Are there locks you can buy for Vision enclosures (sliding glass doors)? If not, how would I go about making one? I had an escape, and I want to do all I can to prevent it from happening again.
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Are there locks you can buy for Vision enclosures (sliding glass doors)? If not, how would I go about making one? I had an escape, and I want to do all I can to prevent it from happening again.
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Cabinet locks for double sliding doors can be found at any lock shop and most glass shops.
Supposedly there is a child proof lock that works with double sliding doors but I have never seen it. It does not lock the doors so much as hold them shut.
But understand that there are documented escapes from Visions where the cages were locked. Grey Banded Kingsnakes and other Triangulum spp. have squeezed out between the gap in the double sliding door. A lock won't help this. If it was a Ball Python or something bulky that escaped then a lock will cure this problem.
If the door was slightly ajar when you noticed the escape this still does not mean a lock will help. Supposedly some keepers have witnessed the snakes escape and it just happens that the doors open slightly while the snake is squeezing through the gap at the overlap. Again, this was limited to Triangulum keepers.
If you are keeping Triangulum or something else that is a good escape artist there are solutions. Fill the gap with a strip of acrylic or thick weather-stripping. This in conjunction with a lock is a good idea.
Some keepers go as far as replacing the double sliding doors with a single pane of glass that is lifted out for access.
Thanks a bunch for the advice and ideas!
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There are plenty of locks for glass doors, but a cheaper way to secure the door is a wood or plastic dowel dropped in the tracking.
Also, make sure that substrate doesn't bunch up in the tracking and prevent you from closing the sliding doors all the way. I have lost a few critters from failing to close the sliding doors all the way.
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