Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Question: What kind of cage do you think is the easiest to maintain? Cleaning wise. Personnaly for me the lighter the weight the better.

Reason: I am looking to get two Red Tail Boas soon. But before I do I am looking for a cage for them. Right now I have a Rack System with Tubs for my Ball Pythons, which is very easy to clean. But I am not having too good of luck finding a Rack System for Red Tails.

IMO the best all around cages for boas is the ARS-9006. Thay are big, easy to clean and extremely well constructed. I also have Boaphile 421D's. They are okay overall but cleaning them is a pain. Plus it can be pretty difficult to get out or put back a large female that doesn't want to cooperate. The ARS cages are a little more expensive but well worth the investment. Just my $.02

Shawn

Once you workout the sqft to cost/ ARS are almost the exact same cost as boaphiles. And they are a dream to clean!!! NO more breaking my back bending over to reach in a cage to scrap urates. ARS cages also have another feature not mention in that the tubs have no actual corners so no more hard to get to urates!!! I love my ARS caging and will have nothing else for my larger animals!

Al Brown/Brown's Boas

with the ARS 9006 caging how is it for getting boas out of the upper tubs? I am about 6'2 or so and I can get said snake out of the top cage of a 5 high boaphile bo prob no stepladder butI think with the ARS I would need a ladder to get into the upper cages.

I am 5'10 so I use a small step ladder. I also have my motley female in the top, and she is my most docile female I have. I keep my males in my Boaphile 5 stack and to be able to clean the back corners well I still need the step ladder. Personally, I think that the ARS-9006s many pros outweigh the few cons that it has. If I could only have one rack system, ARS-9006 would win hands down. Just my $.02

Shawn
Twisted Constrictors

thanks for the input.

I'm 6'4" I have no issues getting animals out of the upper cage! Cleaning however,because of how deep they are I do need one step on the step ladder! I have used just about every cage brand! I will only use Habitat Systems and ARS from here on out... if there is a here on out!!! One level of 9006 has almost twice the floor space of a 4'X2' cage!!! My best season ever was my first season breeding in ARS racks.. I have had good success in the past.. But I think the ARS and being able to peak in instead of having a picture window like most stackable cages made the boas that more comfortable..

ARS IS THE BEST CAGE FOR BREEDING BOAS IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPIONION...

Al Brown/Brown's Boas

Thanks for your input also I deff want to get ARS one day. I have checked out the racks and really like the smaller ones. I just wasnt sure about the pulling larger snakes out of the top tub. pulling a snake out of the front of a cage seems easier to me. I guess I will just have to order some and try it out lol.

One other thing I forgot the inside of the tub is super slick so urates and other waste just glide off the surface which makes cleaning a breeze... The black plastic cages I have had leaked,rusted the heat tape and not mention that the material is porus to some extent and the urates stain the black cages so even when you have scrubbed your arm off you will still see swirl marks that dry with a hazy film...just my 2cents...

Good Luck

Al Brown/Brown's Boas

white cages and regreat it sooo much lol. I will say I love the white racks i have but the white cages BAD IDEA on my part.

I also have black cages and I havnt had any stain problems with them tho I have had leaking and rust problems.

The Proline series cages made by Ed Lilley of Constrictors Northwest also makes easy-to-clean cages . Their plastic is polyethylene , and very non-porous , as other competitor cages seem to use plastics that are more porous, and a little more difficult to clean .
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Snake room janitor

I had the same questions when I was looking and ended up building exactly what I wanted. This is the proto type - they are now lined on the inside with plastic sheeting over all wood surfaces. Have worked out great for us.

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Thanks
Shawn Morelan
www.Southernboids.com

I have several of Doug Barr's cages and they are super. Easy to clean, non-pourous, light weight, and hold heat/humidity very well. Doug is a great guy to deal with and gets the cages out to you fast. Bill

www.barrs.com
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

Well it looks like you have already got a descent amount of advice. Im a long time collector and cage builder and just recently started selling to the public. I just wanted to throw my two cents in. Now dont get me wrong, im getting back into the forums and trying to help people out not just jumping on here to advertise. I have been posting articles and buying off the classifieds aswell. I would have to say that an acrylic or melamine cage is definetly the easiest to clean and maintain. Most people are getting away from the melamine now because it is so heavy and expands regularly on the edges as its exposed to moisture. Acrylic is nice, light weight.. but normally a cheaper cages that is not built for strength.

We have a good combination going now by using a beautiful furniture grade plywood that is lighter weight. The insides are finely sanded and thinly coated with a clear coat making them water resistant and easy to clean. Using a 220 grit sandpaper and spraying the finish on makes the surface nearly as smooth as plastic. And, there is no better insulator that wood so its easy to control your heat and humidity.

Just to throw it in there Barrs does have nice cages and I have heard nothing but good things about them. Best of luck in the future.
Reptile Snake Cages