Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've almost finished my 2 week "waiting" period agreed to with my wife before I purchase anything. I want to get advice on cage and setup first.

Long term if I get into this and start a collection I really like the Boaphiles rack system. I have an upstairs room that will be perfect for this, but that is months down the road and many decisions away. To start I just want a single cage for one King. I want to put it downstairs on a book shelf next to the TV. The dimensions of the shelf are 12" deep and 35" length. I am not limited by height. Boaphile single cages all appear to be too deep. The only cages I found shallow enough appear to be Dragons 4 You. Here is one I'm looking at 34 1/2 L x 14W x 12H that should fit about perfect.

For my dimensions do you have any other recommendations? I want something really nice and even if I get a rack system later, I would still keep this one downstairs to rotate parts of the collection.

What is the complete list of accessories I need?

1) Lighting - the only option with dragons4you is either a Florescent or Incandescent fixture. Which would you recommend?

2) Heating - I'm thinking of a Under Cage Heat X 1 pad?

3) Thermostats - I have no clue here, what would you recommend for just a single cage?

4) Bedding - seems like Aspen is highly recommended.

5) Misc - hides and water.

Anything I'm missing or other recommendations?

Thanks!

Congrats on preparing for a great reptile! I was reading your dimensions - If the shelf is 12" deep and the cage is 14" deep that would leave a 2" hang over. Is that OK? If you are looking for more of a display type cage there are several folks out there that can make a custom cage that is very attractive. It is a little more pricey but it was accepted better by my wife. There are some good leads in the cages classifieds. Good Luck!