First, I want to thank everyone on this forum with their great ideas and suggestions. I've been gathering info for quite sometime and I appreciate all the advice. I’m designing a cage that resembles a cage posted by Jeremy on this forum. The outer frame will be 6’ long X 5 high’ X 2' deep with three separate shelves inside that will house a common boa constrictor and a pair of Dumeril’s boas. Each cage will be 6’long X 24” deep X 20” high. The material is ¾” melamine for the cage bottoms, sides, and top and two separate pieces for the 6’ X 5’ back. The shelves will have two supports in the middle to prevent sagging. The front will be framed in with some nice pine and sliding glass will be inserted onto 2” litter dams. I’m thinking about using ¼” tempered glass and the glass track and sliding glass lock from Outwater. A few concerns I have are:



1. What kind of material or treatment can I apply to safely ensure that the floor bottoms are water tight and protected? Lineloeum?, shower board?

2. Will a single 2” X10” vent (floor return type) be enough to control humidity and air flow in this size cage? Where is the best placement of vent(s)? I would like the cage to be flexible enough to house other species that might require different humidity levels.

3. The cage will be set up in a heated basement, but I’d like to install two ceramic light fixtures above each cage that can be controlled by dimmer switches on the outside. Each bulb will be protected by a wire cage to prevent accidental burns. I hope to wire them together and then run them to a dimmer switch outside each cage so that they can be independently controlled. Any suggestions? Are there good suppliers of bulb cages you’d recommend?

4. With ¼” sliding glass and the track from Outwater, will there track allow the glass lock to fit between the pieces? I spoke with a rep today and they said it would be fine, but the catalog drawing shows a very tight fit. Any suggestions on making the measurements for the glass? This is my first time with a sliding glass design.

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