Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello im wanting a cheap way to keep my boa in a nice cage but don't want to spend alot of money on custom tanks how can i use a rubbermaid container for him and how do i set it up for him? how can i heat it ? i really need some help thanks Aaron

Hi Aaron. Alot of people use this type of enclosure, myself included as they are super cheap, durable and hold heat and humidity well. Depending on the size of your animal, you can go with anything from a 19qt up to a 96qt container with the emphasis being on the height of the container. Ventilate it using a hand drill or soldering iron (I like to put a number of holes on all 4 sides plus the top), put in a substrate (newspaper or paper towels are best IMO) add branches, a hide and a water bowl and you're set. For heat I prefer to use the human heating pads (or any kind of heating pad or UTH) and you can either lay it underneath a portion of the cage or on top of it, depending on where your snake spends most of it's time. I would not recommend light bulbs or ceramic heat emitters as they may warp the plastic. Here's a pic of some of my ATB setups in my herp room. The two smaller ones on the right house a neonate and a yearling, the one in the middle houses a 5ft male and the one on the right houses a 5 ft female. They are not the prettiest cages and don't offer much in the way of a display cage, but they work great for the animals themselves. Good luck!

>>Hello im wanting a cheap way to keep my boa in a nice cage but don't want to spend alot of money on custom tanks how can i use a rubbermaid container for him and how do i set it up for him? how can i heat it ? i really need some help thanks Aaron

For a size reference, the two little ones are 19qt size and the two big ones are both 76qt, I think. the custom wooden cage they are sitting on is 4 feet long. If you look closely, you will see a heating pad sitting on top of the container to the left. Here is a closeup of the smaller cage on the top right with the neonate black garden phase.

Billy

Hi,

I don't keep Tree Boas anymore but do keep Gonyosoma oxycephala and G. janseni - both arboreal racer/ratsnake types from SE Asia. Similar to Amazon Tree Boas in requirements.

I've been experimenting with this basic cage design for a few years now having 4 mock-ups running the entire time.

Here is what I do.

For this cage I took a 50 gallon (yes gallons, not quarts) Sterilite storage tote and mounted it onto an epoxy sealed face frame I made from pine.

The door is 1/4" acrylic, acrylic hinges, and small thumb tabs. The door nests betwee a 1/4" pine frame that is attached directly to the face frame.

The tote is attached to the face frame with a very strong polyurethane based caulk and several small sheet metal screws. The joint is strong is secure. I was able to turn the cage on its back, place my 5 year old nephew in the cage and carry it around by the face frame.

Sorry for the condition of the cage in this picture. A friend of mine needed it for a Corucia zebrata and her newborn. They trashed it pretty good with their first night of exploration.

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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

This picture should give a better idea of how the tote comes off the face frame. You can also see the screen top I attached with rivets and hot glue. Gonyosoma ssp. require a lot of ventilation, I assume you would not use so much for an ATB. I imagine just drilling several holes that could be covered with tape as needed would be the way to go.

I left the sides, etc. open so I could keep my eye on the joint for separation and leaking. There has been none in any of my four cages. These cages have been tested hard for years now and they are fine.

Ultimately I want to build a plywood false-wall and have several similar-sized totes mounted to it.

This box is no longer made but Lowes carries a 55 gallon box that is much nicer and is black plastic. The dimensions of the Lowes box (without lid) when used as a vertical cage would be 18"x23"x26". If you left it flat for an ATB then it would be 26"x23"x18".

These dimensions are averages. Due to the sloping sides, etc. the dimensions are smaller in the back than they are in the front.

Side view:

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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Nice work Chris. That's a nice way to make a very cheap, functional and nice-looking display cage!

Billy

>>This picture should give a better idea of how the tote comes off the face frame. You can also see the screen top I attached with rivets and hot glue. Gonyosoma ssp. require a lot of ventilation, I assume you would not use so much for an ATB. I imagine just drilling several holes that could be covered with tape as needed would be the way to go.
>>
>>I left the sides, etc. open so I could keep my eye on the joint for separation and leaking. There has been none in any of my four cages. These cages have been tested hard for years now and they are fine.
>>
>>Ultimately I want to build a plywood false-wall and have several similar-sized totes mounted to it.
>>
>>This box is no longer made but Lowes carries a 55 gallon box that is much nicer and is black plastic. The dimensions of the Lowes box (without lid) when used as a vertical cage would be 18"x23"x26". If you left it flat for an ATB then it would be 26"x23"x18".
>>
>>These dimensions are averages. Due to the sloping sides, etc. the dimensions are smaller in the back than they are in the front.
>>
>>Side view:
>>
>>-----
>>Current snakes:
>>
>>0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)
>>
>>3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)
>>
>>2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)
>>
>>3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

np
Kenneth
omahasnakes@yahoo.com

here is what i did. couple models. lol

AlmightyArboreals.com

np
Kenneth
omahasnakes@yahoo.com

These are made by Richell plastics. I don't remember the price, but they were pretty cheap, under $40 per unit I think. I bought about 15 of them and put them on 3 walls of the snakeroom. I used rubbermaids for years but got tired of not being able to see my snakes. They look nice when you fill a wall with them

You can use them as two cages, or by pulling out the drawer the two cages would be connected. You'd just have to seal off the opening with a piece of acrylic or wire mesh for ventilation.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Heinrich
mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Those are nice Mike and I like the price too! Do you have any contact information for them? I just did a quick Google search and came up with nothing......

I'm with you on the not being able to see my snakes.

>>These are made by Richell plastics. I don't remember the price, but they were pretty cheap, under $40 per unit I think. I bought about 15 of them and put them on 3 walls of the snakeroom. I used rubbermaids for years but got tired of not being able to see my snakes. They look nice when you fill a wall with them
>>
>>
>>You can use them as two cages, or by pulling out the drawer the two cages would be connected. You'd just have to seal off the opening with a piece of acrylic or wire mesh for ventilation.
>>
>>-----
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>Mike Heinrich
>>mike@amazontreeboa.org
>>www.amazontreeboa.org

>>Those are nice Mike and I like the price too! Do you have any contact information for them? I just did a quick Google search and came up with nothing......

I got mine at Frank's Nusery & Crafts, but they went out of business. They do have a website. I remember searching for it and not being able to find it but someone else found it and posted it after I had posted some photos. Go to my tree boa forum and do a forum search, I'm sure you'll find it.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Heinrich
mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

>>>>Those are nice Mike and I like the price too! Do you have any contact information for them? I just did a quick Google search and came up with nothing......
>>
>>I got mine at Frank's Nusery & Crafts, but they went out of business. They do have a website. I remember searching for it and not being able to find it but someone else found it and posted it after I had posted some photos. Go to my tree boa forum and do a forum search, I'm sure you'll find it.
>>-----
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>Mike Heinrich
>>mike@amazontreeboa.org
>>www.amazontreeboa.org

>> Go to my tree boa forum and do a forum search, I'm sure you'll find it.
>>-----

Never mind...I just tried to do that and I couldn't locate that thread. Maybe the archives don't go back that far.

I'll see what I can do about locating their web address for you.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Heinrich
mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org