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

[mtolypetsupply]

Many many many thanks to the Hubster, Gary. My poor little garter snakes have been in tubs (and OH, how indignant they are that they have had to live in apartments!!!!) since brumation. They are much happier now that Gary has given me a nice stack of Boamaster Micro cages for them! I love it now that I can finally see my little ones again, too! They're still in attached housing, but now they can see me, I can see them, and we're all a LOT happier.

Here's some pics:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7425.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7424.jpg

Concinnus, hamming it up:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7420.jpg


and hopefully, this girl is gravid, not just fat, it's nice to see her again, either way:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7426-1.jpg


The cages have nice lighting, standard rope lights from Lowes, and we're using the pro-products panels for basking spots. I'm thrilled, and would love to see more of these when we move (someday) and have a devoted "snake room".

:)
Stephi

[guidofatherof5]

Great looking enclosures. What heat source are you using?
Nice job, Gary.

[mtolypetsupply]

Using radiant heat panels from Pro-Products. www.pro-products.com (http://www.pro-products.com) They're a really neat alternative to lights, and reportedly also have physiological benefits as they emit particles in the 8-10 micron range.

They are much more pricey than a standard clamp lamp and bulb, but are much more efficient, and have a 10 year warranty, and a life expectancy of about 50+ years according to studies. I don't know how often you go through bulbs, but at 3 per year, plus the inefficiency of the bulb, and the drying out of the cages, etc. the panels are much cheaper and healthier in the long run.

I have only had the cages set up for one day, but I'll let you know how they work out for me. :) I'd also like to get them for our home, if they work as well as they are supposed to work. Pro-products does commercial and residential (for human :) ) applications as well.

Yes, Gary did do a nice job!

[gregmonsta]

Looking good ;)

[ConcinusMan]

Wow, cool housing!

[Stefan-A]

Hate the colour. :p

[ConcinusMan]

Hate the colour. :p

Details, details.

Oh, another thing. If it were mine, I'd have a section on one end cut out and screened.:cool: Better yet, plexiglass with holes. I know, pick, pick. Still, way cool setup. It would be a real space saver if I had something like that. Maybe some day I'll build one. That would give me room for at least 6 more garters, assuming I keep my current tanks:D

[Hollis_Steed]

Stephi,
Now that you've had these boamasters for a while what do you think? Would you do anything differently? I'm starting to put together plans for housing and these sure look nice. Would you recommend them??


Many many many thanks to the Hubster, Gary. My poor little garter snakes have been in tubs (and OH, how indignant they are that they have had to live in apartments!!!!) since brumation. They are much happier now that Gary has given me a nice stack of Boamaster Micro cages for them! I love it now that I can finally see my little ones again, too! They're still in attached housing, but now they can see me, I can see them, and we're all a LOT happier.

Here's some pics:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7425.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7424.jpg

Concinnus, hamming it up:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7420.jpg


and hopefully, this girl is gravid, not just fat, it's nice to see her again, either way:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/mtolypetsupply/Garters/New%20Cages%2020100511/IMG_7426-1.jpg


The cages have nice lighting, standard rope lights from Lowes, and we're using the pro-products panels for basking spots. I'm thrilled, and would love to see more of these when we move (someday) and have a devoted "snake room".

:)
Stephi

[ConcinusMan]

Personally, I don't like boxes. nearly as bad as tubs. Now if they were free-standing in the middle of a room and had glass on all sides, or at least a natural looking background, I might feel differently.

[Stefan-A]

Now if they were free-standing in the middle of a room and had glass on all sides,
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.

[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!:D

[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?

[Stefan-A]

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.
Swinging doors are a pain in the ***, in my opinion. They're slow to operate and you have to stand further away from the enclosure when you're opening or closing them and the wider the enclosure is, the more space they require. It's especially annoying with skittish snakes or, like in my case, with snakes that have a tendency to press up against the glass when there's the smell of food in the air and have problems telling the difference between the food and the feeder's extremities. With sliding doors, you don't have to open them all the way.

The one drawback sliding doors have, is that gap between them. Well, that and the fact that you can't open both at the same time.

[drache]

Well, that and the fact that you can't open both at the same time.
I can on most of my tanks
not all the way of course, but I can have both sides open a little, which comes in handy sometimes

[Stefan-A]

I can on most of my tanks
not all the way of course, but I can have both sides open a little, which comes in handy sometimes
I did mean completely. It sort of limits the size of the water bowl, unless you want to lift out the doors every time you change the water.

[mtolypetsupply]

Ideally, for me, I'd take that cabinetmaking class at the local vo-tech, and make a rack with slide out trays for tanks. That way I could have my tanks, and save space, too. I'm still a fan of top opening.

I remember Steve had posted about how his radix calmed down after being in front opening enclosures. Makes sense, his hypothesis was something to the effect that when you reach in from the top, you're approaching them as a predator would, from above. When you reach in from the front, you're coming at them from a much less threatening direction, so they don't think everytime a hand comes in there that they're getting picked up to be carried away and eaten.

Anyone else experience a difference like that?

:)

[Hollis_Steed]

I've found that my snakes have become used to the top opening and don't seem to be threatened by it anymore. When I walk in the room they all start heading to the top of the aquarium to be near the top. They expect either to be fed or picked up and held. either way, they seem to look forward to the top opening. I don't think they feel threatened by it anymore.

[mustang]

I've found that my snakes have become used to the top opening and don't seem to be threatened by it anymore. When I walk in the room they all start heading to the top of the aquarium to be near the top. They expect either to be fed or picked up and held. either way, they seem to look forward to the top opening. I don't think they feel threatened by it anymore.
when i ever i go to c checker if i dont have food then hes gettn ready to hide if his allready hasnt

[ConcinusMan]

Not my snakes. They will come out of the hides or wherever they are and come rushing over to me if they're hungry. If it is feeding time and I have prepared something, Amy smells it and starts biting at the air before I even open the top! It's pretty funny to watch.

[drache]

I did mean completely. It sort of limits the size of the water bowl, unless you want to lift out the doors every time you change the water.
hadn't thought about it that way
the sliding doors on mine totally sandwich to either side, so I could get in a tub about one third the size of the enclosure without having to unduly maneuver, but that seems huge