Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I'm looking into getting a bigger enclosure for my burm, and I've come up with a design that I'd like some feedback/suggestions/opinions on. It is designed to make use of a corner of the room his cage is in, to use space as efficiently as I can think of.

Here's what I'm proposing:

I was originally going to go with a 7.5ft long by 3ft deep enclosure, but in this design it will take up less wall space while providing him with more square feet of floor space. And as a bonus, this design gives him a longer straight run to stretch out in.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks very much,
- Mark
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You are beating me to my design...lol. I had actually talked about this particular design to Chris Harper (usually posts in the caging forum) and had mentioned this design. He said that is quite possibly doable, and you have the measurements planned out a hell of a lot better than I did...lol. I Dont see anything wrong with it, however I have never built a cage before so I am not exactly an expert with these either.

Let me know how it turns out!

Chris
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Chris Law
U.A.P.P.E.A.L. (Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League)
Herpetoculture Element Representative

Mark, the only problem I see with it is if he decides to wrap himself around the center post to keep from being hauled out. There's certainly enough room. Looks like a plan.

Quig

Is that drawing to scale? Is the length of each access panel ~3'?

Regardless, I like the basic idea and do agree it maximizes usable space. It probably does not maximize material, however, and may end up costing a lot to build.

Aside from that, my major concerns with this cage have to do with safety and ease of cleaning. To get to the very back corner of the cage is going to be AT LEAST 4.25 feet if this drawing is to scale. That can be very unsafe when dealing with a large burmese python and this is how most food response accidents happen. You do not want a cage that requires you to stick your head/torso into the cage and expose yourself to a bite.

This same problem will make that back corner difficult to clean, and I have to think that it will be a frequent "dumping ground" (pun intended) for a Burmese.

But you don't list a height for the cage so maybe it will be tall enough for you to walk in, therby eliminating the safety and cleaning issues.

If I were you I'd map this cage out on the floor with masking tape and see just how big it will be. Then mimic reaching into the back corner to reach the snake. I think you'll find it's a potential danger.

He could always take the snake out. From what i have seen his snake is pretty mellow, i dont think it would be a problem to remove the snake for cleaning.

I agree, probably not a huge deal, but if the cage is short it may require leaning in to grab the snake. But even that is workable. I used to keep a not-so-friendly Burmese in a very deep cage and I just got her moving with a snake hook before grabbing her. No problems. However, her cage was very tall so I did not have to lean way in to grap her.

After I put up that post it just started to occur to me the back corner could be a dangerous place, or at least a very difficult place to clean. My plan was to make the cage 18" tall, just as his vision cage is now.

And it is true that my burm is very calm, but I have conceded to never let that disuade me from being safe. I won't ever forget that he is still capable of being in a bad mood, and that in such a state is capable of becoming an angry, and thereby dangerous animal.

I think I might scrap this design for a straight cage that is only 3ft deep, so that I can reach all points in the cage safely and easily.

Ok - back to the drawing board? I think so...

Thanks everyone,
- Mark
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-----
.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My personal website: www.antegy.com
-------------------------------------------------------------
My Kingsnake.com Picture Galleries

- 1.0.0 Labyrinth Burmese Python Gallery
- 0.1.0 Suriname Boa Gallery
- 0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake Gallery
- 1.0.0 Pueblan Milksnake Gallery
- 0.1.0 Trinket Ratsnake Gallery
-------------------------------------------------------------
My photography on photo.net
-------------------------------------------------------------
My photography on modelmayhem.com
-------------------------------------------------------------
Me on myspace.com

Mark,

Three feet is still at an awkward depth for a cage that is only 18" tall. Keep in mind that you'll likely have some sort of upper and lower lip to the cage that will make the actual opening less than 18". Even if the lips are only 2', which is about a minimum, that means an opening of 14". I would not want to stick my head in there.

I'm not saying don't do it, but keep it in mind.

Something to consider is a cage that is 10' x 30" x 18".

But instead of building one 10' cage, build two 5' cages that bolt together.

I mention this because of the surplus of cheap but very high quality Russian birch plywood in the US right now. It comes in 5' x 5' sheets (rather than the typical 4x8) which will allow you to build such a cage with very little waste.

I just throw that out there not knowing what you had in mind for building materials etc.

I made up a cut list for this design recently, I think when I was discussing it with the other Chris (aka goini04). I'll look for it if you want.