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A caging question
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by agkistrodonkeeper on October 14, 2008
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Hey everybody,
Ok, y'all probably remember about me talking about the temporary cage I built for my timber. Well, I finally have the time and money to build a nice permenant enclosure like I originally wanted.
I have been doing alot of thinking and I would like the opinion of more experienced timber keepers. I was thinking maybe 3ft wide by 2ft deep by 11/2 ft tall. I did some figuring and I found I can get all of these pieces out of one 4x8 sheet of plywood. Does this sound like enough space for the timber?
I would like to go bigger, but my snake room isn't real big and I am going to be building many of these enclosures for my different snakes and I will be stacking them all on one wall. I don't know yet if I'm going to be putting some type of finish on them or painting them.
Thanks for any input
Anthony
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RE: A caging question
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by Cro on October 15, 2008
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Anthony, that would be a very good size cage for your Timber, up until he gets over 4 1/2 feet long.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: A caging question
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by earthguy on October 15, 2008
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Are the enclosures going to be front opening or top opening? 18" is plenty tall enought for a front opening cage, but I prefer a taller cage for a top opener ( a hot can clear 18" faster than you can imagine). Just a personal preference.
What specie and grade of plywood did you get? That could have some bearing on how you finish it.
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RE: A caging question
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by agkistrodonkeeper on October 15, 2008
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I realized I can make the cages 4ft long and still be okay, so they will be 4w X 2d X 11/2T. I'm gonna make them front opening with sliding glass so they can be stacked.
I haven't purchased the plywood yet because I wanna get completly set with a design before I get the materials, but it will be the better quality plywood.
Thanks very much for input
Anthony
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RE: A caging question
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by Crotalusssp on October 15, 2008
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I made mine 24 inches high X 24 inches width X 48 inches long. 2' x 2' x 4' which works out to around 120 gallons worth of volume. Works out well with a 4x8 piece of plywood if you cut it in half and then half each of those. I used 1" by 1 " to brace internal. I built these like 10+ years ago and they worked very well for snakes around 5 feet or less. I should have written down the directions/plans. The guy that helped me was very handy with wood. They were sturdy and stacked well.
Charles
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RE: A caging question
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by agkistrodude on October 15, 2008
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Anthony, do allot of research on the sliding glass fronts. If its not done right and high quality, you'll be constantly fighting jams.Substrate gets in the tracks and the door sticks and you have to mess with it, with a hot snake way too close.I did away with all my sliding fronts after too many close calls and went with swing open. I haven't had a problem since. Take care, Marty
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RE: A caging question
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by Rob_Carmichael on October 16, 2008
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That's a good point. Although we use sliding glass fronts for many of our exhibits, it must be done properly. We do have to periodically clean tracks, etc. to ensure they operate well. We also have swinging doors on several exhibits - I personally like sliding doors because I feel like I have better control of the animal, and, the doors can actually serve as a shield when feeding, cleaning, etc. Everyone must do what they feel is best and safe....safety is always the top consideration when designing cages.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL
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RE: A caging question
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by agkistrodonkeeper on October 16, 2008
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Thankyou all very much for all of the input.
I was going back and fourth between sliding front and swing down fronts. I do actually prefer sliding fronts. I am going to be trying out a different type of track system I found. It is a two piece track. There is the bottom track that attatches to the cage itself, and the top track that attatches to the piece of glass. They roll on bearings. Alot more expensive, but will probably eliminate sticking and jammed doors.
Another good thing is, they are easy to remove to clean tracks.
I will post some pictures of my cage when I get it done.
I willprobably start on it this coming Monday as I am still playing with dimensions and design.
Anthony
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