Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone. What is the pros and cons and the best material to build a cages out of? MDF vs Melamine and Waferboard or Plywood? What is best for holding temps steady too? Thanks, Bradley.

I'll tell you my experience. Ive been keeping snakes of all kinds for 22 years. Ive built cages out of everything you can imagine and.... all I use now are plastic cages. With wood cages I was never REALLY able to get them all clean. I found that over time residues had soaked into the corners and the wood type cages would smell even after cleaning. Not to mention wood type cages leak water or fluid over time. With plastic cages Ive found they hold humidity excellently, you can wipe ALL the poop out everytime, they don't smell after years of use, and they NEVER leak any fluid. Not to mention they look good. They may cost a little more.. but it well worth it in my opinion. I have used the same plastic cages for YEARS and will alway use them! I keep Indigos, Cribos, boas, gtps, and milksnakes in the cages below and Im able to tweak temps and humidity to make all these different climate animals happy in the same room! Just my two cents... I know $$$ is a big part of this decision for all of us. Have fun and look on the classifieds, lots of guys selling plastic cages super cheap these days, Dan

These are years old... but still in use.

Bradley,

I agree with Dan. When it comes to appearance, ease of cleaning and ability to fully disinfect, nothing beats the commercially made plastic cages available today. My favorite is still the classic almond colored Neodesha cages. Maybe that's because I own about 50 of them! LOL Since I don't use individual cage lighting I like that the light cage color reflects incoming light and makes the cages interior brighter than in darker colored cages. Of course, Neos aren't made any longer, but white plastic cages should accomplish the same thing. That may not be a big deal to most people, but I thought I'd mention it.

Brian

Ok I really appreciate the help. Thanks, Guys. Bradley.

I just saw an ad here for new Neodesha cages. I guess they are back in the cage business. Unfortunately the largest size available is 4 feet long.