Pet Care Manual

This is a question that has been asked of me and a thousand (million?) other herp keepers. I think it’s almost a case of once bitten, twice as determined. But seriously, it is something I have pondered but not really found an adequate answer for. They are not cute and cuddly. They bite (when young), they feel cold (not really) and they have funny eyes. And scales.

As a little tacker I was always into animals - frogs, lizards, tadpoles, butterflies, beetles, spiders - you name it, I went looking for it.

I don’t think I ever got over it. It’s hard to explain to people who do not have a fascination with animals, what the attraction is. It’s just there. I think most people actually have it but for a variety of reasons they do not act upon it or ignore it.

Snakes are particularly intriguing. The way they move, the way the eat, the way their metabolism is so brilliantly attuned to the particular environment they inhabit, their ancestry, the development of venoms so potent that that can kill in minutes, all of these things interest me and make me want to know more about them.

There is some part of you that has to overcome a natural fear in the first instance to want to own and keep a reptile. For some reason, I’m not sure if it’s instinct, we fear snakes and many reptiles. Witness a small child when you show them a snake. They instantly recoil. It’s only when you show them that they have nothing to fear that they can then ‘pet’ the snake and overcome their own fears (well, as long as it’s not venomous).

Where I live, every snake is venomous. There is no such thing as a snake that is not dangerous. Copperheads, red-bellied black snakes, mainland tiger snakes and eastern brown snakes all inhabit my local area, so it’s understandable that people fear them. We have no pythons or non-venomous snakes in my area. Just the other day one of the painters doing my house remarked to me that he nearly leapt out of his skin when he saw what looked to be a snake in the grass near where he was painting. It turns out it was a blue tongued lizard, but nonetheless, his fear was well grounded. Living in the area makes you wary of snakes.

I think this is somewhat unfortunate. Snakes are more scared of you. How big you must appear to a snake. Standing still when you see one will prevent an attack. They only attack when threatened. Slowly backing off is also a good thing to do.

So why keep them? I think it is a duality of fear and fascination. And the trouble is that once you have one, you want two, and then three etc. If you have them, you know the feeling.

Another aspect is the actual act of managing to keep an animal that is not naturally suited or normally kept as a pet in an artificial environment. Learning about its needs, how to maintain optimal health, how to breed it, how to ‘tame’ it and how to enjoy it for what it is. These are challenges that herp keeping offers that few other pets do.

Mark Chapple is the Author of “How to build enclosures for reptiles” Find out how to build snake and other reptile cages as well as arboreal cages. Full color pictures, detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.

http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com

When I first started my interest in reptiles I was only young. At that stage of my life I had little or no skills and did not understand the requirements of the wonderful creatures so I did not keep them effectively. We just kept the local lizards, so the cage temperature was not an issue.

I rekindled my desire later in life but I also had mortgages, the cost of raising a family and the daily costs of living to contend with. A reptile was expensive enough, without adding the costs of retail cages and accessories. So I built my own. It saved me a lot of money.

You do need some basic tools but the money you save by making it yourself will allow you to purchase some of those tools that help make the cage. The remainder can go into accessories so that for the cost of a basic cage with nothing else you can make a cage, get some tools and the cage accessories and still have money left over. That’s a big difference.

Many people have materials about the house. If you are going to make your own cages you can save even more money by using bits and pieces or timber you may already have, screws, old glass, hinges, light battens etc. that you already have in the basement or garage.

When upgrading one of my cages recently, I was able to reuse some of the materials and the fittings for use on the new cage. This saved me having to purchase new accessories and materials.

Another benefit is the ability to maintain your own cages. Many of the plastic or moulded cages cannot be fixed once they are broken. With a cage you made yourself you can usually fix broken locks or replace doors (I haven’t had to do any of these yet as they are very sturdy).

When you build your own cages you decide how strong it will be and what quality of fitting, glues and materials you will be using. The higher the quality of materials and accessories you use, the better the final cage product. You are not at the mercy of manufacturers saving money by using inferior materials and poor quality fittings.

