Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm getting ready to build the boa condos. I have the size in mind 4'long x 2' deepx 18" high. What is the best/ safest way to heat it? The condos will basicly be a large box seperated by shelves, I'd like to heat it inside the enclosure.Thanks, Blue

Hey Blue, you commented on my boa cage...I just haven't gone back to the photo forum to respond. I use 2 - 25watt halogen lights (from Lowes) to heat the 6x2x2 cage you saw. It stays toasty in there...about 76* in the cool spot(away from lights), 93* in the warm spot. I also have a cobra heat mat behind the big hide box. I can cool the cage easily, if I need to, by opening the doors. (Big benefit to having doors on top!)The halogen lights put out a lot of heat! I can snap a pic for you tomorrow if you want to see what they look like. I use a 10 watt halogen light in each of my leo cages & they are the ONLY source of heat in their cages. Hot spot = about 100*, cool spot = 70*, and those cages are 3'(l)x9"h)x16"d).

I built a 5 unit cage - three 4'L X 2'D X 11"H units, and two 2'L X 2'D X 11"H units. I hadn't installed the heat pads for the two small units in this picture of the whole cage because that was a last minute design change on my part (just got the heat pads for those units yesterday), but you get the idea.

This is the interior of one of the units showing a closeup of the heat pad and how I routed the cord (used cable hooks screwed into the ceiling of each unit to keep the snakes from getting around the wires).

The cords just come out to the sides of the sliding plexi doors. I probably should have drilled holes for the cords to make it neater, but it works. Also, I have these mats hooked up to a Helix thermostat to keep them from overheating. It's set to 97F, which gives them a nice toasty spot next to the heat pad - since it's on the wall of the cage, and the far end is in the low 80's. I have had the large units set up & occupied for a bit better than a week now I believe, and I'm real pleased with it. I set everything up and let it run for 24 hours before putting anyone in it though...just to be on the safe side.

I can't say enough how pleased I am with the Ultratherm heat pads...plan to switch my Vision cages over to those as well as soon as money allows. They're very economical as well as reliable and www.beanfarm.com - where I bought them - was a real joy to deal with (can't say that about all of my online transactions). Oh, one last thing on building the cage, I had to add vents to it because it held humidity too well with the only circulation being between the sliding panes. I used one 2 inch soffit (sp?) vent per cage. I was told about them on another forum and got them from Lowe's ($5 for 6 of them).

Raven

I am also really lcose to trying my hand at building one of these, most likely tomorrow or the next day. Are there any power tools you used or was it all cut at the store. Also what are those small rectagular things on the sides of each level are those the vents? Thank you in advance Raven. I really want to get visions but really do not have money for 5 of them. Thank you in advance.

All in all, it wasn't too difficult. The main problem was the weight - I definitely needed an assistant for moving it around once it got nearer to completion. In fact, I added casters at the very end because I wanted to have an easier way to move it. In regards to materials & tools, I already had the shelves but had to have the back and sides cut. I bought a 4X8 sheet of melamine and had Home Depot cut it for me. The old adage of "measure twice, cut once" is a good one. I mismeasured the shelves and had the back piece cut 1/2 inch too long. I used a circular saw to 'trim' the excess, which resulted in my having to then go out and purchase wood putty to fill the wavering gap along one side of the back piece. I also tried to save a bit of money (about $20) and cut my own plexi, purchasing a 72" X 36" X 1/4" sheet. I used a circular saw for this as well, but had to purchase a special blade for cutting plastics (about $8 for the blade). It wasn't too bad, though I did split one of the doors and had to purchase another small section of plexi to replace it. If I had to do it over, I just buy precut pieces of plexi from the local glass shop. The main thing was taking my time and being careful. I predrilled all my melamine pieces (measuring and measuring again to make sure they all would line up) and then screwed them together with drywall screws.

The little square things are some garden thermometers I put in each end to make sure my heat pads were working correctly. Those came out before the snakes went in. The vents I added later when I realized the cages were holding too much humidity. I'll have to get a picture of those so you can see what they look like. To install them, I had to purchase some holes 'bits' for my drill (little circle shaped saw blades). That part was real easy and the vents popped right in with a bit of pressure. The heat pads are Ultratherms from www.beanfarm.com and are mounted with double-sided mounting tape to the end walls so the snakes can't get behind the pad. I put the Helix's probe behind one of the pads and plugged them all into the Helix system. The last touch was using the cable 'hooks' and restraining the cord against the ceiling of each cage.

I built these for basically the same reason you are, I needed the cages but didn't have the money to purchase more manufactured cages right now. All told, the cost was about $450 for all the materials for 3 large cages & 2 small ones - way cheaper than I could buy anything for.

Raven

Raven, you paid what? I had the same design for my leopard gecko cages I built in April. Except the total dims were 4"h)x3"l)x16"d). I didn't use 4' lengths because of sagging issues. I bought the precut melamine shelves. The total cost for my set up below was about $200! I even had 1/4" glass cut to size at a glass shop. I also have those same locks, but don't use them cause the gecko can't move the glass. Where did you buy the materials? I use lights and that helps with the humidity issues you mentioned. I see you also made the same mistake as I did...no litter dam...the cage I just built like this for my males includes a 1" litter dam. What are you keeping in there?

The breakdown on costs (including total melamine used if it had to be purchased, even though I had the 5 shelves and only had to purchase the back and sides):

3/4" Melamine - 1 sheet makes 4 shelves, a 2nd sheet makes the sides and back, a 3rd sheet the extra shelf and divider for the top section - $75
1/4" Plexi sheet 72" X 36" - $60 for all 8 sliding doors
1/4" Plexi sheet 24" X 30" - $10 (to replace the door I broke)
Aluminum track for sliding doors - $130
Heat Pads: 3 large - $75
Heat Pads: 2 small - $40
Locks, screws, silicone caulking, mounting tape, cable hooks, special blades for the plexi, hole cutting blades, wood putty, vents and casters - $70 /-
Total cost - $460 (this includes total cost of melamine, which I had most of already).

