Snake cage help

[michael.cser20]

Im looking to upgrade my hypo boas cage. She was in a 20 gallon long for almost a year and shes outgrown it. Im looking for something 4 feet long for now. Anyone know a cage that wont break the bank?

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[redshepherd]

I always thought the animal plastics T8 and T10 were extremely fairly priced... Considering I bought my arboreal pvccage at half the size for $300.

http://www.apcages.com/home/

[michael.cser20]

The t8 is on sale for 150 thank you

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[Gio]

Im looking to upgrade my hypo boas cage. She was in a 20 gallon long for almost a year and shes outgrown it. Im looking for something 4 feet long for now. Anyone know a cage that wont break the bank?

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There are some decent options out there.

Animal Plastics, Monster Cages, Pro-Line cages.

I use Pro-Line.

I've posted these cage pictures over and over. I love the cages and have them set up the way I want them to look so the photos don't change much unless my snakes are doing something interesting inside.

This is a 4 foot wide by 30 inch deep by 20 inch tall cage that houses a 6.5 foot boa constrictor. It is a custom design and I'm guessing it is over $405 now if you or I were to order it today. (The background was extra and not part of the cage cost). This is an excellent size and keeps the 4' footprint by adding depth. If my boa hits the seven foot mark this will still be very adequately sized for him.


This WAS the boa's first cage and now it belongs to a royal python. This is the 48" x 24" x 14" and is $270 now. Shipped. 3 years ago I think it was $230 shipped and I added 3 perch holders and a lock.


The last cage I bought is somewhat of an "iconic" display cage. This cage specs out at 48" x 24" x 24" and house a mutt, coastal carpet python.
The background is rather expensive and does intrude a little bit, but not too much, into the floor space. At the same time it provides usable ledges for the snake to climb on. I am not able to use the large tortoise shell hides in this cage which is fine. It is perfect for a carpet python, and I'd say even an 8-9 foot carpet would be OK in this. I don't think the boa would benefit in this as much as he does the cage he is in.


"Breaking the bank" may or may not be the same to the individual keeper. I prefer display style caging and have invested a fair amount into the caging. Part of the cost includes the accessories that are absolutely necessary, and the other purchases are for aesthetically pleasing items.

Ed's (Pro-Line) prices have gone up a bit, but I still prefer the HDPE plastic he uses to anything out there.

I think the Monster Crew Cages use the same plastic and have very competitive pricing.

What do you think the end size of your boa will be? It is a SHE so lets figure 6.5 - 8 feet. I'd look at something with floor space, but your can also use a shelf and get more floor space in a smaller unit if need be.

I think bigger is better in most cases, and "options" for a snake allow more of their natural behaviors to be displayed.

I have worked on these over the years. Adding some things and taking out some things. Trial and error on the display end is fun and challenging. You can keep it basic and minimalistic or do what I've done. For boa constrictors that like to grab onto anything and everything on the way out of their cage, I prefer the single drop door. I can also clean much easier with the single door. I very much like the looks of the Animal Plastics cages though. It comes down to personal preference. If you have an established animal and feel you don't want to continually upgrade caging, go BIG now. If you think you want a smaller cage now, get one and the buy bigger later. That old cage is a great excuse to add another snake down the road.

These are the 3 current cages I have now. If I add another it will be 4' x 30" x 24". See what you like here and elsewhere and decide.

Good luck!

[enginee837]

The t8 is on sale for 150 thank you

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I recently built 3 48 x 20 x 12 cages out of melamine and after material, hardware, glass, tracks, locks and led lighting I am sure I was well over 150.00 per cage. Not to mention the time I put into building them.

[dkatz4]

GIO, thanks for the pics and info, i feel like i learn something new every time you talk about your caging. Your comment about preferring a drop down door to a slider for snakes that hang on hit the nail so squarely on the head that i literally lol'ed. tonight, like most nights i had to practically disassemble Irwin's entire cage to get him out (little stinker!) but in thinking of a future cage i had always assumed a sliding door would be best- thanks for saving me that headache.
I am about ready to move him out of his tub cage (pic below). He's a male CA, so i'm not anticipating much size as an adult. at just over 2 years he's 44 inches and slender bodied, Still growing -check out my thread "GROWTH!" for details, but the tub is still sufficient, its just ugly and cluttered. you can see the tree thing is really shoehorned in there, but he uses it a lot. the usable dimensions are roughly 26 by 15 by 13 tall, though the tub takes up more space than that b/c of the bulky shape. I am planning on building my own cage, but the size is tricky - i have a built in book case that i want to partially convert to a built in snake display. it is 6ft wide, so a pair of 3 by 2's would look good and give me an excuse to pick up another snake, but i sort of would rather he have a 4 foot wide b/c i have the space and why not give him room? then i question the height, i think 2 ft, but then wonder if that is overkill. But in any case i want a nice naturalistic look with lots to climb on - he loves to perch, but as i mentioned, i have to rethink his furniture and whether or not i will be able to pry him off of it!
- Pertaining to RHP's, the Reptile Basics 40 watt unit is at the top center, its emitting surface about 12 inches form the floor. The dimmer is set to about 80% which gets the surface below it to about 82 F, though i have noted that from that height, the footprint of heat only extends a few inches beyond the perimeter of the actual unit, there is a dramatic drop in heat closer to the edges of the cage but there is a UTH below the temple keeping the floor a toasty 90 F on that side. All in all i love it, Irwin has slithered up against plenty of times and never been burned,and it uses a paltry amount of electricity.





