PVC Cage Recommendations

2turtletom

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I'm investigating the purchase of PVC caging that I will use to raise up Kinixys homeana and nogueyi. I don't want to build my own cages, I'm looking to purchase something that can be delivered to my home. Ideally I would purchase either 12" high and 3 or 4 foot wide cages and would like to stack at least six on top of each other. I will install Arcadia UVB fixtures and bulbs inside the enclosure or something similar. I'm currently investigating both Animal Plastics and Reptile Basics caging. AP cages are preferable but I understand I will wait for half a year or more to get them, depending upon which ones I order.

How does this plan sound? Who manufactures your favorite PVC cages? Is it reasonable to think I can stack 6 on top of each other?

Thanks!

-Tom
 

Tom

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@Markw84 is my first call. Top quality, low price, awesome person. Just plug and play. Everything is already installed and ready to go.

If he can't get them to Ohio, I've previously purchased from Animal Plastics. The service and product is excellent. Price is very fair for what you are getting. The down side is that you have to wait months to get your caging after you order.

I like my cages to be 18-24" tall inside. Stacking more than three of those would make the day to day chores taxing for the top and bottom ones. Even stacked three high on a 12" tall base, I need a step stool to reach the back of the top cage.

So many things are customizable, but the one thing I highly recommend is the 6" litter dam. This will help to keep the tortoises in while the door is open for feeding and maintenance. Also, unless the enclosure is in a cold room and you need the heat, I recommend LEDs for lighting. HO tubes really heat up my closed chambers. I have to also use very low wattage basking bulbs, but you probably won't want those for hinge backs, right?
 

2turtletom

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@Markw84 is my first call. Top quality, low price, awesome person. Just plug and play. Everything is already installed and ready to go.

If he can't get them to Ohio, I've previously purchased from Animal Plastics. The service and product is excellent. Price is very fair for what you are getting. The down side is that you have to wait months to get your caging after you order.

I like my cages to be 18-24" tall inside. Stacking more than three of those would make the day to day chores taxing for the top and bottom ones. Even stacked three high on a 12" tall base, I need a step stool to reach the back of the top cage.

So many things are customizable, but the one thing I highly recommend is the 6" litter dam. This will help to keep the tortoises in while the door is open for feeding and maintenance. Also, unless the enclosure is in a cold room and you need the heat, I recommend LEDs for lighting. HO tubes really heat up my closed chambers. I have to also use very low wattage basking bulbs, but you probably won't want those for hinge backs, right?

Thanks Tom, Yeah, there's no economical way for me to get Mark's enclosures here in Ohio- the shipping is just cost prohibitive. I talked with him at TTPG about it. Thank you on your thoughts about the cage height for sure and the substrate dam. I do anticipate needing a stepladder to service the stacked caging. I'm also considering the slightly higher cages as well, that's good advice. 24" I believe would be overkill but 18" would probably give me more room for deeper substrate and more UVB options. Also very good feedback regarding the t5HO in the enclosures themselves. I don't have much experience with how much they generate- I would have thought they put out less heat than the incandescent basking bulbs, but I trust you. The room ambient temperature is about 70 degrees, so I would want my day time temps in the enclosure to be no more than 82 degrees for young homeana and Nogueyi. I do use basking bulbs with the Kinixys in open chambers, but the Kinixys wouldn't likely need them in enclosed chambers that reach ambient temps of 80 or so. Ultimately what I'll probably do is buy one of these things, do some tests, see what I think, tweak, and when I figure it out, I order a bunch of what I need- Right now I'm salivating on the thought of having 18 cages along a 12 foot wall.... Oh yeah, good to know about the LED lights are working for you as well. I believe both AP and RB have LED options.

-Tom
 
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Markw84

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Thanks Tom, Yeah, there's no economical way for me to get Mark's enclosures here in Ohio- the shipping is just cost prohibitive. I talked with him at TTPG about it. Thank you on your thoughts about the cage height for sure and the substrate dam. I do anticipate needing a stepladder to service the stacked caging. I'm also considering the slightly higher cages as well, that's good advice. 24" I believe would be overkill but 18" would probably give me more room for deeper substrate and more UVB options. Also very good feedback regarding the t5HO in the enclosures themselves. I don't have much experience with how much they generate- I would have thought they put out less heat than the incandescent basking bulbs, but I trust you. The room ambient temperature is about 70 degrees, so I would want my day time temps in the enclosure to be no more than 82 degrees for young homeana and Nogueyi. I do use basking bulbs with the Kinixys in open chambers, but the Kinixys wouldn't likely need them in enclosed chambers that reach ambient temps of 80 or so. Ultimately what I'll probably do is buy one of these things, do some tests, see what I think, tweak, and when I figure it out, I order a bunch of what I need- Right now I'm salivating on the thought of having 18 cages along a 12 foot wall.... Oh yeah, good to know about the LED lights are working for you as well. I believe both AP and RB have LED options.

-Tom

Since we spoke at TTPC, I have been shipping throughout the US. I did an order of 12 cages - 6 that were 6x3 and 6 that were 4x3 and shipping all 12 to the East Coast was under $900 plus the cost of the crates which was another $400.

