Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking of purchasing 3 model 400 cages. i have pvc cages and think the visions would be a little easier to clean and manage. can anyone with experience with these cages or vision products in general please respond with the pros and cons of vision. i'm curious to hear feed back before a $800 investment.
I will be putting a 5.5 foot female hogg, a yearling normal stripe tail male in one, and a yearling female suri in the last. any responce would be great. thanks for your time.

Visions are made from recycled high density polyethylene, the more dense version of what plastic milk containers are made of. This type of plastic is not only very safe but very smooth and easy to clean. Also very very tough, very difficult to do damage to the cage.

They are not any more manageable than what you have though. I'm curious as to what aspect you might think one 4ft plastic cage is more manageable than another if the size is the same and the weight is comparable. In fact, if stacking them, square-top cages are easier to deal with than rounded and ridged top cages like Visions. With PVC cages sold for the hobby, you can put spacers between the cages if needed, and use anything from pieces of PVCx to flat pine molding. With Visions it is tougher than that, because the edges aren't square and for other reasons.

The HDPE plastic doesn't spread heat very well. That is, it will be warm over the heat pad and cold 0.01" away from the heater. That can be an annoying thing in a cold room if keeping boids. Lets say the heat pad is 90 deg and the room is 72 deg. In a Vision, the cage floor will be 72 deg right up to the heat pad. In a PVC cage in my experience under the same conditions, you see more of a temp gradient from the heat pad to rest of the cage floor. If your room is heated, then you don't have to worry about this physical attribute of HDPE.

All in all, Visions are very good cages and extremely tough. The heating thing is only a problem if keeping boids in cool rooms. You may need to put a light inside the cage to help with warmth in a Vision cage in a cool room, especially for a large tropical snake like a boa.

I guess what i ment by manageable was that with the pvc cage is that its kind of tough to clean. I thought that the visions are real light weight and I could carry them outside to clean with a hose. The cage i got made by www.pvccages.com is a great cage and i have no complaints about it at all. But with a RHP on the ceiling i don't want to bring it outside to wash with water in case the RHP is damaged. I thought that with the vision I could take the dome heat out and just carry the bare cage outside to clean. If the visions are about the same weight then it probably would not be more manageable. I have no experience with other cages then a rack and cage from LJ maybe the RHP is a little restricting and UTH on a cage would allow me to bring the cage outside and clean with a hose as long as i don't get the UTH wet. I guess that my main concern is ease of maintance first, besides quality of course, because i'm sure the snakes will fit fine in the cage. I'm not to worried about price so if you got any suggestions that would be great . thanks for any responses.

I did not realize you meant cages from PVCcages.com. Those cages are made from 10mm PVCX. I think the brand of PVCX they use is one of the heavier products available. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It might just have the properties they're looking for to make the cage they want.

Those probably will be heaver than a comparable sized Vision. That's just a guess.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

Visions are made of virgin polyethylene, not recycled.

There is a big difference in quality between the two.

Sorry folks.

I used to help a friend care for a large collection. He had and still has a mix of Visions and various cages made from expanded PVC.

The Visions were easier to "manage" as you say. They are very durable and I liked how one of the doors would slide aside, therby making the cage easier to carry. But I don't recall them being noticably lighter than the PVC cages. On the other hand, they certainly were not heavier. But they are better suited for being dragged up a flight of stairs and blasted with a hose, there is no doubt about that. And I say that as a guy considering making his own PVC cages, albeit not for sale.

I guess what I liked and still like about the Visions is their durability and size. Most of the cages my friend had were deeper front to back than other choices. I prefer this. They seemed to offer more floor space for the buck than other cages, but maybe I'm wrong. I build my own stuff so I don't pay that close of attention. And it might not apply to the exact cages you are looking at.

Back to the durability, my friend bought his used from a breeder who was moving into colubrids. They are basically unrecognizable from from a new cage. They sag a bit, but not anymore than my friends PVC cages which are nowhere near as old.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

I use the Vision #400 as a standard now with my collection. I like them. No cage is perfect but they are great for what I need. Like others have said, I think the #400 is big bang for the buck(Although they just increased from $200 to $250.) Very durable, you could throw them down your cellar stairs(w/o glass) and they would probably be fine. I don't need much heat for what I keep so I can't help you as far as their insulation properties compared to other types.They clean easy but there is a small groove under the bottom track that I've been meaning to silicone to prevent crud from getting into but they don't seem to discolor at all from steam cleaning and using Chlorhexidine and UV light. The #400 Vision model does not have a clamp light shroud for heating but it does have a nice looking recessed vent that loooks great with a flourescent tube.I use a thin 4'x2' plywood sheet between each cage and (3) 3/4 x 4' slats under each level(air space for heat pad)I only go 3 high a stack and this prevents any sagging I had.I have been happy with them. Very rugged. You can take them out and hose them as easy as any but that does get old. Good luck on whatever you choose.
Bob

i would prefer to heat with a heat lamp or bulb kind of like a RHP. i have not seen a 400 up close but would this be possible with the cage? thanks for the reply

I don't have any experience with RHP but I'm sure Chris and everybody else does based on previous posts.

The Vision site and the distributor I deal with, RL REPTILES, have good pics to help you choose a model that fits your needs.It's more bucks(unfortunately)but they do have the;

#422 4'x 28" deep 18" high (ugly black support in the middle) with a light vent opening if you want and a clamp lite shroud.

#332 3'x 28" deep 18" high with a lite vent and clamp lite shroud with the same price as the #400.

#433 4'x 28" deep 28" high same style lite vent as #400 but bigger and allows a clamp lite and a 2' flr fixture. Nice height for a large horizontal log for basking etc, saw a used one at a show recently and it could REALLY lend itself to a very cool Terrarium/cage/Vivarium. Seeing it in person was MUCH different than a site pic or description. I plan on looking into them in the future.....

They also have larger sizes that incorporate that clamp lite shroud with that ugly black support. They are nice cages, still glad I have mine. Goood luck
Bob

>>I don't have any experience with RHP but I'm sure Chris and everybody else does based on previous posts.

I think a RHP is a great way to heat any cage. With a Vision's molded top it might just take a bit more creativity, I'm not sure.

Somebody must know.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

Hey Chris.
How are the pvcx ideas coming?

PVCX cages are on hold for now. When I unpackages my two sheets I noticed that the factor edges are beveled and that the corners are not square. Not a huge deal but that means I should square them up with a panel cutting sled, something I have not built yet.

But if all PVCX is cut that poorly I can see the advantage of thermoforming as it does not necessarly require square corners and edges.

Besides, since we last talked I stumbled across an alternative for my caging needs. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to build for that friend.

>>Hey Chris.
>>How are the pvcx ideas coming?
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)