Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I wouldnt know Paul August if I bumped into him but I can not say enough positive things about his cages and his service. He is a real gem in the nefarious herp world. This photo does NOT do enough justice to this 20X20X30 acrylic with drawer which I heat with ProProducts heat panel and Helix DBS1000 thermostat...But the photo does allow you to compare it with a TUB. The acrylic allows for viewing from all sides (even the back if you want to peel away the back vinyl) and that means you get to enjoy your arboreals more! Following Tony Nicoli's example I kept it simple...water substrate in drawer bottom changed EASILY every 2 days, and NO plants living or plastic. Poops can be cleaned even at night without getting tagged with the drawer feature(esp important for GTPs since our gentle ETBs never strike /LOL) At first I worried That the bare cage and high visibity would stress my ETB who was used to lots of plastic vines and shade but he hung down drank from the floor and then ate just 30 minutes after being placed in his new home.

I was worried about getting a clear enclosure because of stressing the snake but I may consider looking into it. Any problems with warping if you use a heat lamp? I have a couple of BARRS that are great but not alot of visibility.

Chris

I would address all questions of that nature to Paul August but I suspect it would be wiser to have a hole cut through with a screen inserted just as the Barr's cages...still, there is NO comparison, a ProProduct heat panel is so much better, more economical over time, and affords more humidity (although I havent figured out why!

nice looking cage..but i am wondering why you would be advised against live plants...it seems like people are afraid of using them and i dont understand why...i use several in my atb cage and no problems at all and its been that way for almost a year..
Another question is about the water as substrate...i dont really understand the point....wouldnt it be bad to drink after the snake pooped in it??

Not tying to sound negative..the cage is nice just wondering about the rest

Thanks Jason

It just a matter of keeping everything as spotless as possible which is increasingly more difficult as the number of specimens increase. You can still put a bowl of water in the cage and use water as a substrate...with water its very easy to clean and you can easily examen the feces etc...There is more than one way to keep these arboreals and certainly its often worth the effort to have a big set up with cypress mulch, live plants, and naturalistic setting. But big ETBs have a way of knocking over plants etc and it becomes more difficult removing the snake on its branch when vines are growing on it...sure is great to look at though! post some photos of your ATB/set up! norm

here is a pic of my setup..its a 20 gallon...you can see my atb in the pic....the plexi on the top keeps the humidity high and i use a regular bulb during the day and a red one at night....

Great looking cage and glad to hear the emerald adapted so quickly!

Great cage and setup. The comparison to the tub in the pic is great! I have been looking around for that type of enclosure. Where did you get if from? Paul August? I havn't heard of him but I'm a noobie to the forum.

bigd

http://www.mdcustom.com/