Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what kind of cages does everyone use??? i use vision cages, but i'm not really impressed... for what they cost i was expecting a little more out of the product...
i know a few of you use tubs... could you post pics and how you heat please... i think i might switch and sell all these on ebay...

shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

First, regarding your Vision cages, don't give up on them yet. A friend of mine purchased quite a few used Visions that turned out to be in pretty bad shape. Primarily they were warped and the doors were not working properly.

I built a series of racks and shimmed them up so they formed a perfectly flat surface across his reptile room. We then stacked those Visions up three and four high. I also took a paper towl and buffed the lower glass track with silicone spray. Teflon spray would also work.

I have not been back to see it but my friend said that after a couple of weeks on that flat surface the doors started working great.

I suspect most of the problems with Visions stem from them being set on an uneven surface.

At any rate, I don't know if that's the problem you're having or not, but I thought I'd mention it.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

I don't keep Chondros anymore but have developed a cage idea for species with similar requirements. It has since been utilized by a handful of Chondro and other arboreal keepers.

Bear with me here...

This first picture shows a 50 gallon (yes gallons, not quarts) storage tote mounted onto the back of a real-wood face frame. It's turned upright but for a Chondro it would probably be better horizontal.

Ironically, if you look in the background those are the same racks that I built for my friend that his Visions sit on.

Here is the front view of the same cage. Please excuse the condition of the cage. The cage had recently spent a day underwater during a flood and then when this picture was taken it had been quite trashed by a Corucia zebrata and it's newborn.

The cage looks much better in person.

The back of the face frame is sealed with epoxy. With hindsight I'd prefer to use a coat of water-based polyurethane followed by a layer of the vinyl film used in the sign industry.

For a chondro I would use the 55 gallon black box available at any Lowes. I have had arboreal keepers from Washington all the way to Florida find this box at their local Lowes.

Turned horizontal the box would have perch-height dimensions of about 28"x23"x18". That might be a bit shorter than you want but many Chondro keepers have indicated to me that this would not prevent them from using it.

Also, I would build the unit in a way that it was free standing. I have experimented with several ways to do this. I left this one open so I could keep my eye on the sides for leaks, etc. There have been none in this cage or the other three I have built.

BTW, the box is held to the face frame with several 3/4" sheet metal screws and a polyurethane caulk. It is a very strong joint.

At any rate, just thought I'd mention this as an alternative to tubs.

It makes for a cage that is light, cheap, and still somewhat attractive.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)