"tree" detail - i should have measured it before buying it, but it was on sale!

[Gio]

GIO, thanks for the pics and info, i feel like i learn something new every time you talk about your caging. Your comment about preferring a drop down door to a slider for snakes that hang on hit the nail so squarely on the head that i literally lol'ed. tonight, like most nights i had to practically disassemble Irwin's entire cage to get him out (little stinker!) but in thinking of a future cage i had always assumed a sliding door would be best- thanks for saving me that headache.
I am about ready to move him out of his tub cage (pic below). He's a male CA, so i'm not anticipating much size as an adult. at just over 2 years he's 44 inches and slender bodied, Still growing -check out my thread "GROWTH!" for details, but the tub is still sufficient, its just ugly and cluttered. you can see the tree thing is really shoehorned in there, but he uses it a lot. the usable dimensions are roughly 26 by 15 by 13 tall, though the tub takes up more space than that b/c of the bulky shape. I am planning on building my own cage, but the size is tricky - i have a built in book case that i want to partially convert to a built in snake display. it is 6ft wide, so a pair of 3 by 2's would look good and give me an excuse to pick up another snake, but i sort of would rather he have a 4 foot wide b/c i have the space and why not give him room? then i question the height, i think 2 ft, but then wonder if that is overkill. But in any case i want a nice naturalistic look with lots to climb on - he loves to perch, but as i mentioned, i have to rethink his furniture and whether or not i will be able to pry him off of it!
- Pertaining to RHP's, the Reptile Basics 40 watt unit is at the top center, its emitting surface about 12 inches form the floor. The dimmer is set to about 80% which gets the surface below it to about 82 F, though i have noted that from that height, the footprint of heat only extends a few inches beyond the perimeter of the actual unit, there is a dramatic drop in heat closer to the edges of the cage but there is a UTH below the temple keeping the floor a toasty 90 F on that side. All in all i love it, Irwin has slithered up against plenty of times and never been burned,and it uses a paltry amount of electricity.





"tree" detail - i should have measured it before buying it, but it was on sale!

Go 2' tall! I think the C/A boas are naturally more semi arboreal than the other species. They are seasonal feeders and avian migration is part of their diet. I would not be at all surprised if your Irwin would use the ceiling space. I saw the growth thread and I think you are doing things properly.

He is a good looking snake. Keep him wanting food and you'll see activity!

Yes, boas are a pain in the butt to get out of a cage, but so are some of the others. I know that I can clean my busy, display cages rapidly with that big front drop door. I will add that anything less than 14" tall is tough for a medium to large person to reach into.

Any semi arboreal species that I buy from here on out will get a minimum of 2 feet of ceiling.

[EL-Ziggy]

I have my colubrids and young carpets in AP T8s and I love them. I'm upgrading to 4x2x2s for the yearling carpets in a few months.

[Sauzo]

My vote goes to Animal Plastics. Just got my 3 T10s in and I love them. They are sturdy and I like how the base is flat. I have a Constrictors NW cage too but it is much thinner and I personally am probably going to sell it. They are good too but I like the feel of the Ap cages more. They are heavier but very sturdy plus I went for the LED lighting, shelves, locks and flexwatt all installed so it was pretty much just plug and play. Check out the AP T10s. Those should last a few years and if your girl gets big, you can always upgrade later. I'll probably go for some T25s in a couple years. Definitely get the shelving though as that adds a lot more space and your boas will love to stretch out and perch up there lol.

[Sauzo]

Go 2' tall! I think the C/A boas are naturally more semi arboreal than the other species. They are seasonal feeders and avian migration is part of their diet. I would not be at all surprised if your Irwin would use the ceiling space. I saw the growth thread and I think you are doing things properly.

He is a good looking snake. Keep him wanting food and you'll see activity!

Yes, boas are a pain in the butt to get out of a cage, but so are some of the others. I know that I can clean my busy, display cages rapidly with that big front drop door. I will add that anything less than 14" tall is tough for a medium to large person to reach into.

Any semi arboreal species that I buy from here on out will get a minimum of 2 feet of ceiling.

Lol guess I'm the exception. My big girl LOVES to come out and ride around on me when she is in her explorer mode. The little sunglow girl is the same way but I haven't had her as long as Rosey but she is starting to get the same personality of loving to ride around on me. The BP though cares less about being on me, she just likes to explore. I do handle my snakes a lot though so they are used to me. And like Gio said, anything under 14" is going to be a pain. The biggest thing is find out the door height. My Constrictors NW cage is a 14" but the door is only 8" so when I have to put Rosey back in when she still wants to explorer, its a pain. The AP T10s I just got are 10" doors which make a HUGE difference. Looks so much bigger than just 2" lol.