Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking about trying a cage (or more if I like them) like Bob Applegate outlines in his milksnake book (wooden cage with upper section and then access to a sweaterbox beneath). As I am not that handy, I was going to go to a custom woodworking shop in my area and am wondering what materials I should be asking for. Wood type(or would melamine be better), finish type, anything else I should be thinking of, etc. The cage/cages would be for corns/kings/milks and the like. Thanks for your help.

Rob

BTW - For anyone that remembers my cold basement problem, I hung some reflectix, switched from Vision's V-35 box to V-70 box (which I could do in the same rack) which allowed me to set up a larger heated area by playing with the heat rope configuration and added a 12" x 12" ceramic tile to the floor of each box over the heated area to more evenly distribute the heat. All of that seems to have helped tremendously. Thanks for everyones help with that as well.

Glad to hear you have your basement situation working.

Regarding the cage, I really like melamine for anything requiring the tolerances needed for a lidless rack (and Bob Applegate's cages are essentially cages with access to a lidless rack). This is especially true for milksnakes which are great escape artists, at least the smaller subspecies.

I don't like plywood as it's not as flat but more importantly it's not as consistent in thickness as melamine. Even the most expensive cabinet-grade plywood is not the same thickness over a single sheet.

Make sure you get a higher grade thermofused melamine.

My biggest concern with this is trusting a wood shop to build a rack level to the proper tolerances. If it were me I'd want to do that part myself.

However, to keep in mind that you can always have that area built taller than needed and simply shim the bottom until you have the boxes fitting properly.

>>I am thinking about trying a cage (or more if I like them) like Bob Applegate outlines in his milksnake book (wooden cage with upper section and then access to a sweaterbox beneath). As I am not that handy, I was going to go to a custom woodworking shop in my area and am wondering what materials I should be asking for. Wood type(or would melamine be better), finish type, anything else I should be thinking of, etc. The cage/cages would be for corns/kings/milks and the like. Thanks for your help.
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>>Rob
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>>BTW - For anyone that remembers my cold basement problem, I hung some reflectix, switched from Vision's V-35 box to V-70 box (which I could do in the same rack) which allowed me to set up a larger heated area by playing with the heat rope configuration and added a 12" x 12" ceramic tile to the floor of each box over the heated area to more evenly distribute the heat. All of that seems to have helped tremendously. Thanks for everyones help with that as well.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

I appreciate the advice. Especially about the tolerances and trusting someone else to do that. Something I had not thought about. With that in mind, what type of tolerance would you recommend. Is it too much to ask someone to get to 1/8"? Should I ask for smaller/larger?

Thanks again for your help. I appreciate your thoughts.

Rob

In general I like 3/16", although if you have smaller milksnake subspecies then I'd recommend 1/8". Again, more gap is better than too little as it's easier to fill space than it is to increase it.

Of all the snakes going in these cages, what subspecies is it that is the best escape artist in your opinion?
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

I have not actually finalized which species I will be keeping in these if I go with them. I have just been thinking about working with some colubrids and I am thinking that, if I do, this may be the caging I want to go with. There will definitely be corns. Of the milks, I have been thinking about honduran and mexican. I have not really decided on the kings but if I do go that route, probably mexican black and california. Of the species/subspecies listed, I have only worked with corns and cal kings in the past. I would guess, though, that the mexican milk would be the best potential escape artist. I am happy to have any thoughts on that, though, as I have not had an escape in 15 years (knock wood) and would like to keep that streak alive (my wife would like the streak kept alive, too!). Thanks again.

Rob

Just for the record, my current collection consists of a small group of Kenyan sand boas and a pair of ball pythons.

I agree that Mexican Milks will be the best escape artists of the species you are considering. If I were going to keep those in an Applegate-type cage I would build it from melamine and I would use Cambro polycarbonate food storage boxes for the rack area. They would need to be painted to reduce light transmission but I really like them for their consistent tolerances. With some boxes one corner can be lower than the other making it a weak spot for escapes.

I think MarkG keeps or has kept Mexican Milks. Maybe he'll chime in with advice.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

Cambro does manufacture a polypro line of their boxes (instead of painting the clear ones).

cool.cambro.com/product_line.aspx?rrn=4&plrn=74

Yeah but I'm not sure they have the same tight tolerances as their polycarbonate boxes. I have compared other boxes made by the same company and it always seems the polycarbonate stuff could be molded more accurately.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

You're right. The polyethylene (white) Cambro boxes are great for larger-bodied colubrids like adult corns but not for Mexican milks because the top ridge is never straight. There is always a bend, and this means escape for a smaller colubrid is very likely. The clear polycarbonate boxes are better where tighter tolerances are concerned.

To the original poster on the subject of Mexican milks, I find them to be too good at escape for cages with loose tolerances. Really, they are secretive milks that do not require such elaborate caging as a drawer cage in my opinion. With a snake that small, you can mimic underground with a hide box with a hole on the top.

For housing colubrids (not in racks) I find that plastic cages of the likes of www.herpcages.com and www.precisioncaging.com and the Dragons-for-You colubrid cages are definitely something to consider. Not as classy as wood but completely functional, easy to move, easy to clean, easy to alter, easy to size to the animal and no escapes.
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Mark