Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I have posted a few times in here and have had a burm for a few years now. He is currently being housed in a pretty big aquarium with a screen lid, this needs to change since he's getting bigger and bigger. I am looking for some ideas to build a custom cage for him. I was thinking about making it 6-8 feet X 2-4 feet. I've seen a lot of pictures of enclosure type cases with the enclosure opening from the side with a sliding glass door, is this the safest way to do it? Or is it safer to build it to open on top? I would like to build it so there is a tiny opening on top where I can dangle the frozen rats in so I don't have to open the whole thing for safety. My friend is awesome building things and is going to help me out, I just have to come up with the plans/picture.

Any pictures would be really helpful, this needs to be extremely safe and fullproof!

Thanks!

Dag-nabbit! I just had a hillbilly moment..., I'm on dial-up and my wife said she needed the phone to make a call while I was finishing typing a reply to you. I logged off-line and finished my reply & hit "Post Message" before I realized I hadn't reconnected. Lost my dang post. Arrggghhhh! Hahaha!

I'll give it another go and hope my house doesn't catch fire while I'm typin' this one 'cause I ain't loggin' off 'til I finish. Ha!

Since a snake's natural instinct is to fear things coming from above I prefer front-opening cages instead of top-opening ones. Plus, with large snakes it's easier to get a snake out, you don't have to lift 100-plus pounds over the top of a cage.

Front-opening cages can have sliding glass doors (made of glass, lexan, plexiglass, etc...) or they can consist of a single (or double: side-by-side) drop-down or lift-up door(s) (made from lexan, plexiglass, etc).

With sliding doors you can have minimal cage opening for feeding purposes like you mentioned.

Keep in mind the ability to move the cage from one room to another or one house to another. Even though you may not plan on it sometimes our circumstances change to where we might have to get rid of the animal/cage or relocate it.

Things to keep in mind are doorway widths & heights as well as hallway widths and sharp turns. An 8ft long x 3ft wide x 18 - 24 inches high cage won't make every turn from a hallway into every room. A possible solution is to make large cages in easily assembled/disassembled halves.

Another thing to keep in mind is stackability. Comes in handy with multiple cages, especially with multiple large snakes. It's easier to build a box that we can just set our heat source & temperature monitors, etc, on top of but this eliminates stackability. Having all caging components housed inside to where it's just a simple square box on the outside is worth the extra effort in most cases.

I think that's all that I had in my post that I lost. I can't think of anything else at the moment. If I do I'll post back.

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Here's my 'problem' example--- we built this AWSOME cage at our old house (you can see where this is going) -- the total was 7x7x7 --- 4 cages- each 7long 3 1/2 wide and 3 1/2 tall--- well--- we built it- it looked great- worked great.... then we got a great deal on buying our own house.... so came time to move this cage.... can't go out all as one as it doesn't fit thru the garage-style door.... so it had to be taken apart... ugh...
when we built it- we compensated for a lopsided floor... the new house has level floors... so the cage is rather... well... retarded now... the doors dont line up- one of the cages is much smaller than the other 3... its.. well. again retarded...

I love the cages b/c they're so big- i have a shelf for them to bask on in each cage- i'm able to throw food in one end, and not worry about getting bit- its great!

we are going to replace it next year with 4 animal plastics cages-- they are much better!

~Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Thanks for the replies!

Any pictures of your old cage or the new ones you are going to buy?

Thanks!

I can get some pics of our cage now- the wood one thats rather.. retarded from the move.

Here is a link to the Animal Plastics cages I will buy. They are 475-575- depending on which cage you get.

I think for the long run the 575 $$ one would be more 'worth' the investment. You can look at the measurements for the cages and decide what you have room for.
These cages come apart and go together very easily- I have some smaller ones and LOVE them. This is a great company to work with too!

go to: www.animalplastics.com
go to the blue link on the left that says "terrestrial cages"
go all the way down to the T65 or T70
I would go ahead and have them send you the cable or get a heat panel. And invest in the locks!!

Cages are super easy to clean and are stackable- I wouldn't go more than 2 high on the t70... or 3 high on the t65-- but thats up to you-- do you trust your burm enough to be head level?

~Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

I have two AP cages that I purchased for my Burm and a large boa. I bought the heat panel for both and even though I have a thermostat on the highest setting, I can't get the 6ft cage to heat up more than 86 degrees on the hot side. That's my only complaint.

Otherwise, the AP company is a pleasure to deal with, and the cages are beautiful, easy to assemble, and easy to clean. Since they are placed in the front room of my house right now, I wanted something that looked nice when people walked in the door. They are pricey and my hubby could have built cages. He looked at what I wanted and decided that he really didn't want to put the time into it.

I agree about stacking, and I wouldn't put any Burm at or above head level, but that's just me. Well, Beth, too, apparently, and maybe that lady that got bit by hers at the pet store when she was taking one out of an overhead cage after playing with rodents. Ooops, wrong story!

Thanks for all the replies...

The AP cages look nice, a little too expensive for me right now I think.. I'm going to see how much my friend will build one similar for and see if it comes out to be any cheaper.

Any pics of home built cages?

Thanks!

I would think triple stacking big snakes in cages would be tough on your back because of their weight. I don't understand about you guy's commenting about burms at face level. You guys must have some mean burms. Just my thought.
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Education is Everything.......

My Burm is very friendly, I just prefer not to have a 12 ft snake at face level. It's just a personal preference. I find he would be too heavy to handle at that height, and I would much prefer feeding him at a lower level because he usually misses when he strikes.

Plus, I've seen pics of a few of you guys and I'm not as big. I'm a 5'6" 38yo woman with rheumatoid arthritis. I rely on handling that feels safe for me. That may be something completely different for you.

I trust my burms just fine-- we have one at chest level to me- she's in the big cage- the top unit- bottom of the cage is at about 4 foot off the ground--
She is easy to pull out because shes right at arm-level-- but with the AP cages I'm getting- a third cage would put the bottom of the cage right at face level- and would be awkward to 'lift' a snake out from over my head-- I'm also only 5'6"

And i also don't know if AP recommends stacking thier huge cages up that high... but I don't know that.

~Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Lady's, yes your right to each his own. I'm only 5'4" so I by no means am a tall one. My burms are not at face level either But I myself would not be bothered. My retic's are at my face level and thats why they make a hook, for the 2 that need them.
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Education is Everything.......

I can understand the reason that one would want the snake cages at lower than face level. It only makes sense to be able to approach the opening knowing where the snake is exactly and also to show your size. If the snake only sees your head or sees your whole body i feel that they are less likely to strike at your body than your head (ove course accidentaly) so i dont blame anyone for this reasoning. Good tip!

Back onto the topic of cages. I would also like to see some pics if anyone has any wood cages. Also, because i am gonna be building mine, what is the best wood to use and what kind of sealer would be the best to use for easy cleaning and the best for the health of the snake. Thanks

Have you posted on the "cages/enclosures" forum? There are some very creative and knowledgeable folks over there that may have some pics.