Not much. The plastic used in my cages is HDPS, and it has a high melting temp. It takes a higher temperature than that any snake should be exposed to. If there is a slight bend, it is hardly noticeable and does not compromise the strength of the cage. How do I know this? An older HDPS cage I have is perfect after years of use and abuse. No cracks, no problems. It is about 4 years old. I have a Neodesha (ABS plastic) that is 8 years old and perfect. I'd like to see an 8 year old wood cage after all those cleanings.



PVC has a much lower melting point, but still, any bending is not permanent and is no more a threat to the well-being of the cage than the slight flex of a melamine cage when another is stacked on top. Of course, if you expose the cage to say 150 deg, you deserve whatever happens, because no snake should see those temps in a cage.



Acrylic is different. It bends and warps like crazy if there is much of a temp differential from one side to another. In a heated room, acrylic is fine because all points see the same temp.

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