Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so I am trying to figure out my next big encloser purchase. Has anyone here had experience with the 4 ft boaphile cages or the Freedom Breeder Reptile 66-4 rack?
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1.1 Motley het butter corns
0.1 Snow corn
0.1 Okeetee corn
1.0 Anery mutt corn
0.1 Stripe Ghost corn
0.1 Amelanistic corn het carmel
2.2 Colombian Redtails
0.1 Striped Colombian Redtail
1.0 Hypo Colombian Redtail
0.1 Hogg Island Redtail
1.3.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Anery Kenyan sand boa
0.1 Normal Kenyan sand boa
1.1 Mexican Rosy Boas
2.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Banded kingsnake
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python
3.0 Bearded Dragons
3.0 Leopard Geckos
0.2 Snow Leopard Geckos
0.0.5 Sulcatas
and lots of fish

That FB rack sure makes maintenance easy due to complete access to the cage floor. If you have an aggressive boa, the FB rack makes it easier to remove the snake.

One thing to consider - are your room ambient temps cold in Winter? Enclosed cages can use other heat options like radiant heat panels, which work well even when ambient room temps get cold.

With racks, it is best to have reasonable ambient air temps in the room. Not necessarily warm, but not too cold. If for boas, especially larger models of boa.

I've used the 4-foot boaphiles almost exclusively for years now. They do really well in cooler rooms compared to racks/tubs, and they're actually quite attractive. Very secure, too, as well as being almost impossible to break. I use 4 footers with relatively small radiant heat panels in a house with no heat, and they do great.

That said, there are two issues that were mentioned by the other responder that I agree with. First, the ones with low headroom are a pain in the butt to clean unless you have freakishly long arms (I have the exact opposite, and always end up with my head inside the cage).
Secondly, they are not a great choice for super aggressive snakes. I prefer dual sliding doors for the jerks.

Hi Anna,
Very funny, your head in the cage. My most recent plastic cage purchase has a 20-inch depth instead of 24 inches. I can now reach the back of the cage without being in a vulnerable position.

I much prefer Boaphile cages, but I bought this other cage specifically for a sometimes unfriendly boa. He is a smaller locality but can be a massive jerk at times.

Yup, I ended up using hooks with boas a little more often with these cages- lets me reach them without thinking I'm going to get a tooth in the eyeball if somebody wakes up on the wrong side 'o the water bowl.