My lead time on cages right now is 3-4 weeks. A lot of that is the problems getting electronics shipped to me with the Covid-19 related delays to "non-essential" shipments.

My enclosures are 30" tall. After decades of trial and error, and in lieu of the available electronics today, 30" is a height that works far better than any other. By the time you have a 6" litter dam, and allow the room for the lighting/UVB/heating on the ceiling, any less height makes getting tortoise in and out of a 3 ft wide enclosure a real issue. Another big reason for me is the UVB. Going with a lower ceiling height means you will have to go with a T8 or a lower % T5 bulb. by doing that, you dramatically reduce the area of effective UVB as the distance to the lamp decreases geometrically. When you do that, just a few inches closer or further from the lamp changes your UVI reading greatly. A good T5 12% mounted 20" high gives a good UVI reading in a very nice, broad area. I use a shorter tube, then as I like to have at most, 1/2 the enclosure away from the UVB. I'm finding most tortoises, and certainly Kinixys, will want to get away from the UV exposure a good portion of the time. They need an effective way to do that. I have been tracking behaviors, and even my Galapagos spends a great deal of time as far away from the UV as possible when it is on. (I have a 3' Arcadia T5 in one half of an 8x3 enclosure with LOTS of plants. Overheating a good closed chamber is a big consideration, so the shorter UV tube, plus 4 built in LEDs with a 90+ CRI is the best options I have found for superior lighting with minimal heat. When a basking light is used, an included overheat thermostat also guards that.

I do use my enclosures stacked 3 high. As @Tom does, I also can look into the top enclosuer easily, but need a step stool to reach the back of the enclosure. I would love to be able to stack more and have less height, bit it just does not work as well at all. The height of my enclosure also allows for an electrical chamber built in that houses all thermostats, power strips, timeser, etc. so there is absolutely nothing outside fo the enclosure except one cord to plug it in. Working with multiple enclosures over the years, I can't say how much of an improvement that is!
 

2turtletom

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Since we spoke at TTPC, I have been shipping throughout the US. I did an order of 12 cages - 6 that were 6x3 and 6 that were 4x3 and shipping all 12 to the East Coast was under $900 plus the cost of the crates which was another $400.

My lead time on cages right now is 3-4 weeks. A lot of that is the problems getting electronics shipped to me with the Covid-19 related delays to "non-essential" shipments.

My enclosures are 30" tall. After decades of trial and error, and in lieu of the available electronics today, 30" is a height that works far better than any other. By the time you have a 6" litter dam, and allow the room for the lighting/UVB/heating on the ceiling, any less height makes getting tortoise in and out of a 3 ft wide enclosure a real issue. Another big reason for me is the UVB. Going with a lower ceiling height means you will have to go with a T8 or a lower % T5 bulb. by doing that, you dramatically reduce the area of effective UVB as the distance to the lamp decreases geometrically. When you do that, just a few inches closer or further from the lamp changes your UVI reading greatly. A good T5 12% mounted 20" high gives a good UVI reading in a very nice, broad area. I use a shorter tube, then as I like to have at most, 1/2 the enclosure away from the UVB. I'm finding most tortoises, and certainly Kinixys, will want to get away from the UV exposure a good portion of the time. They need an effective way to do that. I have been tracking behaviors, and even my Galapagos spends a great deal of time as far away from the UV as possible when it is on. (I have a 3' Arcadia T5 in one half of an 8x3 enclosure with LOTS of plants. Overheating a good closed chamber is a big consideration, so the shorter UV tube, plus 4 built in LEDs with a 90+ CRI is the best options I have found for superior lighting with minimal heat. When a basking light is used, an included overheat thermostat also guards that.

I do use my enclosures stacked 3 high. As @Tom does, I also can look into the top enclosuer easily, but need a step stool to reach the back of the enclosure. I would love to be able to stack more and have less height, bit it just does not work as well at all. The height of my enclosure also allows for an electrical chamber built in that houses all thermostats, power strips, timeser, etc. so there is absolutely nothing outside fo the enclosure except one cord to plug it in. Working with multiple enclosures over the years, I can't say how much of an improvement that is!

Thanks for the update and all the thoughts Mark- I really appreciate it. This gives me lots to think about for sure, you guys are the pros for sure so I'm going to take all of this information into account as I plan out what I'll be doing. Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it, I will be referring back to these posts as I take a look at my space and decide what I'm going to do.

I do have a question for you @Markw84 How are people using your enclosures for laying females? Is the six inch litter dam sufficient or are they using lay boxes? Thanks!
 

method89

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@Markw84 sounds like you need an East coast distributor! My garage has plenty of room, lol
 

Markw84

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Thanks for the update and all the thoughts Mark- I really appreciate it. This gives me lots to think about for sure, you guys are the pros for sure so I'm going to take all of this information into account as I plan out what I'll be doing. Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it, I will be referring back to these posts as I take a look at my space and decide what I'm going to do.

