Constrictors Northwest?

[kwhitlock]

Have anyone of you ever bought some caging from them? I did a little bit of looking around and they have by far the best prices around, wondering if you guys can give me any idea if these are good enclosures or should I spend the money on a boaphile or apcages etc..

Thanks!

[Jim Smith]

After doing quite a bit of internet research on the subject, I ended up purchasing all my cages from Ed at Constrictors Northwest. Not only are his prices very competitive with no additional shipping charges, his cages are also top quality. The material he uses was developed for marine boats and as such is impervious to just about everything. Many of the other plastic cages out there use a different type of PVC material that is not as thick or strong and gets badly stained from urates and feces. Ed's cages are well designed, super easy to assemble and extremely well made. To top it off, Ed is a great guy to do business with. I have no affiliation with Constrictors Northwest - just a very satisfied customer.

[pdomensis]

I had never seen this site before. Nice looking stuff.

[kwhitlock]

Awesome, thank you Jim! How do you heat these cages? I want to get a big one for my rainbow and a same size one eventually for my Hondo.

[Mikoh4792]

You can use a radiant heat panel or heat mat.

I too have heard many great things about him and he seems to be a great guy to deal with from personally talking with him.

I'll be ordering a few stacks from him in a years time.

[Jim Smith]

I use heat mats for my cages. Ed puts two strips of the cage material on either side of the cage bottom that act like feet. This leaves about 3/16 gap under the cages where the heat mats fit very nicely without being sandwiched directly between two pieces of material which can cause problems.

[sharthun]

I will probably get 2 of these for my MBK and Black Milk later. Just can't decide on 48 inches wide or 36 inches.

[Jim Smith]

I got the 36 inch size manly because limits of where I was situating the cages. If I had it to do over, I'd get the 48 inch size just to give my babies more room to roam around in.

[sharthun]

I got the 36 inch size manly because limits of where I was situating the cages. If I had it to do over, I'd get the 48 inch size just to give my babies more room to roam around in.

Yeah I think that's a good choice!

[lewis13]

After doing quite a bit of internet research on the subject, I ended up purchasing all my cages from Ed at Constrictors Northwest. Not only are his prices very competitive with no additional shipping charges, his cages are also top quality. The material he uses was developed for marine boats and as such is impervious to just about everything. Many of the other plastic cages out there use a different type of PVC material that is not as thick or strong and gets badly stained from urates and feces. Ed's cages are well designed, super easy to assemble and extremely well made. To top it off, Ed is a great guy to do business with. I have no affiliation with Constrictors Northwest - just a very satisfied customer.


What was the turn around time on getting the cages? Did the come assembled and if not how was the assembly process?

[Shann]

Earlier this year I got a 48x24x18. I absolutely love it. The extra bit of height makes getting a boa in and out of it a lot easier. I will definitely be using his cages in the future. I really loved the customer service as well. It was great talking to him before I ordered the cage and he has even helped me with minor issues (user error, not cage design) that I have had since setting it up. I put my own lighting into it, and it makes a fantastic display cage, and holds heat and humidity very well. I live in the desert, so humidity was always a struggle with my other cages.

I picked Constrictors NW because I had only heard good things about him, and I liked the materials he uses. I'm using a proproducts rhp and I just love my set-up. It's made my life so much easier.

[Jim Smith]

Lewis13,

Because Ed is pretty much a one-man shop, the turn around time can vary depending on his workload. It took just over three weeks to get my cages which was about 10 days faster than expected. The cages come unassembled, but they are very easy to assemble. Ed uses dovetail joints for his cages so the pieces slide together nice and snug. It took me about 40 minutes to assemble the first cage because I was very cautious and really took my time. After that, it took me about 25-30 minutes per cage with an extra 15-20 minutes to install my own lighting. I opted for 24 inch fluorescent under-counter lights which work beautifully for the 36 inch cages. It lights them up like a show case. You can go to his web site and watch a short video on the cage assembly process which may help alleviate any concerns you may have.

The other good thing about doing business with Ed is that if you leave him a voice mail message or send him a question via email, he returns the call and spends all the time you need answering any questions you may have.

[revent]

Yeah Ed is a good guy. I havnt ordered anynof his cages but I've seen them at expos and actually bought my JCP from him. It helps that he really just lives a couple towns over from me.

