Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in a bind here. I need to "save" space asap and to do this I was thinking of investing in stackable plastic cages. For a few years now everytime a cage was needed I went with custom made and regretted it (with the exception of the 4 neodeshas I bought last)! I now have (8) 4ft and larger cages taking up a entire room and a baby on the way!

I have been looking up the different cages and each seems to have its pros and cons. I would be using them for bearded dragons for now, but would like them to be able to house other reptiles as well (for possible future use).

What I am looking for:
1.) Space saving
2.) Stackable
3.) Lightweight (but not so lightweight that they fall or slip out of alignment during stacking)
4.) AFFORDABLE!!!
5.) Good for more then one species reptile
6.) Has resale value! (incase I dont acquire any more reptiles)
7.) Preferably no issues with WARPING, DISCOLORING, MELTING!
8.) Sliding glass doors are always a plus! (Beardeds scratch plexi something wicked!)
9.) Local is always nice to avoid the HIGH shipping charges (zipcode 12020)

Right now I have (3) 4ft x 2ft x 18in neodeshas on a neo rack. (1) 4ft x 2.5ft x 18in neodesha on top of a "shelf". A large wooden unit measuring 4ft x 6ft x 2.5ft, which I have divided into 2 cages and a little storage. Also are 2 more custom cages which were supposed to be furniture quality! HAHA yeah right. Anyways, they both measure 4ft x 2ft x 2ft. Ideally I would love to buy 8 new cages of one caging type and be done. But economically I dont think it is possible. To save as much wall space as possible I was thinking of keeping the 2 custom wooden ones measuring 4ft x 2ft x 2ft, placing them side by side (taking up 8ft wall space). Then buy 6 cages and stack 3 on each wooden cage. I will probably go with 3 footers because I only house 1 dragon per cage. With the 2 ft inbetween the 3 footers I will build a storage shelf or something. This is just an idea! Anyone else have a better one???

Now the best caging? What is everyones opinions? What cages do you use and what are you housing in it? What are its pros and cons? I would like to hear from everyone, the good and bad. But I really want to here from those housing bearded dragons as well!

I am sorry this post is so long! I hope everyone reads it anyways. I am on a strict time schedule, a couple weeks to be exact! So any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Lindsay

ps. You can e-mail me as well!

You can't have it all.. somewhere you will have to compromise, whether it be weight, ability to heat well, cost, etc. And make sure to ask the beardie forum about caging. Plastic may or may not be the favorite solution for those, for the reasons of the high temps needed, scratching, etc. No plastic can handle un-controlled temps. All can warp, discolor, etc if exposed to too high of temps. No plastic is human-error proof.

That said, I think Vision cages are the most durable and they won't slide off one another when stacked. However, they do cost alot for both the cage and shipping, and there are heating issues unless you get the heating shrouds (they come on the 3ft and 4ft cages and larger cages, but not on every model. Ask before buying!)

The Precision cages are very nice but ultra-light in weight. My 2-year old son can (and has) knocked this type of cage right off the stack with very little effort in the blink of an eye. Of course, with a heavier substrate, you may be OK. I was using newspaper (for snakes) which kept the cages light in weight.

There are more cages out there now, like those from Jungle-Habitats, that cost less than Visions and cost less to ship because you assemble them at home easily. Check those out and see.
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Mark G

If you feed your beardies crickets, then you probably don't want to go with Vision cages because the walls are textured enough to let the crickets climb up.
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chickabowwow