D80's Cage Page

Cages, Housing, and Incubators

Here's a peek at the cages and incubators I currently have for my collection of corns. You can click on any picture to see it enlarged.

Check out Clay Davenport's web site for information on using FlexWatt heat tape, or Building Your Own Rack System for other ideas etc.on housing your snakes.

Incubation
I am going to try a new incubation method this season (2007). While my old style shown below wasn't "broken" and very successful, I decided to try a 'drier' method of incubation this season. One thing I noticed with the plastic tubs were the lack of insulation. It seemed to cause greater temperature fluctuations. It didn't cost so much to do, so I figured I'd run with it. It is a 100 Qt. cooler standing on end. I'm using a 14 watt UTH as the heat source with an A-Life thermostat. Temps on the bottom half are right at 82 degrees, and the egg box on the shelf is right at 79.9 degrees! Not too bad, and runs right with the temps I was getting with the 32 gallon tub method below and they haven't budged!

Cages
I recently (March 2007) constructed two new racks to hold just 32 qt. Sterilite tubs. These new racks (the brown ones on the right) are already proving quite handy. They take up less floor space, and house 3 more tubs than my previous white racks. The white racks are still extremely useful as they also hold the 15 qt. Sterilite tubs which are competely necessary as I grow up project/keeper hatchlings each season! This new style I made is great though as it will afford me the chance to grow just a tad bit bigger than I am now without taking up more space which is my greatest concern right now until I get a house of my own!

I've reduced my need for the 20 L aquariums by creating more rack space as well as selling off some specimens. I currently onl y have 2 20 L tanks on my back counter top along with 3 of my tarantula cages. The two 20 Longs are housing the MBK and SInaloan Milksnake. They are also All-Glass Critter Cages (with the sliding screen tops). I have all of them on thermostats and/or dimmer switches to control heat. Most all of them also get lights on their cages as well with timers attached. I have also put in two 40 Breeder size cages for my two Brazilian Rainbow Boas and another one for my 2 Australian Water Dragons.

The following cages are setups that I have had arranged and used at various times over the past several years. Some are still in use in some capacity, but most have either been sold or "re-assigned" elsewhere!

This was the cage that I first built for my snakes as my collection began to grow. I am especially proud of this setup as it looks almost professional! Problem - it's HEAVY! I love the size for the snakes, and house my 3 largest breeder females in here. The only change I would make to the design, is adding a 1 inch dam under the bottom railing for the glass doors. Cost was around $200 total, with the glass doors and bottom inlays being the majority of that cost. This unit has been sold, but it was one of my first! .
Finally, I stumbled on to the wonderful world of 'racks' . . . for housing snakes. My first rack was a small attempt, and turned into this final creation which is where I have housed my newly purchased hatchlings and currently holds this year's keepers (12). It is heated with 4" FlexWatt tape serpentined on the bottom of each shelf. It holds the medium sized desert dens from Hagen. (Retail they are pretty expensive $14, but working at a pet store, I got them cheaper. They are still more expensivee than using Sterilite, and don't plan to make anything to hold any more of them.) I recently, April 2005, sold this cage, and built a new hatchling/yearling rack. This unit has been SOLD.
This is my newest creation built in April of 2005. I have plans to keep a larger number of hatchlings this summer, so need the room to house them. This rack will hold up to 24 hatchlings, in 6.5 Qt. Rubbermaid, and I can grow them up to yearlings before needing to build more racks. I am using plumbers heat tape for this rack as a 'test' of sorts. Currently, it is keeping a temp of 88 degrees without any thermostat or rheostat, so it's not overheating which is good. I am placing a thermostat on it as a safety precaution, and will also build a GFCI plug in for it as extra precaution. I don't like the Rubbermaid bins which I made for this rack, but they were the biggest 'small' tubs I could find for this purpose. They are not as large as the desert dens used in the design above, but were a ton cheaper! I may look into the 6 Qt. Sterilites again as an option here. This unit currently houses keeper hatchlings each season.
For some of my yearlings, my sub-adults, and breeder adults, they get the sweet suites. I have four racks like this that use my personal favorites 15Quart Sterilite and 32 Quart Sterilite tubs. I use the 15Q's for my yearlings and the 32Q for my sub-adults and breeders. They work great, and are easy to build. I can get two racks built with a budget of about $200, and house up to 6 adults. I run the FlexWatt along the back on pegboard. Two of them have two strips of 11" FlexWatt, and can house both 15Q and 32Q tubs, the latest two have only one strip of 11" FlexWatt, and I use those only for the 32Q tubs housing adult snakes. I think next Spring when I build more, I am going to make them 8 shelves high instead of just 6. This unit is currently used to house yearling keepers that I am growing up.
Last, but not least was an attempt at a hatchling rack. Hatchlings are so difficult, as I found this year, to house if you have any considerable number of baby snakes hatching out. This rack uses FlipTops by Sterilite. I felt comfortable using them as they are bigger than using deli cups, and easier to maintain. Problem is, even with this rack, there's only enough room for 80 hatchlings when putting two per container. (I anticipate, with fingers crossed, having well over 150 hatchlings next summer.) This picture was taken before the peg board with 3 strips of 4" FlexWatt was attached. This unit has been changed to hold Glad sandwich boxes and will be changed again to hold more of them. The space this original model was not practical for the number of hatchlings I need to house each season!
This season (2005) my first incubator, the first picture, has quickly ran out of room, so I had to set up a second one, the second picture. It's been a very good system for me, so 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Temperatures are kept very stable, and humidity has never been a problem with neither too much nor too little. Temps on the bottom row, closest to the water, stay at approximately 81 degrees. The top row stays at 79. Basically, a 32 gallon tub, grate for the bottom, water, heaters, and pump for circulation. My old incubator is currently holding 9 clutches of eggs this season (2005) with 7 more on the way. These incubators will not be used as long as my new cooler system works!

Below is the incubation box I currently use. They are Sterilite FlipTops that I found last year for $1 each. For larger clutches, over 20, I place the eggs in a larger Sterilite shoe box that can be seen in the incubator above. Also, is a picture of the two 50 Watt submersible heaters I use in both incubators (total of 4) along with the small pump I use for water circulation.