Seem to have an escape artist here...

Not that she needs to be artistic or such in her escaping lol. We have reinforced her cage to no end, but she still manages to "pop" out the window from the frame every so often on us. Today she let not only herself out but another one that is housed with her also. Wasn't too hard to find ...due to their size lol. Of course this is DIAMOND, and she let ANDY out with her also.
Short of putting her in a new cage that's got no windowing, and is built like fort knox..Anyone got any ideas on what can be done to stop her from "popping" out the windowing at all ? The cage is a melamine with "THICK" plexi in it. We are thinking of exchanging out the plexi for glass even. .. BUT if she "pops" that out we'll have broken glass here and she could get hurt from such even. She's waaaay too big to place in an aquarium also.
For those of you who don't know.. DIAMOND is a 10'+ , weighs 60lbs easy.
DIAMOND went and tried her best to "hide" herself under a table in the livingroom ..LMAO.. There is NO missing that girl when she is around . ..and ANDY pulled down the curtains, rods and all, to get to the top of another cage to just hang out there. Neither one must not like cats as our two cats were sitting just feet away from them and relaxing also.
Good thing they are both nicely tempered snakes and could care less that we "captured" them hehe.
ARGHH.. What to do....Build new ??
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[Boacephus]

Hey Lori,

Depends on how your cage is built?? Theres a few handymen around on RTB, if you get the chance post a pic and someone should be able to come up with something for you. I built the cage for my8-9 footer and my glass is sorta on the inside. Basically there is about 1/2" of wood all the way around the outside of the glass and it is secured by those wall mirror hangers. Depending on your cage you may be able to run some 1/2" - 3/4" trim all the way around the outside to keep the plexi from "popping" out. If you use small screws every 5" or so I'm sure that would slow her down, lol.
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[eddie]

Hmmm...
That is odd.... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]
She did fine with no escapes when she was in the tiny box with a rock holding the lid down... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]


I looked in her album but couldn't tell how the doors are set up....So... Can ya get a couple of pics of the doors and how they are attached please?
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Eddie.. She's not in that cage anymore. I gave her a larger cage hehe. [ The suri who's like 4 1/2' is in that grey tiny box now ] I'll grab pics later, BUT it is a cagesbydesign cage btw. The plexi is in a track in the frame [ wood].
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	Suriname Redtail Boa Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor constrictor) from the locale of Suriname. Considered to be a "True" Red Tail.

[eddie]

Try this.



Impromptu drawing of an idea that is cheap.
Just like the plans , just drill 1/8" hole in at least all four corners per sheet of plexi.
The holes in the middle of the sheets are optional, but recommended to give the middle some support as well.
Drill the plexi medium speed with little pressure on it to prevent its' splitting.
Then the pins should hold it enought to keep it from bowing out.
The pins are standard items at nearly every hardware store.
They are straight, solid and have a small ball bearing in the end that is used as a binding or friction type holder to keep them in place.
If the wood won't hold, then you may need to upgrade with aluminum "C" channel, also available at nearly all hardware stores.


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[Boacephus]

Looks like a good one Eddie. You could also just make the tracks deeper, but Eddies idea would be a bit more pleasing to the eye. You could also run a brace down the center on the outside also, my original cage was built that way. I don't think you would have to worry about broken glass if you simply replaced it. I can see how a biggun would pop out the plexi since it is more flexible. I would still go with one of the ideas here instead of glass, just to be on the safe side. I have glass in my cage, you've got me worring about mine now, gee thanks Lori, lol.
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[cb76]

wow eddie!
thats a real good idea [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]

lori! that is the cutest thing i have ever heard! wow! that is a pretty huge snake too. luckily she dont like cats.

boas, ya gotta love them [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]
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[Tom]

Hi Lori,

I use to use 1/4" Plexiglas for my cages now I use 1/4" tempered glass for my cages.
Plexiglas has to much give in them so I would add aluminum 1/4" u channel on the side edges. I would just use any good glue for this such as liquid nails.
Eddie has a very good idea there too.
But if you have 20" or more in height the boa or any good size snake can squeezes out between the two pieces of Plexiglas.
The aluminum gives the edges some reinforcement that will help stop the Plexiglas from bowing out.
Here is a picture where you can see the u channel some what.

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[bensnacks]

If you refer to my post under topic "my cheap cage"
you may find an answer ,just use a nail gun instead of a
staple gun.
I garuntee she'll stay right where you left her.!!



[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]
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[eddie]

Yeah, nails do hold a snake better than staples or duct tape!
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[XzyluM]

I don't prefer nails. I prefer screws. Pre-drilling the holes then screwing in the screws works like a charm. It is very unlikely to crack, slipt, or miss the board doing this. Eddie, that is kind of how I had my plan to put the glass in my cage, but I decided to get it professionally done. I've seen cages with certain bolts and hinges for extra security on the cages, seems to work very well.
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