Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw a discussion a few back about building a cage for a Burm. HH showed a picture of one of his, so I built one. About $130. 3/16" glass, pin locks, and belly heat. The box was built in about 6 hours. 2 weeks on the rest.

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3.2 Normal ball-Alex,Jake,Montey,Siv,Nanna
1.0 Pastel-Tony
1.2 Green Anoles-Herman,Penelope,Lacy
1.0 Red-tail Boa-Bulwai
0.1 Burmese-Chelse

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3.2 Normal ball-Alex,Jake,Montey,Siv,Nanna
1.0 Pastel-Tony
1.2 Green Anoles-Herman,Penelope,Lacy
1.0 Red-tail Boa-Bulwai
0.1 Burmese-Chelse

Congratulations! Building your first cage can be challenging but sooo rewarding once completed. The 2nd one's easier, even if you make it different from the first one. Kudos for takin' the plunge.

I think you would get more efficient heating if you were to cover the heat rope cut-out with a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" foil-faced sheathing - like the blue foam insulation board covered with aluminum foil. For about $15 for a 4 x 8 sheet I'd probably cover the whole bottom with it. You could also use Reflectix but it's more expensive and for that application I think the foil-faced sheathing would be best, both energy & cost wise.

The glass is fine, as far as snakes goes. Us humans are the biggest concern with the type of glass used, which is why some people go with the expensive laminated glass. If something falls against laminated glass it holds together better than the other types.

I think I used laminated in the sliding glass door cage I built, which was my first one in the series of stackable cages I was building, but I switched to 1/8" plexiglass (in wood frames) on the 2nd cage with 2 drop-down doors. You're right about the cost of laminated glass; I think I paid about $130 for the glass shop to install aluminum track, laminated glass & rollers.

For relatively small openings like my cages & yours (aprox. 12 - 14 inches x 36 - 48 inches), there isn't a concern about snakes being able to push through them. It would take too much pressure in a specific point (center of the window) and I've yet to see a snake put that kind of pressure on areas that are "in the open," so to speak. I've seen 'em push in corners of the cage or even corners of doors, but never in the center of a door (glass pane).

What did you seal the wood on the inside of the cage with?

Again, congatulations!
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

It hasn't been sealed, but I did put down two sheets of Plexiglas to protect the wood.
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3.2 Normal ball-Alex,Jake,Montey,Siv,Nanna
1.0 Pastel-Tony
1.2 Green Anoles-Herman,Penelope,Lacy
1.0 Red-tail Boa-Bulwai
0.1 Burmese-Chelse

Just a friendly "heads up," with the amount of humidity needed for Burmese pythons you should seal the inside of the cage. It will prolong the life of the wood & make it easier to keep a moderate & consistent amount of humidity. The bare wood acts like a wick and draws moisture out of the air.

I don't know if you'd be able to get that sheathing to take anything (paint, poly, etc,) without it peeling the wood chips or not. The aquarium background stuff you have may work OK to cover that sheathing as long as you seal every edge good. Contact paper is another option.

If push came to shove you could cover the sheathing with something like plexiglass, polyurethane the other lumber, and use silicone to seal where the plexi meets the sealed wood.

Take care!
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

Nice job! I want to start keeping larger snakes again once my kids get a little older and I have more time to dedicate. I had 6-9 foot carpets, but never anything as large as a Burm or Retic. I only keep Ball Pythons now, and while these are great and very gentle around the kids, I miss the larger animals.

I had a couple questions if you dont mind:

What type of glass are you using in your cage - tempered?

Do you think you are losing alot of heat with the heat rope on the bottom of the plywood? Couldnt you use a thinner piece of wood or maybe a heat panel would be better in this application?

What type of lighting do you have? It looks like you have a spot for basking, but what are those slits? I have used LED rope light in my rack and I like it alot. No heat, but it gives a nice light and uses almost no electricity.

Take care and thanks,

Alan

It is just plate glass out if a bay window from a discount store, $15. $95 from glass store. They said if it was tempered the snake would get out because it shatters. The glass store had laminated, but that would be to pricey. The heat cable is taped with foil tape to a piece of thin stainless plate to disperse the heat. I routed out 1/2" so only a 1/4" was left. I think once it gets warm it will stay warm. The heat cable is for deicing water pipes in the winter. I had to cut off the thermal sensor so it would work. The ground goes to the shield, and the two inside wires are the cold and hot. The light in the back is drilled hoes and slots made with a circular saw. That made it flimsy, so I had to staple and screw on a screen to keep him from getting out.
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3.2 Normal ball-Alex,Jake,Montey,Siv,Nanna
1.0 Pastel-Tony
1.2 Green Anoles-Herman,Penelope,Lacy
1.0 Red-tail Boa-Bulwai
0.1 Burmese-Chelse

I think the cage looks great. I was just wondering if such a strong snake could exert enough pressure to crack regular glass? I think the pipe heat cable is a great idea. I saw the stuff at the Home Depot but I wasnt sure if you could regulate it down low enough for the correct and accurate temps. What controller do you use to set temps?

Thanks again for the info. I worked eletronics for 13 years, so I am always interested in how people wire things up.

Alan

I just got a light dimmer and receptical in a 3x4 box.
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3.2 Normal ball-Alex,Jake,Montey,Siv,Nanna
1.0 Pastel-Tony
1.2 Green Anoles-Herman,Penelope,Lacy
1.0 Red-tail Boa-Bulwai
0.1 Burmese-Chelse