Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey I just thought i'd take a minute to properly introduce myself. As I said before i've been viewing these forums for a long time and just never say much. I have some time on my hands now because on Christmas eve on my way home from work I hit some ice on the interstate went off the road and rolled my vehicle twice. Like a dumba** I didn't have my seat belt on and was ejected from my isuzu. Two days later I woke up in the hospital with 14 fractured bones(6 ribs,pelvis,left collar bone,a few in my neck, and a few more in my lower back) and split open head. All in all i'm pretty lucky and healing up pretty well except for the collar bone. They said it can take up to 6 months to regain full strength. IMO this is a very small list of injuries given the circumstances. I did not expect ice and was driving between 65 and 70 mph. So currently on disability I kind of have a different outlook on life and feel I better start focusing on the things that have always given me the most enjoyment in life; my reptiles. I live in PA and am a welder by trade. I'm also always trying to learn new skills(so sorry if I ever ask dumb questions). In the past I have worked for door and countertop manufacturers so I have a few basic woodworking skills. Enough about me I thought you all seem like a good group of folks so I figured i'd really introduce myself.

Wow. Coming from a guy who has never broken a bone that sounds really painful.

Looking forward to seeing what you can do with your background and skills. Since you are a welder you should browse some of the European sites and see what they are doing with aluminum tubing. Not welded cages but they might give you some inspiration.

And it sounds like you have the time...
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

nm
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Sometimes I think the kid with two pet snakes has something that those of us with 50 to 200 lost a long time ago.

Here’s a link to a catalog of those Euro cage parts. I would like to have some of this to play with.

.PDF Catalog

here’s some links to check out if you are curious about those caging systems. Mostly in German, good luck!

Link
Link
Link

Sorry about the busted link- got something wrong in the BBcode
This should work-

.PDF Catalog

What the heck, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Well, go to:

http://www.marinesystems.de/index1.html

and look for “Produkte”, at the bottom of the drop down list is “Katalog-Preistliste”. That’s the link.

Thanks for the links Upscale thats pretty cool stuff. I dont don't have any experience welding anything besides mild steel. Actually I just got high tensile certified (German standard) for a German crane my employer is about to start manufacturing. Many of you might have heard of them; Grove cranes owned by Manitowoc Crane Group. I believe worldwide they are the leader in lifting equip. If you turn on the TV and see a tower crane in a city it was built by them (most likely) Yeah,I never broke a bone before either and this is definately painful. Actually i'm kind of suprised all I did was fracture bones and not completely break them. They said I was something like 35-40 ft away from the vehicle and i'm a big guy that's definately not built to fly. Anyways , I have thought about making freedom breeder type racks for rodents or reptiles using aluminum angle , square tubing , and such. I've never heard it suggested but have always wanted to use resturaunt type 'bus tubs' with an acrylic viewing window. Sizes seem kind of limited but would probably be great for colubrids and smaller boas / pythons. So hopefully I can get my own welder soon and start playing around.

Great introduction. I'm looking forward to your contributions. If we ever actually get together for some field herping or something...
I'll drive

Oh come on , I found a really fast way to get into the farmers fields. Who needs an exit ramp? lol

Wow, glad you are going to be OK.

I'm fairly new here too, and I agree this is a great bunch. Hope you stick around even after you are back on your feet.

The caging and related projects can be addicting. Myself, I can inflict horrible damage on an innocent piece of wood or plastic. I have found that prototypes are my friend. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though.

One thing for sure, every thing you build is a learning experience and will give you ideas for another project. I'll bet most of the regulars here have a list of projects to do that is longer than the list of ones they have completed.
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Larry Stroud - Fort Pierce, Florida

I dont know how old you are but it has a lot to do with recovery.I know you have to be in some big pain.Pain can ruin your life.Your reptiles will help you make it,just dont ever give them up no matter what.I'm going on 10 years with non stop pain from an injury and that sob Arther-itis.It will mess your mind,just keep the herps going no matter what,it becomes a mental battle.Thats why I'm writing this at 3:00 AM.Good luck my friend,I hope you can keep the "torch"going.Vic Morgan Tortoise keeper.(mt.torts.)Pic of one of my "cages"(4000sf.)