New Boamaster Micros- Happy Mother's Day to ME!

[guidofatherof5]

There is this idea floating around, that may or may not have merit, that enclosures should have at least one wall that's not transparent, to make the animal feel less exposed and consequently less stressed.

Makes a lot of sense.
I've seen many displays with garter snakes in them and it's all glass and very little hides. I understand what they are trying to do but I do believe it put more stress on the snakes.

[ConcinusMan]

The back wall of my big tank is against the wall right now and they have plenty of plants and wood for cover. In a month or two I'll have plenty of money for upgrades (any day now I'll be working every day for a couple of months straight) and I intend to create a natural looking back wall and install that little waterfall w/wall/wood on the cool end. Don't have it now because it isn't cheap to make it right. Priorities you know.

But yeah, I totally get that. Eventually I'll do all the tanks like that even though my big snakes don't seem to care. They relax right out in the open all the time and don't seem nervous.

The little ones in a 20 gallon that are a bit nervous got lots of places to hide and regularly dive into their hides if I approach too quickly.

[mtolypetsupply]

Well, I like them for big snakes, but am NOT a fan of the door. It was VERY nerve wracking getting the babies out of there when the Florida Blue had her babies. I would suggest them for only single snakes, and at least yearlings. There's too much chance for escape if you house multiple snakes in them. And, of course, when you see a snake making for the exit, your instinct is to close the door, quickly and firmly. Great way to smash a snake, but thankfully, I haven't done that yet.

They are melamine, which makes for easy clean up, I love that part. Not a fan of the rope lighting, we haven't found a good way to attach it.

I love that we used the pro-panels from Pro-Products (NOT pro-exotics). Great way to heat them.

I love that they stack, saves a lot of space in that respect, but not so much if you need one per snake.

I have to say, all in all, with the ENERGY exhibited by our little garters, I love them for adults who are not as squirrely, but not for young ones always making a mad dash for the door. For the young ones, I definitely prefer top opening tanks.

Also, for the babies, I got a reptile basics interdesign rack. It has small tubs, 2x3x12". Another nerve wracking experience. It's okay for feeding and watering, but to take them out, clean their tubs, it's hard to catch little ones. I've had a few launch out at me. I have to get some kind of piece of acrylic or something to put over the tub as I pull it out. Money has been tight, so I haven't done it, nor have I found anything suitable laying around the house.

[Hollis_Steed]

Great information to consider! Thanks. That helps a great deal in making my plans. It's nice that I can depend on others experiences and not have to re-invent the wheel!

[Kevinh583]

Nice setup. Do you order these stackable cages/racks online or is there a pet store chain that would carry them? I have never seen any of the front opening stackable cages at petsmart or petco stores. If ordering online is the freight reasonable?

[ConcinusMan]

Ready-made racks seem a bit too expensive to me for what they are. Redspot bought some really nice clear tubs (clear as glass) without any kind of lid on them, then built the rack to hold them, fairly inexpensively. I'm not a big fan of racks, but this one he built is pretty nice. One I might even consider using. Maybe he'll post pics if I ask him to.

[mtolypetsupply]

Nice setup. Do you order these stackable cages/racks online or is there a pet store chain that would carry them? I have never seen any of the front opening stackable cages at petsmart or petco stores. If ordering online is the freight reasonable?

We got them from Boamaster.com, but picked them up at the Hamburg PA trade show. I don't know how shipping would run, but I'm sure you could get a quote.

If you're handy with tools, they wouldn't be hard to make. If you're the kind who'd like to design it on CAD, google "open source CAD programs" to get a free one to work with.

Ready-made racks seem a bit too expensive to me for what they are. Redspot bought some really nice clear tubs (clear as glass) without any kind of lid on them, then built the rack to hold them, fairly inexpensively. I'm not a big fan of racks, but this one he built is pretty nice. One I might even consider using. Maybe he'll post pics if I ask him to.

I'm not a big fan of tubs, myself. And they are somewhat pricey. However, they are convenient, as you order one day, and then they arrive, and in an hour or less, you have your rack set up, complete with tubs that fit.

Hubby has built 3 rack systems himself, and two large enclosures. They end up being just as pricey, once you get down to it. Plus the aggravation factor: he goes through about 3-8 weeks of "design quandry" trying to find the tubs he wants to use, sometimes by the time he's decided, sterilite has discontinued and redesigned the tub, and the whole time, well, I HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT . ( that's the aggravation part) Then, there's the mess: He leaves sawdust and scraps all over the garage, tools out all over the place, and then assembles them and puts final touches on in the house, where he leaves scrap and mess everywhere. There's still pegboard that I asked him toclean up months ago. He shoved it behind the couch. Not to mention all the little scraps I did clean up in the house.

If you're at ALL a slob like Hubby, order the racks, for the benefit of your family, or even if you aren't married, living home with parents, etc. Bad enough you're into snakes, you'll never get a spouse if you have project scraps and sawdust all over. If you're handy, and you clean up after yourself, and you enjoy doing projects like this, go for it and make one.

[drache]

thanks for the feedback on those cages
I'd been wondering about the doors
sometimes even sliding doors can be risky, but for the most part I'm happy with them, and when a cage is placed above chest level, it becomes difficult to access from the top

[ConcinusMan]

That's another thing I don't care for. The door on that thing or any sliding doors. Much better to have swinging doors and a bottom lip like the exoterra enclosures.

[Hollis_Steed]

That's another thing I don't care for. The door on that thing or any sliding doors. Much better to have swinging doors and a bottom lip like the exoterra enclosures.

I like the looks of the exoterra enclosures but I couldn't find the prices on their website. What do they go for?