opinions on custom cage dimensions?

[Spindown]

So we are going to build custom cages in late March, early April. We are discussing what would be a reasonable set of cage dimensions, and are kinda butting heads on what we want. So i need some opinions.

30 long x 12 high x 30 deep is what he wants, so a squareish type layout, where I'd prefer a more traditional format of 48 long x 12 high x 18 deep. (all those are inches).

Do you guys who have experience with lots of skinks think they would be ok in a square environment? I am probably being too paranoid about this, since they are in no set shape in the wild LOL I just want to them to have the max amount of room to stretch their little legs If square is ok, do you think that 30x 30 is enough room?

Thanks! Oh, and these would be for the adult skinks.

[Lea]

The bigger the better, as much room as you can get away with, while still being practical for and indoor environment.

Square cages, while being slightly impractical in the average home by way of fitting in to the house environment, gives the advantage of added turning room- no "skink-squashed-while-turning-around" for example. I love the idea that my skinks can turn freely at any point in their enclosures, without a part of their body having to touch any part of the enclosure walls.

Are these cages for sale or for your home use? I can only speculate, but most skink owners will prefer a rectangular dimension, purely because they won't have to modify their existing house to fit it in. I would say that for this reason alone that the rectangular cage will be much more popular.

Maybe you could do a poll on here and get members to vote, not just for your dimensions, but also for just the shape, to give you an idea of what your targeted buyers would like.

The above comments are my opinion based on what I have seen people use here, although my preference would be square, which would give a good exploring environment.

[Spindown]

X_X i should have mentioned that they are just for us. We are going to make custom stackable cages to make our house more "people house" and less "cages everywhere" house. The bf wants to make the overall unit 4 cages tall and 2 across, so he does not want it to be crazy wide.

I guess my question now is, do you guys think 30 x 30 would be big enough for a skink to live pretty "happily"?

[Nae]

Why not go as wide as you want (So in this case 30) and instead of restricting yourself to a square shape, work out the maximum length you want to go for the unit over all and halve it? So say if 80 is your absolute max for the entire unit length wise, split that in half so each enclosure is 30 x 80? Just a thought, as that how I worked mine out (28 x 55, might go longer depending on the wood lengths). Im using these measurements as its slightly longer then my student desk I use for sewing - That way its pretty much guaranteed to fit into pretty much any home and through doorways, as they are used in dorm rooms and the like!

I dont see why square would be a problem though - Perhaps, what is the maximum length needed for a suitable temp gradient? Then make that the minimum diagonal length~

[Alioop]

I despise math. But I'm gonna throw some at ya: Area = Length x Width

48 x 18 = 864

30 x 30 = 900

So to answer your question about whether or not the 30x30 would be big enough... In fact it would give them more area than the 48 x 18. My only thinking is that working with a square tank might be a pain in the rear, as you can't reach the back wall as easily.

[sheslikeheroin]

i suggest a compromise if you go with a 36" X 24" thats still 864 square inches but it's easier to fit into a room. it still allows for lots of turning and running room. or if you want a longer tank a 48 X 24 would give you 1152 sq inches. more than adequate!

[Katrina]

I have mine in 48 x 30 enclosures, I wouldn't want any deeper than 30" for cleaning but I really love having the width for them to move around and for their "stuff". So wide is good, but any more than 30" would be a pain in the butt for cleaning if you don't have long arms (and depending on the setup). I think 30 x 30 would be ok, but you would need good air movement and ventilation in summer so that you could maintain a cool and hot end (and this would probably be much easier with a longer enclosure). We had to install small computer fans near the heat lamp to promote air movement because in ours the basking light was heating the entire enclosure too much (although the little computer fans were cheap and easy to install and solved the problem perfectly). Good luck!