Boa caging for adults ... what would you like to see available ?

Alan,

I voted for your largest size listed and it would certainly suffice for some of the smaller B. c. ssp. or other small boa/python species. However, during my years keeping and breeding BC, I usually constructed my cages at 72X24X24 and this more than sufficed for most of my BC except for a large pair of Surinam's (9' and 11', respectively) which led me to construct one 96X24X24. Clay's point that a 24" high cage is wasted space is right on the money and so I suggest a 60X24X18 or 72X24X18 for most of the larger BC. Anyway, just a little more feedback for you to consider.

Kevin

I voted for the 30" deep by 10" high one myself..

I guess I am the only one with long enough arms to reach to the back to clean. (Or know how to use a shop vac) In my opinion the additional height is a waste of space and I prefer the appearance of a low profile longer/deeper enclosure..

Later

Well at 6' 5" I have to long ass arms and can reach the back of even 36" deep cages with ease. But I like so many others I see would like a taller cage. Maybe not 24" because though it may give a better view of the snake it is wasted height for any BCI or BCC adult. I would like something in the 14-16" range though since that makes it easier to remove te snake and do the cleaning.
I have a moonstruck exotics cage that came free with a male BCI that I aquired and that is about what I would pay for one, $0. It is toooo short and with the small doors on the front it is a real pain to get a 7' boa out of it without the snake catching it's scales on the opening. The cage is only 12" tall to begin with and the doors are only 7 1/4 inches tall. So anyhow, my point is that along with a taller height there is a need for as much door height as possible. Litter damn be damed since most people use newspaper anyhow. At least most breeders do. I like aspen shavings for my pregnant female, but she isn't messing up her cage and I hardly open it anyhow except for fresh water each day.
Well that is all I have to say about that.


David

I didn't vote because I don't feel that any of those sizes would be appropriate for an adult boa. I have two juvenile columbian bci's right now. My father and I are in the planning stages of building cages for them due to the pricing of commercial cages that are of appropriate size for an adult boa and due to the features I am looking for. My female bci is currently around 4-4.5 ft and weighing around 950 grams and a 48 inch enclosure is just enough for her to stretch out in. Therefore, when she gets to be full size I don't think 48 inches is going to be enough to do ANYTHING for her. I can't vote for any of those enclosures. As she is only 11 months old, I foresee her growing to a point of around 10 feet possibly larger, as her growth is going strong right now, and that is going to require a MUCH larger enclosure than simply 4 feet. My male columbian bci is around 3 feet now and is sitting at 725 grams and at 10 months old, I think he will be around 6-9 feet tops as he is a much smaller snake and is growing a lot slower than my female has been (and males tend to be smaller anyways), so he won't demand as large a cage, however 4 feet of length is still not going to be enough for him to stretch out. Just an opinion.
Thanks,
Melanie Brown
mom to Isis, Osiris, and Akasha
(my columbian bcis and ball python)

What is the deal with the plastic cages being made so short in height? It seems that there is a huge price jump when you go to a taller enclosure. I love my AP cage but it is just a bit too short.

What is the deal with the plastic cages being made so short in height? It seems that there is a huge price jump when you go to a taller enclosure. I love my AP cage but it is just a bit too short.

A lot of commercial caging is limited in size due to shipping requirements. To get the costs down to a reasonable rate you need to move a certain level of volume with a cage line which means you need to be able to ship. A few inches on cage dimension can mean the difference in a lot of money due to the way shipping companies charge according to dimensional weight.

Makes sense to me...

Jamie