[lewis13]

Lewis13,

Because Ed is pretty much a one-man shop, the turn around time can vary depending on his workload. It took just over three weeks to get my cages which was about 10 days faster than expected. The cages come unassembled, but they are very easy to assemble. Ed uses dovetail joints for his cages so the pieces slide together nice and snug. It took me about 40 minutes to assemble the first cage because I was very cautious and really took my time. After that, it took me about 25-30 minutes per cage with an extra 15-20 minutes to install my own lighting. I opted for 24 inch fluorescent under-counter lights which work beautifully for the 36 inch cages. It lights them up like a show case. You can go to his web site and watch a short video on the cage assembly process which may help alleviate any concerns you may have.

The other good thing about doing business with Ed is that if you leave him a voice mail message or send him a question via email, he returns the call and spends all the time you need answering any questions you may have.


Thanks for the information! I am definitely going to be in the market for an enclosure for my RTB soon. I have debated building my own but my lack of carpentry skills maybe an issue. lol I looked at their website and really like the looks of the cages and the fact that shipping is included.

[kwhitlock]

Man! Makes me happy about getting one of these! How would I find out what RHP I need for the enclosure? I struggle right now to hold the temps during winter I think a RHP would make that easier! I saw on constrictors website they recommended a brand but they are incredibly expensive compared to other ones..

[lewis13]

Man! Makes me happy about getting one of these! How would I find out what RHP I need for the enclosure? I struggle right now to hold the temps during winter I think a RHP would make that easier! I saw on constrictors website they recommended a brand but they are incredibly expensive compared to other ones..

I got mine from reptile basics inc. It was really easy to install and they are great guys. I am sure they can give you all the info you would need. I also thought the prices were pretty reasonable

[kwhitlock]

I also saw reptile basics one, much cheaper. I also haven't had any problems with ordering from them. Just don't know which one to get..

[Shann]

I got mine from proproducts, like he recommended, and they were also great. They chose the panel for me based on my cage size, what I was keeping, and what my lows and average room temps were. I paid $98 for it I think but from everything I've heard about them it will last me a long time. I'm very happy with it so far, and have zero complaints. I haven't used the other brand, so I can't compare, but with this one I can place my hand on the panel, and it won't burn me. I've also used my temp gun and it stays nice and pretty even across the whole surface. I will be buying from them in the future.

[Mikoh4792]

I got mine from proproducts, like he recommended, and they were also great. They chose the panel for me based on my cage size, what I was keeping, and what my lows and average room temps were. I paid $98 for it I think but from everything I've heard about them it will last me a long time. I'm very happy with it so far, and have zero complaints. I haven't used the other brand, so I can't compare, but with this one I can place my hand on the panel, and it won't burn me. I've also used my temp gun and it stays nice and pretty even across the whole surface. I will be buying from them in the future.

My only complaint is that you don't have the freedom to choose the panels.... they treat their customers like babies.

I could have different uses for different size panels during different times of the year depending on the different conditions i wish to achieve inside a given enclosure.

For less money you can get these results from other companies like reptile basics.

[kwhitlock]

My only complaint is that you don't have the freedom to choose the panels.... they treat their customers like babies.

I could have different uses for different size panels during different times of the year depending on the different conditions i wish to achieve inside a given enclosure.

For less money you can get these results from other companies like reptile basics.

How do you choose which size and wattage you need mikoh? Is it similar to UTH where you need to cover 1/3 of the enclosure?

[Mikoh4792]

How do you choose which size and wattage you need mikoh? Is it similar to UTH where you need to cover 1/3 of the enclosure?

It's kind of like that. It depends on a lot of things like cage material(how well your cage insulates heat) the dimensions (height, length of cage...etc)

You have to experiment at first so I would recommend testing things out for a week or so to make sure you have it right before putting an animal in it.

For me I heat 3x2x2 cages with a 40 watt RHP from reptile basics. I create a basking spot of about 90F six inches under the RHP and the temperature slowly tapers off from there, leaving the coldest side of the cage to be around 75-80F....sometimes colder in the winter.

For 2x2x2 cages i use the 28 watt RHP with the same idea.

It really depends on how you want to set up your cages.

[kwhitlock]

I was thinking like a 48x23x14, figure that would have my rainbow be happy for the rest of his adult life for a long time. Would the 80 watt be fine? Its just going to be for a BRB I figured with how little extra heat they really need it would be ok?

[sharthun]

I was thinking like a 48x23x14, figure that would have my rainbow be happy for the rest of his adult life for a long time. Would the 80 watt be fine? Its just going to be for a BRB I figured with how little extra heat they really need it would be ok?

I'm going to order the PLM 48x23x14 for my MBK and Black Milk when they are full grown.