Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's a pic of the cage I referred to some posts ago. I started a new thread as it would probably have been missed from last weeks thread. It is actually for Ball pythons, not a burm.

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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

n/p

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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

radiant heat panel and lights? what type of lights are those?
I only use a florescent fixture with my rhp. And thats so I can see the snake.
But those light fixtures do look interesting.

I like it..the lights are very cool..i am also interested in what those are..i've not seen anything in a cage like that before

They are the new radiant, ergonomic lighting device by CFD. They use no bulbs and no electricity. They work from the energy supplied by the RHP and are switched to a photo lens for thermographic specialization in viewing angles. Not really, they are deck lights from Lowe's, $10 each. I use a low wattage bulb for day and a black light for night. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

Looks great!!

If you dont mind me asking, what was it made from and about how much did it set you back?

Stan

Dang son, you ever thought about doin' that for a living?? Bet I'd buy one

N/P

Very nice looking cages man. Good job. Todd

I'd bet none of you would buy one though. I added up all of the materials. Glass $24,Glass Track $10,Door pulls $6,Full Sheet 3/4" Oak Ply $45,Brass Hinges $6,Latch for lid $4,Vinyl Flooring $4,Paint/Stain/Polyurethane $2,Brads $.50,RHP $120,Deck Lights $20,Wires for lights $10,PVC piping & connections for humidity $12,Floor adhesive & silicone for seams $2,Humidifier $28,Thermostat $15,Temp/humidity gauge $20.

Add all that up and you'll get $328.50. Now, to make it worth my while I would need to get around $15 an hour. Even the security guards at the base gate get this. I figure it's way less than normal for a skilled trade. The cage took me about 10-12 hours to make. So take $328, add $165, you get right around $500. You want it shipped? Granted, the finish on this thing is unbelievable but I would not look at this cage and think, I'd pay $500 for that easy! Then again, I'm a cheap skate and can make it.

I looked for a small light fixture that would mount to the ceiling but not take up allot of room. These are metal, sealed deck lights from Lowe's $10 each. I was thinking of painting them and the panel but if something went wrong they'd be more difficult to return. Thanx for the feedback.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

$500? Sounds like a fair price comparable to the other high end caging I've seen. Especially with the RHP included. I agree that I'd personally rather make my own or barter though.
But they'd sell.
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0.2 chickens (Falcon & Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.0 Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (coming soon)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

I am interested in the humidifier setup you have...got any up close pics of that and what kind of humidifier you are using?
I would like to set one up for my burms and skip the daily misting...

It's the easiest thing. You'll need some tools though. It's an ultrasonic humidifier from Wal-Mart. I believe most ultrasonic humidifier's have roughly the same size opening. Here's how they work, at least how I've observed it. You have a 2 gallon resevoir that sits on top of a base. The resevoir has a plunger style valve. Once placed onto the base a seal is pushed in by the filter on the base. This allows water to fill the filter which allows filtered water into the basin where the function starts. Once it's full, the water stops until it gets low enough to allow more out. This minimal amount of water sits over what looks like a silver disc at the bottom. It looks to me like the metal piece vibrates or pulsates causing water to shoot up and it creates a fog. The water container has a tube running through it that separates this fog from the rest of the standing water. It goes up this tube and out of the top of the humidifier. All you do is extend this tube using PVC pipe. This was the hardest part. I had to slim down the end of the PVC pipe to get it to fit into the opening to the resevoir. MAKE SURE NONE OF THESE PARTICLES GET INTO THE WATER SYSTEM. They are a pain in the a-- to get out. Then install 90' PVC elbows until the pipe fits into the cage. Use a shower drain that will fit with the rest of the PVC pipe and you have a way for the fog to enter but your snake can not crawl through it. I did not use pipe dope as you need to be able to move the pipes for cleaning and removing the humidifier and tank for cleaning, refilling. If not bothered they stay together pretty well. I have mine on a timer to go off every 2 hours for 30 minutes. It will run the humidity up to 88% for a small amount of time but by the time it cycles agin the humidity has dropped to around 55%. I haven't found a way to keep the humidity more regular yet. The 2 gallon tank lasts about a week between filling and you don't wind up with standin water or soaked substrate. The fog looks really cool at night with a black light.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

already on the site. Here's a picture of the humidifier, the rest is just pluggin PVC pipe together. I don't cement it together as it often must be pulled at to clean the humidifier. I used a drum sander on a drill press to shave down the end of the PVC so it would fit just right into the opening of the humidifier. That was the hard part.

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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell