Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have always kept my snakes in aquariums and now I am thinking about upgrading to something better for them. I've been looking into vision reptile cages... they seem to be the best way to go.
I have no experience with this type of enclosure and i was wondering how people like them (and more importantly, how snakes like them.) Also which model/size would be the best for fully grown brb's and columbian rainbow boas.

I looked at those too, and I like the way they look for display. The shipping is just too much money for me. Also the ventilation has to be greatly reduced. I actually like the older models better. The new and improved doesn't seem as easy to use as the old ones were(even with modification).
A local store here uses them, and the snakes are sometimes hiding in crevices which makes them a little hard to view. I am not sure that wire meshing on them wouldn't just rust out.

I bet someone who uses them would have a more accurate opinion.

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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance- that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer

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Edited on January 18, 2004 at 23:59:32 by phwyvern.

I'm really glad i posted in some forums about vision cages. I originally thought they were really nice looking and would be great for my rainbows, but the more i talk to people about them the more i'm being told that there are better ways to go.
I've decided to try building a custom rack that holds five 90qt (35x17x12) sterilite bins. also, i want to heat it using radiant heat pads... so i guess we'll see how that works out.
any tips or tricks come to mind?

thanks in advance for the feedback.

~pam

>>I'm really glad i posted in some forums about vision cages. I originally thought they were really nice looking and would be great for my rainbows, but the more i talk to people about them the more i'm being told that there are better ways to go.
>>I've decided to try building a custom rack that holds five 90qt (35x17x12) sterilite bins. also, i want to heat it using radiant heat pads... so i guess we'll see how that works out.
>>any tips or tricks come to mind?
>>
>>thanks in advance for the feedback.
>>
>>~pam

Pam,
. I have Vision cages. I think they are a great product but they are not the best product for showing off snakes. The ledges at the top and bottom of the sliding doors are perfect places for the snakes to hide from view. I am wondering about using radiant panels with big sterilite bins. As I understand it, and I could be wrong, radiant panels need to be mounted inside the cage. The polyethylene box might not be solid enough to securely mount the panels and you would have electrical cords to deal with when moving the boxes. I have my smaller BRBs in racks of sterilite boxes with heat tape under the ends of the boxes. I can slide the boxes completely out for easy cleaning. If I was starting over buying caging for BRBs I would look closely at Boaphiles or similar style cages.
Jeff

>>>>I'm really glad i posted in some forums about vision cages. I originally thought they were really nice looking and would be great for my rainbows, but the more i talk to people about them the more i'm being told that there are better ways to go.
>>>>I've decided to try building a custom rack that holds five 90qt (35x17x12) sterilite bins. also, i want to heat it using radiant heat pads... so i guess we'll see how that works out.
>>>>any tips or tricks come to mind?
>>>>
>>>>thanks in advance for the feedback.
>>>>
>>>>~pam

ok... so, if i were to make a rack, what do you think would be the best way to heat it?... i have access to whatever tools i need, router, etc. i found sterilite boxes that are 35" long by 17" deep x12" high. do you think that would be sufficient for brb's? i'm trying to be as cost effective, and space efficient as possible... but i also want to do the best i can for my animals... im just new at building enclosures.... but im willing to try.

Pam,
. I think those big sterilite boxes would be ideal. Two ways I know to heat them are either with flat flexwatt heat tape or since you have a router you can route some grooves in the shelves and use cheap but very dependable plumbing heat tape rather than expensive flexwatt. Many of the people who were making good racks for reptile caging used this stuff in the past and I have some that are getting very old but the plumbers heat tape is still working fine. If your reptile room varies much in temperature you will need to control either the flexwatt or plumbers heat tape with a thermostat and a rheostat. If your reptile room has a stable temperature you can probably get by just using a rheostat to control the heating tape. Whichever setup you go with you should put the heat tape close to one end of the shelves so that you have a temperature gradient in the boxes.
Jeff

>>ok... so, if i were to make a rack, what do you think would be the best way to heat it?... i have access to whatever tools i need, router, etc. i found sterilite boxes that are 35" long by 17" deep x12" high. do you think that would be sufficient for brb's? i'm trying to be as cost effective, and space efficient as possible... but i also want to do the best i can for my animals... im just new at building enclosures.... but im willing to try.

Very cool, i will definitely check out the plumbers heat tape. I was thinking that if i built the shelf to hold the boxes so the long sides ran parallel to the wall that it would be against, i could put the tape all the way to one side and wire it in circuit. I am also toying with the idea of wiring in switches to turn on and off individual shelves to conserve energy if need be. A thermostat and rheostat are a must, since i move often. (i'm still in college) With the plumbers heat tape, once it is sitting in the routed grooves, should there be some sort of cover over it? if so, what would you recommend? and what do you think would be the best material to build the rack itself?

thankyou soooo much for the help.
~pam