What Size Cage?

[Tonya]

ok, I have a rtb, approx 5 feet long. I bought her(?) last August. The guy at the pet store estimated her age at 2 years old because of her size. But, I am told that she is small to be that age. So, I am not sure how old she is. Any ways, for the real reason for this post. What size cage should she have? Right now she is in like a 50 gallon tank. But my dad is going to build one for her and the current measurements of the cage he might make is 48"(length) x 18" x 24"(Highth). I think this is going to be sorta big for her now, but I want something to last her a while. I paid over a hundred dollars for the current tank and not even 8 months ago and it seems to small. This one is going to cost me about a $100 in materials also, but hoping is will last longer. Also, it will have the option to enlarge it pretty cheap. Any suggestions for certain material or ways it should be built from you experts? Sorry for the long post.
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[Tom]

Hi Tonya,

I use two different size cages for all my boas.
6' wide X 2' deep X 18" to 24" high
4' wide X 2' deep X 2' high.

Hope this helps you out.

Tom
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[Sunn]

Tonya,

I second Tom's answer......great sizes!

I'd suggest you go to the Caging/Housing/Husbandry Items forum and scroll through a lot of the cage designs.

A quick trip to the Care sheets is always good too......

If your dad needs help just have him come ask the folks who build their own and they'll help him out.

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.

BTW.....Welcome to the site!



[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Sandy
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[stretch]

Hello, you might want to make that depth a little deeper. You mine as well build one that is going to last it its whole life, instead of buying tank after tank (much cheaper that way).
For example I have a rtb and its about 4 1/2 feet or so. Right now its in a tank that measures 72x28x18 that is more than enough to last it its whole life. Remember red tails need more floor space than height in a tank. Just my .02
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[dlamphere]

You can make a 30 inch deep cage by cutting a 4x8 sheet long ways where you have a 18 x 8ft and a 30x 8ft from each sheet. I made a 8ft x 30" x 18 out of two sheets of plywood with very little cutting of my own. Lowes did the rip cuts for me [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] Mines that big because I built it for my burm but you get the idea.
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[captainmorgan]

Alright, I got 2 5' boas too. I still use my 40 gallon breeder I had them in for a year. Yes I'm in the works of building a bigger cage but as long as they can stretch there lungs....your okay. And that was told to me from a herpetoligist!! So your 55 gallon is still fine in my eyes. A 5' boa doesn't carry enough girth to need a huge cage. At 2' they're still growing. Remember, they'll grow in length before girth. Oh, and at 5', mine are just over 2 years. I got they're birth dates....it's like 2 years and 3 or 4 months of the top of my head. Just my opinion.... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[thewho]

I keep mine in an enclosure that is 72"Hx36"Dx72"W. I used 1/2" treated pine for the sides, top, and bottom...I used pegboard for the back for ventilation, and I used plexiglass for the front for viewing. I have two doors on either side that measure 36"Hx24"W.
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[thewho]

I should also add that I used chaulk(sp?) in all corners to increase humidity and heat within the tank, as well as vinyl flooring on the bottom for easy clean up.
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