cages, the good the bad and the ugly

[loxocemus]

i thought id do pic thread similar to a recent couple iv done on snakes with pics from the tinternet/interweb but this time focused on the caging, i enjoy seeing peoples setups as much as thier animals, iv noticed on various websites recently the "professional" racks etc that can be bought for quite honestly obscene amounts of money, for essentially cat litter trays, a lot is made of the rack itself which is fine but the snakes dont live on the frame they live in the £5 tub. from the designs it seems the number one factor behind them is too fit the maximum amount of animals in the x amount of space, there are other designs and choices and this is just to give an idea, pros and cons, of whats possible and is in use in the reptile universe.

this is a chondro room, old style neodeshas on the right, new caging on the left


in this pic u can see the white corrugated guttering that takes waste water from the misting system and channels it outside the building, a true rain system with each cage having a drain


these are diy cages easily made from mult wall polycarbonate used for greenhouses etc and 25mm square aluminium tub with the quick couplings, its like grown up lego



this is a huge tub, something lile 5 x2 with drainage and secure mod at the top, filled with water for anacondas, when thier cage is being cleaned they are encouraged into the tub, which apparently they do quite willingly, thier cage is cleaned and the anaconda often having pooped is returned to its cage


these are cages for basin etbs obviously but modified by skilled keepers to suit the animals, those are adult diapers as a substrate (not that i would know what one looks like u understand)

[loxocemus]

this was a cage of mine for a philodryas baroni (who recently became a mum thanks to the skills and talent of ian), its a good design (im not going to say its crap am i) but it has flaws, the green plastic wall material was too thin, the plastic plants should have been attached with more thought and i should have included an arboreal waterbowl, and the window frame is too thick



the removable tray made cage cleaning a breeze, especially if u have a spare tray u can clean and the snake doesnt even notice, those tubs are large ikea komplement tubs with window mods



this probably doesnt look like much, but its a stroke genius, the threaded rod means u can have the perfect shelf height for ur tubs, u can have any height on any shelf and it can be changed whenever u wish, the ultimate adaptable rack


this a design by a rfuk member (who i hope doesnt mind me posting these), its an excellent use of space, simple materials and the well being of the animal at the forefront of the design

[loxocemus]

these are old style neodesha cube without those silly invasive shrouds, they have recently come back into production


these are greg maxwells famous designs, he uses longer cages than the traditional chondro cubes for the creation of a horizonal temp difference rather than the usual vertical method




this is ben renick's new facility, very clean, modern and lots of space which is handy as ben specialises in the giants like condas and retics


an excellent use for a fishtank not often used anymore, it creates an excellent viewing area and arboreal height, it would be a crime not to fill it with plants and make it into a display


a classic rack, but instead of the commonly used melamine its plywood wit several coats of varnish, in 5 years it will still be waterproof still look good, a melamine version will look 5 years old, however notice the shelf bowing at the bottom, this will only get worse which is why ur making a rack and not a suspension bridge so use mid supports



an excellent design especially combined with the low maintenance quick to annoy chondro, a good cage as this setup does not involve kidnapping the tenant into a tub till ur finished

[loxocemus]

fishtank hell, some people would hang this keeper as fishtank = death in thier minds, when in fact its the keeper=death it just happened in a fishtank, this keeper specialises in chondros etb and eyelash vipers all sensitive species, yet he chooses fishtanks hmmmmm



an interesting mod of tub using external ceramics which isnt a common method, i would enclose the ceramics (vented) as exposed like that just worrys me





nice branches (i like good branches)


nice big enclosure with arboreal jungle jim and radiant heat panel for a bredls carpet


an old method of protecting bulbs from naughty snakes, a clay pot


an unfinished pine rack, becuase it hasnt been sealed it will absorb all the humidity it can like a sponge and will begin to act quite strange after a while


this is another of those quick connect aluminium tube constructions, its looks difficult but its not and will be surprisingly light, the wall materials can be anything, clear or solid.

[loxocemus]

an unfinished varnished setup


purdy


notice the vents below the windows, this is an old dartfrog trick, its helps prevent condensation so ur not looking at a foggy cage with a snake in there somewhere all the time


nice big windows and not too shallow so they dont hit thier head when they sneeze, and the guy on the left expression is just a bonus


a good idea, not the bulbs but the arboreal hide thats easy to maintain and access, good ideas are one thing, but if u have to do yoga and scare the bejesus out of the animals to use them its not worth it


the range of exotic pvc's available in the US is soo unfair, this translucent material will light well too



iv just got this vision of me tripping and all these tubs going flying and a bitey thing attached to every organ, and id have to go round polishing them all the time, ie too fiddly




last but by no means least, monitor keeper extraordinare mike stefani's monitor enclosure, with the large trough as its base and arboreal heaven up above, thats what can be achieved if u want the best for ur animals, all it takes is imagination.


rgds
edward

[chondro13]

Originally Posted by loxocemus

an excellent design especially combined with the low maintenance quick to annoy chondro, a good cage as this setup does not involve kidnapping the tenant into a tub till ur finished
image
image

me?!

Ive nothing against lab setups just prefer the naturalistic ones

However - great thread! really interesting setups here

[Squirrel]

Very nice, what size are those adapted Ikea boxes? Do they still do them?

[loxocemus]

of course not u, im sure ur lovely 24/7 and ur a demon with the grout

ed

Originally Posted by chondro13

me?!

Ive nothing against lab setups just prefer the naturalistic ones

However - great thread! really interesting setups here

[loxocemus]

i think they still sell them yes, theres a smaller size too that woud be good for smaller stuff like hognose, sandboas rosyboas etc, re size 90cm x 50cm something like that.

rgds
ed

Originally Posted by Squirrel

Very nice, what size are those adapted Ikea boxes? Do they still do them?

[trw]

excellent thread. i like the ideas with the tray built into the bottom of vivs and i may do this when i build my next viv.