glass?

[reptile boi]

Hey everyone,
I was just wondering, what kind of glass would you use to build an enclosure for a boa thats strong enough to not shatter when struck at?




Thanks,
Ben

[creander]

8 to 10 mm is the best, think if a Boa gets big he is a very powerfull snake.

[Ed_r]

Ummmm How bout 1/4 inch plexiglass? or Acrylic. Doesn't shatter.

[Jeff_Favelle]

1/4 inch is good. I use 3/16 as well.

[Jeff_Favelle]

And your boa shouldn't be striking at the glass, no matter HOW thick it is.

[reptile boi]

Hey Jeff,
The reason why i asked if anyone knew how thick or what kind of glass that wouldnt shatter when struck at is because my boa does the ocassional (not everyday) strike to the glass because she can smell food and when i walk out of the room she strikes at me because there is the smell of rat and that im moving.

ED: Where do you get acrylic from? Is it cheaper and stronger than glass?

[Ed_r]

You can get 1/4" plexiglass at a Home Depot, or Lowes. US Plastics (http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=Acrylic&Page=1) The plxiglass and acrylic will not shatter or break. Not sure about cheaper, but definately stronger. It is a plastic, and flexes(a little bit) unlike glass. Is also lighter too.

And as Jeff said.. Why is your Boa striking the glass? Are you feeding it Live prey? Boas almost never strike the glass. If this is a common occurance you have to find out why. And if you are feeding live, please don't. Your Boa WILL eat f/t, most will the first try.

[Mike177]

there are several types of plexy glass they range from 25 times stronger than glass to 250+ times stronger. one type wich is one of the strongest is lexan THE SH*T IS NEARLY BULLET PROFF and it is priced like it is too. i just buy the cheep plexy glass and it works fine.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Nothing can be cheaper than glass. Its free, Its everywhere. Go to a window shop. They'll be more than happy to let you take all you want.

[Zoe]

Really Jeff? They'll let you take it for free??

[Edwin]

I use 6mm glass. If you are worried that the glass might shatter, get safety glass.

[Edwin]

Originally posted by Zoe
Really Jeff? They'll let you take it for free??

Zoe, I managed to pick up several small pieces for free from a glass factory. They were even nice enough to temper it for me.

[Zoe]

Wow, maybe i oughta hike up my skirt and give it a shot!
:D

Zoe

[Bryce Masuk]

reptile boi if your boa strikes at the glass get plexi or lexan he will be less likely to break his jaw......
Oh yeah if anyone local wants glass pm me I can get any size and thickness for less then wholesale And I often have a few pieces but its usually tempered so it cant be cut nor drilled

[Ed_r]

Wow, maybe i oughta hike up my skirt and give it a shot!

Hmmm....Did I mention I own a glass shop?:p

[Zoe]

I agree, though, that a snake shouldnt be striking at glass. the only snake thats ever struck at my through the door was a female colombian rainbow boa who was always skittish and struck at everything. Even my most aggressive feeders don't strike.

Zoe

[T.O-SK8TER]

Go to Home Depot and pick up 1/4 inch Lucite plexiglass make sure you get the one that says Tuff-Stuff. It is what I use and it is non-yellowing( very important) and yes it is 100 times stronger than any glass, it also comes with a life time warranty. A piece 3 feet by 6 feet is 80 bucks but trust me with the warrany it is worth it and it is much safer than glass because it has a little flexibility. I am building an 8 by 4 foot cage right now and will be using the Tuff-Stuff for this project. Leave a post if you want to know a nice looking way to install it!

[Edwin]

If your snake is frequently striking at glass, try covering your terrarium with a piece of cloth, or moving your terrarium to a more quiet area. Some snakes just want to be left alone.

[reticguy]

I have a 200+lb African rock python. Arguably the largest afrock in captivity today. She strikes at the glass hard enough to rock her cage and has never shattered the glass with a strike and I only use 5-6 mm (1/4") plate glass (non-tempered). She did break her glass once before, but that was when a few of us tried to restrain her in order to bag and deliver to a herp show, where she was to be the show-stopper animal on display, but she broke the glass by hurling the mid-section of her body at us, not a strike.

Although Plexiglas won't shatter, it does look like crap after some use. It eventually gets so many minor abrasions from cleaning (even with a damp, soft cloth as opposed to paper towels) that it always appears foggy, but it's not...just the accumulation of all those minute scratches/abrasions.

Nathan

[Bryce Masuk]

"100 times stronger than any glass"
Not a chance
You should see some of the glass I have....


The reason I suggested plexi is because it will abzorb the shock instead of transfering it into the snakes jaw Which could litterally break in two Because Above all the snakes welfare is the most important thing

[Linds]

Home Depot and other building supply places will charge you through the nose for plexi. The best place to get it is directly from a plastics manufacturer. You can find the nearest one, or you can go for several and shop around for the best buy, in the yellow pages in the phonebook.

[T.O-SK8TER]

The plexiglass comes with the waranty claiming it is literally 100 times stronger than glass I did not make this up ok!

And if you take care of your cage and clean it properly you will not get scratches or fogging on plexiglass! Here is my cage and it looks fine to me?
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/241347/cage1.jpg

[Bryce Masuk]

Its weird they would say that because its not true Tempered glass is very strong
I have 3 pieces of glass from a old protected ATM machine all of the windows are bullet proof 2 I saved for later but I took The smallest one only 1.5X4 and we shot it a few times with a .270 and a 30 odd 6 on the first shot the glass just fell down because it was leaned against a tree then we set it up right and took a few shots it cracked a bit after 10 shots or so each but other then that it was fine trust me its strong

I could belive lexan is 100 times stronger for its weight then untempered glass though

If your lexan scratches you can buff small scratches out lexan is also Clearer then glass

[Mr.Lizard]

I agree with retiguy,plexi is gonna show scratches eventually and not look as clean and clear as glass will.
It is a lot lighter and more flexible but,for my money it's gonna be glass.

[T.O-SK8TER]

Plexi glass is way safer for the snake. Plexi has flexibility if a snake strikes at glass for any reason which may happen. The snake is going to knock itself out!

[Conas]

my old boa always struck at the glass too. Everytime i came near the cage it was "hissssssss" "thud". He was just a mean little guy.

He died of mouth rot :-[

[Zoe]

I am sorry to hear that conas, but I am curious as to how he DIED of mouth rot?

Zoe

[Conas]

well it got really really bad. The vets here said to just put him down. Half of his lower jaw had rotted away. I think i might have a picture of it somewhere. He couldn't eat anything at all.

It was terrible though. I traded my dad an albino burmese for it cause i wanted a boa and he wanted that. He felt bad enough that he wanted to give me his GTB. I told him to give me all his old Reptile Magazines and he'd call it even though :)

[reptile boi]

ok, for all of those who wants to know.. NO i am NOT feeding my snake live prey. Live prey is more expensive then f/t too, and i dont understand why people would feed their snakes live other than for the fun of it. Anyways, my boa does not always strike at the glass. She has only done it 2 times in her 3 years of living with me, and the reason why she does it is because she has a tremendous feeding response and everytime she smells food she goes nuts and sometimes strike at the glass because she sees me movings (like i said she only did it twice) and I wanted to get a glass that wont shatter when struck at because just incase one day in the future if she does strike again, her tank wont break. (bte, im keeping her in a rubbermaid right now)





Thanks,
Ben

[reptile boi]

ooops i meant btw not bte