Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can anyone suggest a good professional cage to buy? I know most people use troughs but quite frankly they are ugly. Is there anything that is on the market that I can purchase that is attractive as well as meeting the needs of an Ackie trio?

Thanks

I don't know of any commercially available Ackie cages or Monitor cages for that matter. A lot of people use visions however they are defenetly not appropriate. I myself built a very large Ackie cage, designed for display. The troughs are easy to use while not the most appealing they are a good start. I recommend building a custom enclosure. If you would like I can recommend a few designs and walk you through construction if needed.

IMHO a custom enclosure will be the best for both you and the animal, so long as you are up to building one.

Good Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

I would love o see somke designs that you have. I'm not too handy but i'm very motivated.

Thanks

I don't have any electronic plans per see, really should work on that. I can describe the general design but I need to know what materials you have avaliable and can work with. Also a general idea of what you want out of the enclosure would be helpful.
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

i am very curious what your cage and designs are like. I need to quickly build a sav monitor cage. im curious to know which material you think would be best for monitors. I would hate to do it out of mdf or melamine and have my monitor scratch up the inside and let moisture into the particles. bassically i have a what you can buy at home depot. thanks
jason

I want to do the right thing, I would rather go bigger than smaller, I don't want them to be lacking.

As for available matieriels, I have a home depot that should have everything that I need.

Lead on wise sage.

First off sorry for the late reply I have been really busy at work, new position.

Also for the both of you I have no pictures so you will have to bare with descriptions.

Are these cages intended to house breeding collections of Red's or are these for display cages. Or are you interested in Display cages for breeding?

For the latter you will have to sacrifice something, and for breeding I really don't recommend display cages.

The cattle trough's are really the easiest and most durable. Even the shallow trough offers 12" of Dirt holding ability, while breeding Red's and others tend to burrow more than that 12" is probally the minimum I would go others may dis-agree.

The problem with monitor cages is really the Dirt and the scratching you need to over come both for a sucessful enclosure.

Dirt can be a problem if you use a 100gal trough because the dirt needed to fill it is about 546pds. Pretty tough to stack but it can be done. People stack 55gal fish tanks in racks for fish and they weigh 500pds without decor, I know I used to be a fish freak.

There are ways to make the trough attractive and more of a display than what you traditional see so if that is something you think might be worth persuing I can help.

Even with the trough you will still have the problem of lizard claws on the cage sides. Of course with the trough you don't have to worry about dirt moisture, water seapage, and digging claws, probally the worst three things for a cage.

The way I overcome this is to use FRP or Fiberglass Reinforced Panel. While not the most attractive materal on earth its is very resiliant to scratching claws. Unfortunatly FRP is not self supporting so it needs to be laminated to another material.

This can be a plus, you can build a traditional cage and mearly laminate FRP to the interior surfaces and seal the seams with silicone or the available FRP trim.

As for my Ackie cage that is currently empty awaiting a trio. I built it without anything I recommended. Why because it was built utilizing scape material I otherwise had no need for. It may be adopted for my Bearded Dragons but for now its empty. I built it with melamine sides, tileboard back and ceiling and a ply floor. Note that the floor is supported on an open framework as well as the ceiling, will it support the 10" of dirt. I don't know its never been tested.

I don't have a Home Depot so I really don't know what is available via their store.

There are lots of options for Ackie cages, mostly dependent on what it is you want out of it. Looks, size, mobility are all major factors.

So if you you know what you want maybe I and others can help a little more.

Good Luck
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.10 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.2 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child -coming soon-

No problem, life has a tendency to get in the way of fun.

I ultimately want to set up a display cage that is good for breeding. I was thinking of an Animal Plastics cage 6ftx3ftx2ftH that I cut hole in the bottom and attach 12" deep sterlite tubs to the bottom. Would this not work? Thoughts?

Thanks

Peter