Another benefit is the ability to customise you cages to suit your purpose. One of my earliest cages was built as a normal cage but by placing a removable divider in the middle it allowed me to re-use the cage when I shipped one of the snakes out. This divider was fitted over the middle of a heat mat, allowing for two reptiles to be housed in the cage. It also had two doors. The cage is now used for another purpose but will soon be empty. The divider can still be placed back in the cage for another small snake and then simply removed as the snake gets larger. Tis snake will finally be moved into an arboreal cage. To purchase a plastic cage with divider that will only be a transient cage before the snake goes into a final cage is an expensive exercise.

If you do need to upgrade again, you have the time to build the final cage as the snake grows.

Making your own cages allows you to build and maintain your reptile cages in a cost effective manner while keeping them comfortable and healthy. You can also expand your collection in an affordable way, making more money available for the reptiles while still getting quality cages.

Mark Chapple is the Author of “How to build enclosures for reptiles.” Find out how anyone can build reptile cages. Full color pictures, detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com

What kind of materials should you use when constructing a snake cage? Snakes come in many different sizes - but usually only one shape. Even so, there are many different housing systems and styles for snakes. These depend on the adult size of the snake, how much room you have, the environment it normally inhabits and how much money you are willing to spend.

Aquarium tanks can be used for keeping snakes under 6 feet requiring a swimming pool or humidity. A screen top for ventilation for arid or desert snakes and a partially covered screen top raise the humidity for rainforest snakes. Viewing is unrestricted and the tank can be easily cleaned. It will not get scratched and temperatures are easy to maintain. They are cumbersome and can be difficult to move, especially big or fully-loaded ones. They need to be on a solid table or stand. If you do need to move them, put solid castors on the stand.

Plastic/Rubbermaid tubs are useful as breeding racks, during the quarantine period before to introducing a new animal to an established collection, as an emergency/isolation enclosure, feeding tub and for juvenile snakes. They are no good for arboreal species, as they cannot climb.

Melamine cages are easily cleaned and melamine is perfect for cage bases or indeed a whole cage. It resists moisture, and you can get melamine specially made for bathroom cabinets. Custom-made enclosures are sometimes made of melamine with different laminates, and you can build furniture-quality enclosures yourself. These can be made to fit anything from a Corn snake to a Burmese. With a glass front, these enclosures hold humidity very well.

Plywood cages are much cheaper than melamine and easier to work with. Plywood comes in various grades. The better grades give a much nicer finish to your cage and are worth the extra money.

Screen cages/Reptariums are good for transporting smaller animals but not much good for keeping snakes. They can be unstable and larger snakes will knock them over.

MDF or craftwood is similar to Melamine but much cheaper. It can be used in combination cages ie Melamine base with MDF sides, back etc. MDF has very good thermal properties (retails heat well) and if used in conjunction with an internal coating material such as Contact, will hold humidity well. Excellent to work with and has a smooth finish for painting. Always wear a mask when cutting or routing MDF as it is dusty and the dust can cause damage to nasal passages.

Pine or Cedar: Neither of these timbers should be used to construct a cage. Both timbers emit aromatic hydrocarbons. These can cause health problems for your snakes. They can be used for framing cages.

Do not use pine or cedar as a substrate. Wood shavings have a very high surface area, releasing hydrocarbons more readily and rapidly. They can be toxic, particularly for animals that like to bury themselves in their substrate material.

Snake owners who construct their own cages, do so from plywoods, melamine and MDF types of materials. These materials all have good insulating properties. Glass loses heat rapidly and is usually only on the front of the cage. Glass cages are also more difficult to make yourself, requiring special tools and some specialist knowledge.

The front of the cage can be sliding glass, Plexiglas or a constructed wood/glass door. Using a decorative timber at the front gives the cage a professional appearance. Cages constructed from the more expensive laminated melamine materials can look furniture grade but you do need know what you are doing to achieve this level of appearance.

Let painted cages dry out for a minimum of 2-3 days, 5-7 days would be even better, to release the paint solvents.

