Large Polyethylene Enclosure Upgrade Opinions Needed

[Squisher]

After having various types of enclosures and the downfalls that come with them i.e glass is hard to maintain required climate levels (used aspen doesn't work with the big guys for impaction dangers during feedings).. Built a wood/plexi enclosure which took too much to heat and can be hard to clean. Polyethylene Enclosures like Boaphile and Vision Products help a great deal with all the above. I currently own a few Vision Cages however since i did not order them new they are not perfect for my needs. For one they have no provisions for flexwatt and it does not have a drop in heat source which would make it easier to stack them. What they have is a long step-like vent across the back. In order to heat the bottom enclosure with CHE and be able to stack another enclosure on top i had to shim them to clear the ceramic socket. Since i am in need of a larger enclosure for my adult male retic i was wondering if anyone else uses a large polyethylene type enclosure and what types of heating and (continued..)

[Squisher]

And photo period lighting is used. That's one thing i lack unless i use 150 watt basking lamps. I'm interested in knowing more about boaphile products simply because i own products from their competition. I'm looking at a minimum of 60-72 inches so i wanna make sure that i pick the right type of heat and light sources. They also have to be stackable without pinching chords. I know i could email them personally but i wanted am opinion from anyone that owns them to get first hand information. It's a big investment so i want to get it right the first time. Hope i explained this well enough as i'm typing this stuck in traffic lol. Thanks!

[marvelfreak]

I have 4 of them. I got my used for $300.00. I use under tank heaters. You can get them with feet, so the cord doesn't get pinch and it lets the heat pad breath. For light they have 8 inch Under the cabinet flo. light with plastic cover. So the snake can't push against the light. (MOUNTED in the front) All i have to do is flip the switch on the Power bar to turn them on and off. I don't know if they came with the light or if the guy i bought them off of put them in. This works good but i am thinking about getting radiated heat panles. So i can get the cage temp a little warmer in the winter. Plus they last like ten years.

[Squisher]

Thanks for the info Marvel. I did try to email Boaphile several times but from what I've read up on they seem to have crappy customer service. I was thinking of the heat panels myself just to get way from the CHE I use but don't know what kind of heat they produce since I've never dealt with them.

You got four of them used for 300 bucks?! That's an amazing deal. Lookin at their site I'm lookin at 7-800 for one with everything I need. Some of that (more like a fraction) can be offset by selling the Vision Enclosures I have now. See now I need uniformity as I just got a 32qt RhinoRaxx from Boaphile for all but one of my BPs. Now I need everything BLACK lol.

[marvelfreak]

RBI Radiant Heat Panels - Reptile Basics Inc (http://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat_panels/) Check out this site and read the FAQ. Try kingsnake.com out to find some other dealer of cage other than boaphile.

[Squisher]

In coincidence I happened to stumble upon Reptile Basics recently myself and was impressed with everything from the amount of information about the products and also their prices.. sometimes 20-30 bucks cheaper than others. And yes the FAQ! Very helpful. Kingsnake however has so much going on it can get a little annoying navigating it. I did make my first purchase from a breeder there recently so we'll see how that goes. Any opinion on Animal Plastics? Haven't read.. Or found..any good reviews on them.

[marvelfreak]

Repti-Racks -- Specializing in Arboreal Racks and Caging - Home (http://www.repti-racks.com/) Check this site out. They have tons of cages and feedback. Animal Plastic didn't have any feedback on their site. that i could find.

[marvelfreak]

PVC Cages (http://www.pvccages.com/id149.htm) here another site to check out.

[marvelfreak]

Constrictors Northwest (http://www.constrictorsnw.com/) and a couple more sites you can check out. Cages from BoaMaster (http://boamaster.com/catalog/Cages-3-1.html)