Modifying a wood cage

I just picked up an awesome new cage setup from he local pet store. they were getting a new display cage system and sold me one of their ball python cages. it is wood and has two cages, with nice ventilation. I am going to clen it up this next weekend, but i had a few questions.
The screw in bulb heaters are installed inside the cages, and don't have anything keeping my dumb male from frying his head on the bulb when it is on. Are there any people out there that could help me find or make a sturdy wire mesh cover to keep this from happening? I am not good at building or welding things, so if anyone knows how to make these and has the time, i would be interested in paying you to make it. If not directions would be fine and i can figure it out myself. Also, I was thinking of permenently attaching a branch that would be up higher on the back wall so there would be something for him to climb on on the end opposite from the light bulb. Any tips on setting that up?

Any good mite treatments for treating it before it gets any snake near it? And what seems to be the safest thing to clean wood with? i am unsure if it is sealed (will check), but if it isn't, should I? what sealants would you recommend?


Thanks!

~jessi

Shower surround is a great product for lining the inside of wooden cages. It comes in 4'x8' sheets, similar to ply-wood, and can be applied with a construction adheasive. You can make those wire mesh covers out of hardware cloth. Simply cut it and roll into a tube and wire it all together with some pliers or use nylon zip-ties. Then wire (or zip-tie) the tube close or cut and wire a patch circle if necessary.

here's a photo of a wooden cage with shower surround inside. Makes it a dream to clean.

Regarding protecting the exposed bulb..... there are pre-assembled bulb cages out there. Let me find a link.

Here it is. http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_...ge_264500.html

thanks!
I wnet downstairs to clean the cage out and it has some nice laminated white wood on the inside that was covered in sand, so I guess the interiori will be better once i get it fully cleaned out. thanks for the link!
alos, anyone know mite treatments? what should i use to clear out any buggers in my empty wooden cage, but that will be safe for my snakes after treatment?

A lot of your questions really depend on what the cage was sealed with, if anything. I would not recommend spraying some sort of mite treatment in the cage, for example, if you needed to seal or re-seal the cage as I'd hate for the pesticide to cause adhesion problems with what you would use. Likewise, if the cage is already sealed with a specific product there might not be many other products that would stick to it.

Branches can be istalled with eye hooks pretty easily, especially if the panels of the cage are 3/4" material.

The first thing you need to do is find out what the cage was sealed with and post again. Don't clean or treat it until then. Some sealers I might recommend might not stick to what the cage is already sealed with. If you do clean it only use soap and water for now, maybe some rubbing alcohol.

BTW, I like the idea of the shower board the previous poster recommended. However, if you don't have any experience with tools it can be a bit difficult to retrofit into an already assembled cage. If the cage is anything other than square it can be tough for anybody.

If you do use shower or tile board I strongly recommend that you get a product that is actually suitable for use as a liner in shower stalls. At many home improvement centers tile board and shower board are in the same section and it is not necessarily clear which are suitable for showers. The shower rated products are not much more expensive and worth every extra penny you spend, IMO.

hello all, thanks for the helpful posts!
i have bought a couple of the bulb cages and a new water dish from big apple. My dad helped clean the cage up and fix all the little bits and pieces that needed it. The inside is really well sealed and laminated, so it will be fine on its own. I talked with the pet store who sold me the cage and they always use Prevent-a Mite. I am confident using that because only unsealed wood is a few small parts on the back. I don't really need to seal those since there is not contact with the animals there. I still need to clean it and attach a branch or two, but i will post some pics in new thread when it's all done and tested for heat ranges, etc.
thanks for all the help!!