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Doors
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by Frawgg on April 13, 2004
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I am currently designing a snake cage specifically to house the most dangerous and agile of elapids. I am currently leaning towards a slidind door, but a spring -loaded hinged door has also crossed my mind. Any suggestions?
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RE: Doors
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by stopgetinpopped on April 14, 2004
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Out of curiosity, what is the most dangerous and agile of elapids? That would help alot in designing a cage door. Everyone has there own opinions, but top opening and sliding doors are the worst doors you could ever imagine for an elapid. You would want a hinged door that opens to the left or right depending on whether you are left or right handed.
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RE: Doors
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by Frawgg on April 14, 2004
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You know...mambas,taipans,common brown,tree cobras, and any others that I have failed to mention. I am wanting to design the door with a spring-loaded mechanism. However, I still haven't decided how to conceal such a device(so the snake doesn't become entangled) if I am persuaded to go with a sliding door. The sliding door will be a bit more difficult to design than the "regular" spring-loaded door. (P.S. The cage will also have a light/shift reversal catch box. That took me a while to figure out how to design it!) Thanks for the inquiry!
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by stopgetinpopped on April 15, 2004
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Spring loaded? as in slam the door shut with force?
You'll chop half your snakes off? I guess more info is needed. I am curious though.
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RE: Doors
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by Chance on April 15, 2004
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I'm just curious as to the justification behind top opening or sliding doors being so bad for elapids? All the "pro" venomous cages use sliding doors (Vision, Neo), and I personally believe that top opening is the safest way to go. I've worked with everything from big mambas to large cobras in top opening and front opening, and for anything that even has the remotest possibly to quickly fly out at or near you, top opening just makes the most sense to me. My second choice would have to be sliding, as it allows opening the door just a small amount for minor husbandry issues. Completely swing open doors make no sense at all to me, as they make you have to comprimise the entire integrity of the front of the cage when opening the door, whether you are needing to just barely do it or open it the entire way. If something nasty were to come flying out, what would you do? Chopping the snake in half has already been mentioned, so what else do you do? I think it would force a person to let the snake hit the ground and then try to regain control of the situation. In my experience, top opening is the best way to go simply because it give you leverage over the snake, not vice versa. Of course everyone has their own opinions, and I'm very interested to hear your (Terry) reasoning behind your stance.
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RE: Doors
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by Frawgg on April 15, 2004
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As I mentioned previously, a light/shift reversal "catch box" would be the main method of seperating the snake from the main enclosure. The door would be used for cage maintenance. I still am leaning towards a spring -loaded mechanism so the snake will find it difficult to impossible to pry the door open. I am still in a quandry as where to place the door. Top or side? A side door would make it easier for routine cage maintenance, but a top door would certainly be safer, but less practical for maintenance purposes. If I installed both (one on the top and one on the side), that gives the snake twice the possibilities to find an avenue for escape. A catch-22! I don't mean to start a debate, I am just looking for some friendly suggestions. Once again, thanks for your input!
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RE: Doors
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by Chance on April 15, 2004
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Frawgg, I think your idea of having a door on both the top and side sounds like a pretty good. However, I wouldn't rely on a spring mechanism to contain, as you've stated, the "most dangerous elapids." With snakes like mamabas, taipans, browns, and some cobras, security is essential. Relying on springs just won't cut it. What you could do, and you may have already been thinking this but just didn't say it, is to have spring loaded doors like you are wanting, combined with some sort of locking system (padlocks, latches, or whatever) for added security. The only real problem I can predict with using spring loaded doors is how to keep them open during maintenance. Will you have some kind of dowel put in place to keep them pryed open? Or will you have something that will hook onto them when fully extended? I'm very interested about this subject and would like to hear as much about your ideas as possible. I have a pair of young Papuan taipans which will soon be graduating into their permanent home, so if I decide to build rather than buy (which I probably will) your ideas may help quite a bit. Oh, and yes the trap boxes are definitely a good idea with snakes of this magnitude. That is, if you can get them to use them. Some snakes (mambas, in particular) aren't always inclined to hide, especially during the day, so you sometimes might have to scare them into it. A man that frequents this site, Tom Townsend, was planning to start making trap boxes for people to the dimensions they need. I'm not sure if he still is, but if he is, he'll be who I buy mine from. His prices were *very* fair. You may want to get into contact with him about this.
-Chance
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RE: Doors
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by Frawgg on April 16, 2004
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My idea is to use high density polyethelene sheeting in 3/8"-1/2" thickness. This material will solve the problem of fungus and mold inhibiting the building material. this material is also Way stronger than flimsy melamine. Although it will cost considerably more, safety, not cost, is paramount when considering an enclosure for these types of critters. As I mentioned previously, I plan to use a light/shift reversal technique to seperate the snake(into a catch-box) from the main enclosure. The snake should seek out the darkest confines of the enclosure. If it doesn't, I'll bet it could be enticed into the catch-box with the scent of food. That is how I plan to "handle" the snake. The doors are mainly intended for routine cage maintenance. I'm sorry that I have failed to mention previously that, YES, the doors WILL be equipped with locks. The spring-loaded mechanism is for added tention(for the door) against the main enclosure. That way, during the snakes hours of incessant escape "plots", if and WHEN it discovers the door and tries to push it open, ALAS the door will have tension placed against via the spring-loaded hinge! Top or side or both? Any opinions/suggestions would be helpful! Thanks for the input!
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