Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First, I want to thank everyone on this forum with their great ideas and suggestions. I've been gathering info for quite sometime and I appreciate all the advice. I’m designing a cage that resembles a cage posted by Jeremy on this forum. The outer frame will be 6’ long X 5 high’ X 2' deep with three separate shelves inside that will house a common boa constrictor and a pair of Dumeril’s boas. Each cage will be 6’long X 24” deep X 20” high. The material is ¾” melamine for the cage bottoms, sides, and top and two separate pieces for the 6’ X 5’ back. The shelves will have two supports in the middle to prevent sagging. The front will be framed in with some nice pine and sliding glass will be inserted onto 2” litter dams. I’m thinking about using ¼” tempered glass and the glass track and sliding glass lock from Outwater. A few concerns I have are:

1. What kind of material or treatment can I apply to safely ensure that the floor bottoms are water tight and protected? Lineloeum?, shower board?
2. Will a single 2” X10” vent (floor return type) be enough to control humidity and air flow in this size cage? Where is the best placement of vent(s)? I would like the cage to be flexible enough to house other species that might require different humidity levels.
3. The cage will be set up in a heated basement, but I’d like to install two ceramic light fixtures above each cage that can be controlled by dimmer switches on the outside. Each bulb will be protected by a wire cage to prevent accidental burns. I hope to wire them together and then run them to a dimmer switch outside each cage so that they can be independently controlled. Any suggestions? Are there good suppliers of bulb cages you’d recommend?
4. With ¼” sliding glass and the track from Outwater, will there track allow the glass lock to fit between the pieces? I spoke with a rep today and they said it would be fine, but the catalog drawing shows a very tight fit. Any suggestions on making the measurements for the glass? This is my first time with a sliding glass design.

Just so ya know my cage stack is four seperate cages, that way I can move the unit. I can't imagine trying to move a single unit my size without seperate units. How much do you think a melamine unit 5' x 6' is going to weight? I highly suggeest you think about making the unit seperate cages, yes it may waste material but it will save your back, besides melamine is relativly cheap.

Also I use safety or laminated glass, IMO better than tempered.

1. What kind of material or treatment can I apply to safely ensure that the floor bottoms are water tight and protected? Lineloeum?, shower board?

Lineloeum would work but can be difficult to work with and a bit expensive. Vinyl film is a cheaper easier to use product that would work just as well and is easy to repair. Just have to find a source. Chris helped me with that maybe he will chime in with some assistance.

2. Will a single 2? X10? vent (floor return type) be enough to control humidity and air flow in this size cage? Where is the best placement of vent(s)? I would like the cage to be flexible enough to house other species that might require different humidity levels.

I use that very same type in my cages, however venting has some controversy. I vent high to remove excess heat, others vent low to allow heavy than air gases to flow out. Its really up to you I use supplement heat in my cages, meaning the room is heated to 80* and I just heat the hot spots.

3. The cage will be set up in a heated basement, but I?d like to install two ceramic light fixtures above each cage that can be controlled by dimmer switches on the outside. Each bulb will be protected by a wire cage to prevent accidental burns. I hope to wire them together and then run them to a dimmer switch outside each cage so that they can be independently controlled. Any suggestions? Are there good suppliers of bulb cages you?d recommend?

I really prefer RHP's to any ceramic or light bulb unless absoultly necessary. Your plan would work but I would suggest running them seperatly so you can obtain a heat gradient. Also a proportional thermostat is probably the best way to adjust heat elements I use dimmers myself but they are very tricky and require constant attention. In a room with no constant temp it could be risky running a dimmer, after all if the room heats up the dimmer won't shut off it will just keep kicking out that same voltage which could be a disaster. Another thing some dimmers reset to full open when they lose poweer like a power outage and such so be aware.

4. With ?? sliding glass and the track from Outwater, will there track allow the glass lock to fit between the pieces? I spoke with a rep today and they said it would be fine, but the catalog drawing shows a very tight fit. Any suggestions on making the measurements for the glass? This is my first time with a sliding glass design.

I aquired my track locally at a lot cheaper than outwater sells, it might be worth your time to ask you glass guy if he can get it for you and at what price. Regardless after the top and bottom pieces are installed measure from the top inside of the track to the top of the bottom tracks rim. That will be the largest piece of glass you can fit, you can subtract about a 1/16 of an inch to an 1/8" to allow for som play. I found that taking a piece of 1/8" tileboard scrap and cutting it to the size of glass I wanted. Fine tuning and test fitting I was able to achieve a great fit in the end. In fact I gave the glass guy the piece as a templete. I used 1/4" laminated glass in the end.

Best of 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

I only quickly skimmed over Jeremy's response. I'll assume he covered most of it.

I do agree that separate cages is a better idea at the sizes you need.

If you can find some scrap linoleum that is a good choice. I would not buy it new. Vinyl film is not quite as durable but is so easy to repair, making it a great choice. I do have some extra that I would gladly sell you at cost but the shipping may be prohibitive. I'm not a big fan of tile board unless it can be replaced easily. If you do go with stacking cages I have a design I might recommend. I won't discuss it unless that is what you go with.

I also recommend RHP's, but also consider the new ceramice heat emitters that are encased on the hollow metal reflectors. ReptileUV.com sells them. I have heard you don't need a bulb guard for these but I'd still use one personally.

And yes, you can fit the locks inbetween. The glass usually fits a bit loose. That combined with the natural gap leaves room for a lock.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

After thinking about what you and Jeremy said and unloading the melamine sheets, I think stackable cages is a good idea. Do you have any other ideas about how to build three stackable cages while keeping the 6X2X20in inside dimensions? Thanks again for everything you guys suggest. I appreciate your time.

For a cage that size I would probably just build regular cages and stack them. However, you could also consider a floorless design.

Basically you just build a regular cage without a floor, taking extra care to make sure everything stays square during construction.

But instead of a solid floor you just tack on a piece of tile board, PVCX sign board, or something similar.

Or you can do the same thing with the back to save weight, but then you don't get the advantages of an easily replaced floor.

I have only done this with cages up to 4x2x2. A friend of mine built 8x2 cages this way and they held up fine for about ten years. If he would have replaced the floors every few years they'd probably still be fine.

If you can go slightly over the 6' x 2' footprint, I'd also consider hollow core door blanks. You have to put extra effort into sealing them, but they do offer a nice combination of weight, rigidity and cost.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

Thanks again, Chris and Jeremy. I think I'll go with the stackable idea and I'll post some pictures of the finished set up. I appreciate your time.