Building you own snake cage is a fun and rewarding experience.

Mark Chapple is the Author of “How to Build Reptile Enclosures” Find out how you can build your own reptile cages. Full color pictures with detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com

Are you nuts? You think banging your finger with a hammer is fun? No, I don’t. But building your own snake and other reptile cages can be a fun and rewarding experience.

Before you even start, it is important to spend some time planning your reptile enclosure and carefully examining at how other cages are manufactured. Check out all of the parts, examine the locks, joins and vents. How is the lighting done? What about the heating?

Use this information to design your own cages, based on the needs of your reptile and its size. Work out the size of cage you require and design it accordingly, altering the basic designs as needed to suit your purposes.

Building something yourself is a great feeling. I personally enjoy the process of shopping for materials and deciding which is best for the purpose.

There are quite a few questions to consider, such as:

? what should I make the base from
? what is the best way to make a vent
? how do you make the base water resistant
? what sort of lock should I use
? what sort of door should I use and how do I make it
? what is the best light fitting
? How should I heat it

Getting the materials home and the anticipation of starting your reptile cage is an exciting time. The will be frustrations to overcome, problems to solve but the feeling of accomplishing and achievement you finally get from building something yourself is fantastic.

Every time you go into the room and see the cages you made you can feel good about them. Sure, you will sometimes get a bit picky about the smaller details. What could you have done better, what if you had done this here etc. - well maybe next time.

Some people even use the skills they learn to make cages for other people and make a bit of money. Once you have the skills and tools it is easy. Even if you don not have all of the tools, there are ways around it. You can go to local cabinet makers when you need something cut to size that is too large for you to handle. They are generally happy to oblige for a small fee and you get a perfectly square piece of timber.

On a final note, making your own cages is a fun and rewarding experience and is recommended it to anyone considering it.

Mark Chapple is the Author of “How to build enclosures for reptiles.” Find out how anyone can build reptile cages. Full color pictures, detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com

What kind of materials should you use when constructing a reptile cage? This question was posed to me once by someone wishing to build their own reptile cage. They were particularly asking about pine and cedar as they had heard these were no good. But it did raise the question about what are the best materials.

All-glass, tubs, melamine cages, screen cages, there are many different types of housing systems for herps. Take your pick, depending on the adult size of the animal, how much room you have to spare, and how much money you are willing to spend!

Aquarium tanks: Good choice for keeping snakes under 6 feet, amphibians, turtles, and basically anything requiring a swimming pool or some humidity. If a screen top is used, there will be enough ventilation to keep a sand boa or leopard gecko or any desert animal in it. If higher humidity is needed, the screen top can be partially wrapped with Saran wrap, and the tank can be treated as a tropical garden; put soil in it and plant some plants to raise the humidity!

Viewing is unrestricted, the tank can be easily cleaned, it will not get scratched, and temperatures are easier to maintain. They are very cumbersome to move around, especially big ones, or fully-loaded ones. They need to be on a solid table or stand and if you do want to move them, the stand will need solid castors. Many lizards such as water dragons should not be kept in glass tanks, as they do not understand glass and will continuously ram into it. Tanks should not be considered for chameleons; cages are better.

Plastic/Rubbermaid tubs: The feeding trough sizes are great for turtles! You can half-fill them with water, pile rocks in a corner for the basking area, put a lilypad or two in it, and have your own indoor pond complete with turtles! For the more common sizes, the sweater boxes and shoe boxes, any non-aquatic herp can be kept in them. In fact, these are used in breeding racks and in households with too many herps to be able to have the amount of tanks/cages to keep them all in. Not good for arboreals, as they cannot climb. Perfect for use during the quarantine period prior to introducing a new animal to an established collection. These restrict viewing, and are generally limited to hatchling animals. Good to use as an emergency/isolation enclosure.

Melamine cages: Melamine is the stuff many countertops are made of. They resist moisture well, so rotting is usually not a problem. They’re easily cleaned as well. Custom-made enclosures are sometimes made of melamine, and you can build furniture-quality enclosures yourself. These can be made to fit a leopard gecko or a fully grown green iguana. With a glass front, these enclosures hold humidity incredibly well.

