AP Cages Questions

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-17-15, 12:06 AM

Ok so before I go and spend money on an enclosure, I have a few questions for anyone with experience.

1) Which is more secure, sliding glass doors or swinging doors? I plan on putting River, my retic, in a 4'x2' temporarily until she outgrows it, as she'll probably outgrow her tub in a month or two with the way she's growing. Upon which time River will be moved into my other wooden 6' enclosure, and Sanji will be moved into the 4'x2' PVC enclosure, where he should be happy for life. So I'm wondering which one would be more secure for keeping in a retic, which I know can be very strong, even when small. I'd really prefer sliding glass doors over swinging, but I'd rather not have to do that much extra work to make it secure.

2) Is installing the flexwatt easy enough to do by myself, or do I have to have Animal Plastics install it for me for it to heat properly? I plan on buying 2-3, maybe 4 cages from them eventually, and I have some left over flexwatt that's about 1.5-2' in length, so if I could use that on one with little trouble I'd like to.

3) I plan on installing an RHPs or CHEs into the enclosures as well, so would Animal Plastics drill a hole in the top for the wires for me if I were to call? Or would a regular drill, maybe with a special drill bit, work for me to drill the hole itself? Any special tips I need to know if I go and drill it myself?

Mikoh4792 · 06-17-15, 01:34 AM

The tracks on the sliding glass doors are screwed and glued on.. and with a lock I don't see any animals sliding them open. I'm sure the swinging doors are secure, but you can only get them in acrylic if I'm correct, and acrylic can be bent(and it warps in high humidity)

Flexwatt is easy to install.. only a few steps involved. Though I much prefer ultratherm heat mats which don't get as hot when unregulated. Ultratherm heat mats are about the same thickness as flexwatt. I just use double sided tape to secure the heat mat or flexxwat to the underside of the cage, and tape the edges with aluminum tape to make it more secure. Then I tape the thermostat probe onto the heat mat. I get my tape and other supplies from reptilebasics.com.

Yes, AP allows you to customize your enclosures to an extent. If you get an RHP, you can have the RHP's sent to AP's address and AP will install them for you. If you'd rather install the RHP's yourself, AP will drill holes for the cord for you. You could drill a hole yourself, but AP drills it in a way where the cord can be tucked into a recessed channel. Either way should be fine. You just slip the cord through the hole, and attach a removable plug from the other end.

MDT · 06-17-15, 05:00 AM

BSG...have AP do as much as possible because of their capabilities to drill and route channels, you'll have a much more aesthetic looking enclosure. Having said that, AP did NOT pre-install the flex watt. They sent it with the cages, with channels routed for thermostat probes, but I placed and taped secure with aluminum foil tape they supply.

I didn't order the locks at first (because I really didn't see them on the website), but after my original post about my cages, someone posted about the locks...I have 9 of them to be delivered to day as a matter of fact. The plexiglass is really thick and I don't see it warping, however, I went with the sliding doors, because if I really needed to, I could change to glass later if necessary.....but based on the construction, I doubt that will need to happen.

I really think you'll be happy if you order.

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-18-15, 12:44 PM

None of my flexwatts will be unregulated. I have a Herpstat 2 running my current flexwatt set ups right now, and I eventually plan on investing in another Herpstat 2 when I get the two PVC enclosures I plan on getting currently.

What I'd eventually like to do is have the ball python in a 3'x2' running off just a heat mat and an RHP and the BRB in the 4'x2' with an RHP and heat mat. With one Herpstat 2 running the two RHPs and one running the two heat tapes.

Then, depending on how I like the PVCs, I may put my BCI in a 6'x2' PVC enclosure with a CHE or RHP and heat tape. If I do that, I will probably invest in two Herpstat 4's and either sell my 2 VE-100's and 2 Herpstat 2's or keep them just in case.

I will most likely keep my retic in a homemade 8'x4' or larger enclosure as an adult, depending on how large she gets.

In the ones that I'm going to put shelves in (all but the 3'x2') I plan on having probes on the floor and probes on top of the shelves. That way the heat tape provides the cooler floor temp and the RHP provides a hot basking spot for them. Should make it easier on everything during the winter if the cooler room temps affect them.