freddies cage like this but the vet doesn't think he has too much longer with that tumour on his head. See my flickr for early pics. It is bigger now )

[The Serpent Merchant]

Belly heat isn't required, they don't get it in the wild. I would skip the CHE, and use 2 different wattage infrared heat bulbs. I would try a 75 watt for the hot side and a 50 watt for the cool side. I would then get some wire cloth and just completely screen off the top part of the enclosure (balls don't need more tha a foot of cage height) otherwise looks really good.

[whispersinmyhead]

Yeah obviously I didn't really design it for a beardie but I really don't want a BP to crawl up close to the lights. I just need to make sure i can get access to change bulbs and keep it safely away.

Thanks a ton for the feedback. Do you think the CHE would dry the air out more the bulbs? I thought it may be the other way around. I was also thinking I wouldn't have to worry about changing them as often but if you think the bulbs are better then I will stick with two of those.

Do you have any thoughts on humidity? I figured this cage would hold it better because it is more of a closed design it should hold it better than a glass cage.

One great thing about this cage is that it seems to hold very stable temps. Once I nailed them down I barely have to adjust which is nice. I think I may try and incorporate a thermostat still just to be safe. I can have a stable 10-15 degrees gradient in it pretty easily.

Do you think this will be a worth while project or should I go with a glass cage?

[The Serpent Merchant]

I would deftly try to make this cage work for you. It will hold humidity better than a glass tank. CHE's get really hot. I wouldn't trust one inside an enclosed cage like that and without a ceramic socket. Heat lamps are slightly worst for humidity, but as I said its not like you have a screen top that lets it all out. As far as getting to the bulbs to change them I would just screw in the wire mesh so it can easily be taken out if needed (bulbs don't burn out all that often)