Most of the materials were purchased at either Home Depot or WalMart, the exceptions being the heat pads from Bean Farm and the aluminum track from a local glass shop. Because the shop doesn't normally carry aluminum track, it was a special order and I had to pay their shipping in addition to the cost of the track. I also have enough track left over for two more cages because I had to buy the 12' lengths the manufacturer makes, not just the four sets of 4' lengths I needed. The four foot lengths are because I'm housing two adult boas in it, a juvenile albino burm, and my juvenile boas in the top two smaller sections. I doubt this will ever sag because of the way I assembled it (probably overkill on the screws, but it provides extra support as do the aluminum tracks). The precut shelves didn't come in the size I wanted, plus as mentioned I already had melamine shelves the right size, so I only had to purchase a sheet for the back and sides to use with the shelves I already had.

I didn't have to purchase the thermostat either, because I already had it for the flexwatt I was using in the cages these snakes were already in, so you can add another $130 to the total for the Helix model I have. I didn't include that in my estimate because there are other thermostats out there that cost less, but I wouldn't use any but Helix. Even adding in the thermostat (making a total of $590 now), you're still looking at a minimum of $200 per large cage and $100 per small cage ($800 total) if you're purchasing manufactured cages, and they won't include the heat or the locks for those prices in most cases (the exception being Moonstruck with their heat source and keyed locks). I could have done a few things differently and saved some money. Glass would have been cheaper than plexi, plastic tracks instead of aluminum, etcetera - but I don't feel it would have been as secure (which is a must for me) and so I spent a bit more to get what I wanted.

In regards to the litter dam, I didn't use one because, #1 I didn't want the snakes to have anything to grab on to when I was trying to remove them, and #2 I don't use loose litter, I use cotton sheets so there's no litter to contain and most of my boas consistently 'go' in the water bowls or a back corner so no problem there either. In regards to the locks, they are necessity in my book when housing large constrictors. The smaller ones probably can't move the plexi, but the larger ones could and I never intend to be on the local news for my escaped boids.

Raven

I can see where things added up. I went with glass because I didn't want the scratching (but snakes don't scratch). I paid $66 for the 10 pieces of glass. I used the plastic tracks for a total of about $20. I had a neodesha that had aluminum tracks and the aluminum oxidizes and leaves a black mess. But aluminum tracks will probably help prevent sagging. My glass and plastic combo hold up well, when I first put it together I knocked a stack of 18 gallon totes (loaded with stuff) into the front of the cage on accident, and it held up. I almost crapped my pants though! I had built a rack a day before using the same size melamine shelves & I knew it was going to be heavy, especially with the glass, so I used a sheet of luan on the back to lighten up the weight. I also put casters on it! I doubt luan would hold against a burm though. I mentioned the litter dam because when my boas let loose, they LET LOOOSE, I hate when stuff leaks from a cage! Did you use a special blade for trimming the back piece of melamine? I don't like cutting melamine ... chips too easily. These stacks are way cheaper than ordering cages. I also think they look better and are more customizable (is that a word?).

Yeah, it added up pretty quickly. The main costs were the track and heat pads. The plexi isn't exactly cheap either. I'm planning to build a smaller unit (a 3' multi-cage unit) for some smaller boids and my adult corns. In that I'll use a thinner plexi (probably 1/8" and the plastic track. The smaller snakes aren't near as likely to bow the plexi or pop it out of the tracks as the 7 footers are. That unit will be a fraction the cost of this one. I haven't bought the melamine yet, but I have enough of the thinner plexi for three or four 3' cages (probably 10"-11"H on them as well) that cost about $20. I've ordered enough of the plastic track to do eight 3' cages (two units of four each) and I think that will run about $40 for it all.

So far I haven't had any problem with oxidation on my aluminum tracks on my Vision cages (perhaps because I regularly wipe them down with a bleach & water solution as well?). I thought about using a thinner backing than the 3/4" melamine, but decided to err on the side of caution rather than have one of the bigger snakes escape (no news coverage! lol). I think the main reason I don't have problems with the 'waste factor' is that the cotton sheets are really absorbant coupled with the snakes typically using water tubs for toilets or the back corner of the cage. I also sealed the inside seam where the track meets the floor of the cage with the silicone caulking so that there would be no leaks out the front in the odd case one decides to 'go' closer to the doors.

Yeah, I have a blade for the circular saw that's for cutting paneling - more teeth than the typical multi-purpose wood cutting blades. You still get some very slight chipping, but nothing terribly noticable. The main thing is to have a good sharp blade, the duller the blade the more chipping you'll get. The same goes for cutting the thicker plexi - a dull blade or one with too few teeth per inch will chip and crack the plexi while you try to cut it. Also, with the plexi, you need good support when cutting long pieces. The piece I broke was when I was cutting along the 72" side and the rear of the piece I was cutting slipped to the side - allowing the end of the cut section to sag and then snap in half....just far enough down that it split the length I needed for one of the doors.

I like the melamine cages I've built pretty well (I've also built a very large melamine cage for my adult burm). I must admit I do prefer my Visions in regards to ease of cleaning, weight and overall appearance - plus they'll last forever. But money is an obstacle right now so they went on the back burner and I built this because it was more affordable and took up less space for more cages (trying to consolidate a bit and regain some of the space in my living room for me! lol).

Raven

Awsome kids! Thanks for the input! I'm going to start to build on Sunday. Then I'll have to figure out how to make my pics smaller to post them! Thanks to every one.. Rock on, Blue