Wood [plywood] cages: Same as for melamine, except much cheaper and easier to work with. Both enclosures, if ordered from a custom builder, can cost a great deal depending on size and material.

Screen cages/Reptariums: Excellent for anoles, chameleons, light-bodied snakes, and young water dragons. The major disadvantages are that the largest size is only 29″ x 29″ x 72″, humidity is very difficult to keep up, and strong animals could knock them over or even move them. This is a great idea for an easily-transported cage for small animals.

MDF or craftwood: Same as for Melamine but also much cheaper. Good for use in combination cages ie Melamine base with MDF sides, back etc. It can be painted, has good thermal properties and if used in conjunction with a coating material such as Contact, will hold humidity well. Excellent to work with and has a smooth finish. You can also use thinner sheets as it retains its rigidity. Some people recommend wearing a mask when cutting or routing MDF as it can be dusty.

Pine or Cedar: Neither of these timbers should be used to construct a cage. Making the whole reptile cage from the pine or cedar has potential health problems for the animals. These woods emit aromatic hydrocarbons that can damage the health of the animals and cause various symptoms. There is probably little issue using as the woods in framing, as the wood has often dried out a lot and released much of the volatile material, or at the very least, the rate at which it is released is very slow.

It also is recommended that you do not use pine or cedar as a substrate. Pine and cedar wood shavings used as substrates have a very high surface area and so the hydrocarbons are released much more readily, making them potentially toxic, especially as the animals like to burrow and immerse themselves in their substrate material.

PVC Tubing & Mesh or Plexiglas: These materials make excellent larger cages for animals such as monitors, larger snakes, chameleons and iguanas. They do tend to lose a bit of heat but any large enclosure will require some effort to maintain a higher temperature. Lighting at the top and some at the sides (if needed) will create a sufficient heat gradient. Short of building a large frame with glass and a large door, this is the most economical way to make a larger enclosure if you do not have woodworking tools.

Overall, if you want to construct your own cages for most reptiles, you are probably better off using plywoods, melamine and MDF types of materials for most of the cage. There does not at this stage seem to be any identifiable health issues caused by these materials. Another benefit with these materials is their insulating properties. Glass is not a good material for most reptile cages (except aquatic species) as it loses heat rapidly. Many glass terrariums have an open top with no seal and this also causes a high heat loss. This means the glass cages are more expensive to heat if you use certain types of heat sources.

The front of the cage can be sliding glass, Plexiglas or a constructed glass door. A pine, oak or similar timber frame at the front will give the cage a more professional and decorative appearance.

If you paint your cage, remember to let it dry out for a minimum of 2-3 days to release as much of the volatile material from the paints. 5-7 days would be even better.

It is a good idea to make the base of a wooden reptile cage from melamine and use Silicon to seal around the edges, to prevent moisture penetrating the melamine or plywood sheeting.

There are hints and tips on applying Silicone in the “How to Build Reptile Enclosures” booklet.

A base of vinyl flooring can also be used if you are concerned about water penetration into the timbers. Be sure to seal it with Silicon and seal the holes where temperature probes are passed through.

You can also coat the MDF or plywood interiors of the cage with ‘Contact’, a plastic sheeting with an adhesive backing, in any colors you like, before you assemble the cage. This will remove the need to paint the cage inside, reducing fumes, and also provide a water proof seal for the MDF or plywood. Contact comes in a range of colors and is very easy to apply cut and apply.

There is much to be gained from building your own reptile cage. It is good fun and will give you, as a reptile owner, a great deal of personal satisfaction. Before you do go out and purchase a reptile, take some time to research what is the best sort of cage for your pet. You should be aware that many reptiles will grow considerably over time and you may have to build a number of cages. Good luck and enjoy.

Mark Chapple is the Author of “How to Build Reptile Enclosures”. Find out how to build reptile cages. Full color pictures, detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com