I do have a question for you @Markw84 How are people using your enclosures for laying females? Is the six inch litter dam sufficient or are they using lay boxes? Thanks!
I have not sold any for laying females that I know of yet. I have done one for a monitor with a 9" litter dam for more substrate to dig. That would work for a small tortoise. I find you need substrate at least the length of the female in depth for nesting.
 

Markw84

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@Markw84 sounds like you need an East coast distributor! My garage has plenty of room, lol
That would certainly make sense as shipping many makes the cost per unit much, much better. But there is no room in my "profit" to have that make sense. I make less than minimum wage putting these together so I can offer them at the price I do!! Over 150 individual pieces to cut and cement together to 1/64" tolerance, plus over 50 electrical connections in one enclosure.
 

haydog_99

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Rocklin, CA
I'm investigating the purchase of PVC caging that I will use to raise up Kinixys homeana and nogueyi. I don't want to build my own cages, I'm looking to purchase something that can be delivered to my home. Ideally I would purchase either 12" high and 3 or 4 foot wide cages and would like to stack at least six on top of each other. I will install Arcadia UVB fixtures and bulbs inside the enclosure or something similar. I'm currently investigating both Animal Plastics and Reptile Basics caging. AP cages are preferable but I understand I will wait for half a year or more to get them, depending upon which ones I order.

How does this plan sound? Who manufactures your favorite PVC cages? Is it reasonable to think I can stack 6 on top of each other?

Thanks!

-Tom
Check out DIYcages.com I have the 4' x 2' x 2'
 

2turtletom

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That would certainly make sense as shipping many makes the cost per unit much, much better. But there is no room in my "profit" to have that make sense. I make less than minimum wage putting these together so I can offer them at the price I do!! Over 150 individual pieces to cut and cement together to 1/64" tolerance, plus over 50 electrical connections in one enclosure.

Mark, i know will has posted various things about your enclosures, but do you have a webpage, or a forum post with pictures and details? I've seen them in person obviously, but would love to help point others to them- what's the best way to do that?

-Tom
 

Cereuslyobsessed

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Since we spoke at TTPC, I have been shipping throughout the US. I did an order of 12 cages - 6 that were 6x3 and 6 that were 4x3 and shipping all 12 to the East Coast was under $900 plus the cost of the crates which was another $400.

My lead time on cages right now is 3-4 weeks. A lot of that is the problems getting electronics shipped to me with the Covid-19 related delays to "non-essential" shipments.

My enclosures are 30" tall. After decades of trial and error, and in lieu of the available electronics today, 30" is a height that works far better than any other. By the time you have a 6" litter dam, and allow the room for the lighting/UVB/heating on the ceiling, any less height makes getting tortoise in and out of a 3 ft wide enclosure a real issue. Another big reason for me is the UVB. Going with a lower ceiling height means you will have to go with a T8 or a lower % T5 bulb. by doing that, you dramatically reduce the area of effective UVB as the distance to the lamp decreases geometrically. When you do that, just a few inches closer or further from the lamp changes your UVI reading greatly. A good T5 12% mounted 20" high gives a good UVI reading in a very nice, broad area. I use a shorter tube, then as I like to have at most, 1/2 the enclosure away from the UVB. I'm finding most tortoises, and certainly Kinixys, will want to get away from the UV exposure a good portion of the time. They need an effective way to do that. I have been tracking behaviors, and even my Galapagos spends a great deal of time as far away from the UV as possible when it is on. (I have a 3' Arcadia T5 in one half of an 8x3 enclosure with LOTS of plants. Overheating a good closed chamber is a big consideration, so the shorter UV tube, plus 4 built in LEDs with a 90+ CRI is the best options I have found for superior lighting with minimal heat. When a basking light is used, an included overheat thermostat also guards that.

I do use my enclosures stacked 3 high. As @Tom does, I also can look into the top enclosuer easily, but need a step stool to reach the back of the enclosure. I would love to be able to stack more and have less height, bit it just does not work as well at all. The height of my enclosure also allows for an electrical chamber built in that houses all thermostats, power strips, timeser, etc. so there is absolutely nothing outside fo the enclosure except one cord to plug it in. Working with multiple enclosures over the years, I can't say how much of an improvement that is!
Hello Mark! I am new to this forum and glad I ran into this thread. I am in the Bay Area and I have a 4 inch Burmese yearling and I would like to purchase an enclosure from you.
 

Markw84

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Hello Mark! I am new to this forum and glad I ran into this thread. I am in the Bay Area and I have a 4 inch Burmese yearling and I would like to purchase an enclosure from you.
I really need to get my website done. I"ve been paying for it for over 6 mos now and it still is not done! But my time is spent on building enclosures and taking care of tortoises. Right now I have 30 enclosures on order I have to build.

If you send me an email, I can reply by attaching a complete info sheet on the Smart Enclosures which includes pricing.

[email protected]

Thank you!

Mark
 

AgataP

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I wish I knew it before ... we drive to Cali - close to Sacramento few times a year - this summer my husband was there even more often. Have to remember for the future.
 
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