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
.

-----
.
-------------------------------------------------------------
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

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.

I gotta go with Chris on this. I like the overall size, but I too see problems with cleaning around the snake. If you have the tools to work with [like Midwest's python hook] you can work around some of the cleaning issues, especially if you consider working around the animal in the cage as if it were venomous - ie. using tools to allow you to keep your distance from the animal or shifting it out of the cage into a holding cage in order to clean. Of course if it was a walk-in cage as Chris mentioned that would make things easier but if it was me I'd still work in the cage with at least a snake hook as extra protection.
-----
Matt Campbell
25 years herp keeping experience
Full-time zookeeper
Personal collection - 21 snakes (9 genera), 20 lizards (4 genera), 6 chelonians (2 genera)

i agree with the problems stated above. in my opinion the doors on the ends are not useful if you already have the inner doors. if the cage is not a walk in cage, i think i might know an easy solution to the problem. you could simply add a door to the top in that corner section. this would provide access to the hard to reach area and not put you in danger of a strike since you will be reaching down right infront of you if your standing at the corner.