Reptile Room Enclosures.

[africancichlidau]

O.K. I will soon be converting my fish room to a reptile room and was wondering what peoples ideas were about whether I should build the enclosures as multiple units or as individual, stackable units. It would obviously be cheaper to build the multiples but do you think I would lose too much in the way of convenience over individual units?

[Alexahnder]

it would probably be cheaper and possibly easier to build the enclosures as multible units. It may also cut down on the heating costs as if there was a bulb in the bottom cage some of the heat would ris and partly heat the floor of the next cage up.

[Whaa]

I'm not sure how many enclosures you intend to fit into the room and from a cost point of view the all in one unit seems the best option however it leave no room for change if you have it all in one. If they are separate they can be moved eaiser and if you wish to one day split them up into separate rooms the invividual cages will allow this. Also if one day you cut down on the number of reptiles you can sell off cages individaully as opposed to haing a whole unit with only half the cages with a reptile in them.

[Magpie]

I like single units coz they are easy to move around. If you ever have to move house or change the layout, they are much easier to move.

[Artie]

I would think single units would be the go, if for convenience only.
Also I can’t figure out how you can have stackable units,
Coastals and Bredlies, I’m thinking of! Would they not have to have a decent height (Cages that is)?
Ps I don't know how many snakes you have Afro, or intend to acquire, only know about the Bradlies and Coasals. Either way I would still prefer single units, for the same reason as Magpie

[africancichlidau]

Thanks guys, You've really underlined my leaning towards individual units. The fact that they can be changed around easily is the deciding factor though I will still build one wall of multiple units.
Good point Artie about the height but I have 10 foot ceilings and can stack two 5 foot high enclosures. If I go to the ceiling with enclosures I will have to put a wheeled platfor step in the room anyway so not too much of a problem really.
Thanks again guys you all had valid points for me

Hey Afric,
Well imma have to try and change your mind now lol.
I'd prefer tiered units with multiple enclosures. You will save on costs of materials.You only need 1 thermostat per unit then also as you can loop the wiring from the pilot thermostat to each level of the unit so long as they are of the same dimensions with same heat sources etc. JMO

[africancichlidau]

Yes CC old boy I agree on the costs front but I wouldn't rely on one stat for the whole bank, maybe one per column though, Hmmmmmm.........

[Fangs]

I guess I would have to agree with most purely for the versatility aspect of stackable units.Might cost a bit more up front but it has definate benefits.One thing I would give serious consideration to with larger enclosures would be to make them be able to be partitioned into 2 sections.Just adds more options IMHO.

cheers M.......

[africancichlidau]

True fangster, you are right about the versatility of the units and yes indeedy anything 6 foot or over gets built complete with a divider

[junglesrus]

Hi,
I am A Bank owner,
I run 9 enclosures 3 high x 3 wide.
All enclosures are 1200 W x 600 deep x 600 high.

Each tear of 3 high disconects from the 1 beside it making moving easy as i am only dealing with 3 enclosures at a time.

I run 2 thermostates 1 for day and 1 for night.

There is a temp variance of 2 degrees between each enclosure.
the bottom row of 3 run at 28 degrees for my Diamonds,the middle row runs at 30 degrees for my jungles and the top row runs at 32 degrees for my Blonde maccies.

Each enclosure owes me $145 including lights and safety cages.

Total set up includes 2 thermostates, 18 lights, 9 safety cages,glass and locks owes me $1,425

Sounds like allot but works out to be very cheap.
the wood and glass cost me $95 pre cut to size in packs. all i do is assemble them.

In total i will end up with 3 rows, totaling 27 enclosures in one room. can beat them for space saving and large enough to keep black heads in.

My 2 cents.

Darin

[Fangs]

Sounds like a good setup Darin.I am currently trying to decide which design to use also as I desperately need more cage space.Any chances of some pics?

cheers M..........

[africancichlidau]

Isn't life a bummer! Now I'm back to square one and don't know which way to go! Oh well I guess I'll just wait till I'm ready and toss a coin Either that or build one wall of each and the ones that work out best gets chosen for the remaining two walls

My old snake room was exactly the same as outlined below only I used 3 tiered 4x2x2 or 1200x600x600 enclosures.

This time I will be using 3 tiered 1200Lx450Hx600D units with a 450mm cupboards at the bottom.They will feature a single thermostat set in the middle enclosure and 2 red incandescent globes per cage. For day light I'll use 2 double 4 foot fluros in the room itself.I also use castor wheels on the lower banks of enclosures for 2 reasons. 1 make them easier to move around and 2 it raises the lower enclosures off the floor level so cold air don't raise through them from the concrete floor.I found that there is a slight difference in temps between the higher enclosures and the lower ones being roughly 2-4 degrees.But I take advantage of this by placing the males in the lower banks.For dwarf monitors and other terristrial lizard species that I dont house in outside pits I will use 5 tiered 1200x300x300 units.

IMO there is alot of benefits from this herp room,you save costs on thermostats by looping the wiring from 1 enclosure to the next,you also save on timber materials by building banks,and you save on lighting if you light the whole room rather than each and every individual enclosure.
Also the height of the enclosures (450mm) is just a personal choice as I prefer bare enclosures just providing them with a hide and a water bowl.They get enough activity during the day as I take them outside for natural sunlight and a climb several hours a week.Of course there is exceptions depending on what species is housed,but that is aimed at terrestrial animals.

[africancichlidau]

Oh dear its all just too confusing, I think I might just keep the fish