PVC cage base ideas

[Shann]

Hi everyone, it's been a while!
Still just have the one boa, Figment. My husband and I recently moved, and we're trying to update her display, but we're having trouble figuring out what to do with her cage. She's in a 48lx24dx18h proline. My old bedroom was so small I couldn't get the entire cage in one picture, lol. I don't have updated photos, but here's what I've got now:




I've always had it sitting on an old coffee table, but the table was done in sections and isn't a smooth surface. Because of the unevenness it's been steadily making the door more and more difficult to open and close, warping the plastic a bit. I don't want to get a pedestal made for it because I want more height than I've seen offered, and ideally some storage space underneath. I would like it to be a piece of furniture, but I'm not having any luck finding anything due to the depth of it. I was looking at something like this, but it is exactly 48x24 so I worry the cage might easily slip off the edges.


So I'm just reaching out for some ideas. I am NOT very handy, and while my husband is I've already got a long list for him, so I'm mostly looking to buy something, not build. Her cage has an RHP, so the cage can be in direct contact with a surface. If any of you have display cages like that, what have you done with them?

[KMG]

All of my cages are in a snake room. I have a mixture of stands the different tanks and cages are sitting on. My large 4ft x 2ft cages are on a folding table I bought at Lowes. Nothing fancy at all. But it allows me to stack tubs and other things under it and in my designated room it looks fine. It would not look great on display in my living room. This table though is a bit short and my cage sticks off maybe a 1/4 on each side. It is also plastic and the cages are pvc so there is not much friction between the two. I say this because it has been working just fine for me and mine are stacked three high. I don't think you would have an issue with the cage sliding on the wood table.

If you are really worried about it though you could just add some rubber strips to the bottom of the cage or maybe even one of those rubber mats designed to limit rug movement. It wouldn't take much to make the cage stick pretty well Id think. Your snake is not going to be able to move it, that Im sure.

[Shann]

All of my cages are in a snake room. I have a mixture of stands the different tanks and cages are sitting on. My large 4ft x 2ft cages are on a folding table I bought at Lowes. Nothing fancy at all. But it allows me to stack tubs and other things under it and in my designated room it looks fine. It would not look great on display in my living room. This table though is a bit short and my cage sticks off maybe a 1/4 on each side. It is also plastic and the cages are pvc so there is not much friction between the two. I say this because it has been working just fine for me and mine are stacked three high. I don't think you would have an issue with the cage sliding on the wood table.

If you are really worried about it though you could just add some rubber strips to the bottom of the cage or maybe even one of those rubber mats designed to limit rug movement. It wouldn't take much to make the cage stick pretty well Id think. Your snake is not going to be able to move it, that Im sure.

Thanks for the idea with the rubber strips, I hadn't thought of that! I definitely need to do away with the table it's currently on, the surface isn't level and it's warping the cage enough to make the door hard to open. But maybe that table I linked to would work if I did something like that. I'm not worried about my boa causing the cage to slide, but I've got two cats and a dog. They don't have access to that room normally, but when they do, I definitely have problems with sliding. Someday I want a dedicated snake room, but at the moment I'm hoping for something nice to be on display in the open. I might trial run the current table with something like that, to see if another coffee table is a good option.

[Shann]

My mother-in-law was getting rid of a coffee table that ended up working perfectly. It's the exact dimensions of the cage, and has storage space underneath. It's several inches taller than my last one AND it's on wheels, making it easy to move around. I'm pretty pleased! I'll add some pics later.

[KMG]

Sounds like a perfect fit to your needs.

[Shann]

Here's the final result. I am going to get some nice looking boxes to fit underneath to hide all her supplies in. But in the one picture you can see how badly the top is bowing. I'm not sure how to correct that. It makes opening the cage a little difficult.

[Gio]

OMG!

Shann,

Welcome back.

I didn't read the thread, just saw your name and got happy. 😊😊

[Sauzo]

You got the same snake hook as I do lol. I've used mine a total of one time and it actually pissed my retic off haha. Go figure.

And my Constrictors NW cage bows too. I think pretty much all cages without a center support bow after a few years. I've had mine 4 years. You can really tell if you look at the gap between the acrylic door and the top header on the corners vs the center. It's about 1/4". I switched to AP cages and so far, they are awesome. Much sturdier but also heavier lol.

[BR8080]

Here's the final result. I am going to get some nice looking boxes to fit underneath to hide all her supplies in. But in the one picture you can see how badly the top is bowing. I'm not sure how to correct that. It makes opening the cage a little difficult.

That looks awesome, nice and finished.

[Shann]

OMG!

Shann,

Welcome back.

I didn't read the thread, just saw your name and got happy. ����

I am so glad to see you're still around! It's nice to see some familiar names! Have you added any new snakes recently? I'll have to go look for some updated pics!

You got the same snake hook as I do lol. I've used mine a total of one time and it actually pissed my retic off haha. Go figure.

And my Constrictors NW cage bows too. I think pretty much all cages without a center support bow after a few years. I've had mine 4 years. You can really tell if you look at the gap between the acrylic door and the top header on the corners vs the center. It's about 1/4". I switched to AP cages and so far, they are awesome. Much sturdier but also heavier lol.

Haha, yeah that hook is a little overkill right now, but I like it. I do have a smaller one that was made by someone locally that I tend to use more often. I lost it for a bit during the moving process and only found it after I bought a new one.

There's a pretty good gap forming at the corners, and in the center I actually have to push up on the cage to get the doors to open. Mine is also about four years old. It's good to know that it's not uncommon, but I'm wondering if I can add my own support in to help counteract that. I really like her cage, but I may look into different brands when I get more snakes. Now that I have more room, I'm thinking about a new addition.