Cage/Tubs/Build/Buy?

[ssscales]

Here it is:
My yearling male boas will be reaching 4ft soon and wanted to start preparing for their permanent home. I keep my male boas under 5-1/2ft by regulating their feeding, no I don't starve them in anyway!

I purchased two plastic bins last Christmas at a Wholesale store here in Florida called BJ's.
They are about 42" X 24" X 10", I should've bought 8 or 10 of them! Problem is I tore the labels off these when I bought them and can't seem to find anything like these anywhere.

Any ideas where I can find some plastic tubs in this size? All the tubs out there are either too narrow 18" or too short 5"-6". I would like to find something at least 36" X 24" X 10"-12" tall for about 7 male boas. I don't want to build or buy any cages for these yet and was hoping to get by on some Rubbermaid or sterilite or brand X tubs.

I plan on redoing my reptile room in due time with Plastic cages, but I want to plan ahead.

I checked out most reptile tub suppliers and their widest is only 20-7/8", I would like something 24" wide and 9" - 12" deep. I know there are some clear tubs out there in the size range I'm looking for, I just need to find them.

As a semi last resort I may look at building some cages or as a last resort just buy the Plastic cages.

Problem is, Plastics is a bit more $$$ than I feel I need to spend at the moment, I would need about 7 and at that price it would be about $200.00 each w/shipping from the usual suppliers. That's $1,400 for 7 = 36" X 24" X 12" enclosures!

A plastic tub of that size would cost me about $10-$15 maybe less and I could build a rack for less than $100. The cost for that option would be $185-$200 total w/the tubs, if I could only find them!

Building these 7 enclosures out of Melamine with sliding Plexiglas doors would cost me about $550-$600 building it myself. I've done these before and it's not that tough, problem is in the long run I want to upgrade to plastic and wouldn't want to spend the money twice.

My first and obvious choice would be a rack system, second I am caught between cost and a decision to switch my reptile room to plastic in the long run. I would like something in the interim/quick solution to give me another 1-1/2 - 2 years.

I also just read that I still have to build some of these plastic cages when they arrive, since they are shipped unassembled. I was under the impression plastic cages were molded/seamless and were made in one piece.

$1,400 for some cages that I still have to build isn't looking as good anymore, I wanted a one piece Plastic enclosure like the Vision cages I've seen.

Any suggestions?
Sorry for the long post!

[griz]

Quick thoughts. I purchase my rubbermaid totes from Target. They are 45x20x7 inches. While this might be small for say an adult Red Tail, it works perfectly for my animals up to 6 feet. My 10 foot female, who is in a special enclosure, is only 5 inches tall and she's huge so the 7" still gives them plenty of room. I paid $12 a piece for my totes. Good luck!

Griz

[ssscales]

That's too tight for me.
I like to give my snakes room to feel comfortable.

I atleast want 24" wide and 9-12" tall.

[eddiezahra]

where can i get soem big rubbermaids for adult bci's, i checked wal-mart and zellers and the biggest they have equals out to 20 gal

[ssscales]

I gave up on the tub idea as I have search all over. I decided to build my own cage with XPVC, it's the same material used by these cage companies. The sheets 48" X 96" cost about $40.00 (A fraction of the price charged for a built cage).

Most of my cages are Melamine, but I will give this XPVC a try and may go with this if it turns out well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/ssscales/DSC00669.jpg

[griz]

I purchased mine at Target. They run about $12 a piece. I realize that as breeders we often times want to put our animals into something that we think would provide them with a comfortable surroundings, however this desire often times means wasting a lot of space. These animals are very often in burrows and other small spaces. My animals appear very content in this style of enclosure and it works perfectly in a rack system. My rack is 8 foot tall, 8 foot wide and 4 foot deep. Half of the rack is dedicated to 24 adults, I then have 4 larger enclosures built above that for my 4 very large adults, and then I still have room on top of that holds the remainder of my neonate racks (40 in all). While I do enjoy the style of yours for aesthetics, I will go the rack route each time if nothing more then to save space and provide a more clinical approach. Anyways, let us know how the PVC works for you!

Griz