BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum here and this is my first post I have been researching blue tongues for a few months now, and I am thinking either a Merauke or Northern blue tongue could be a great interactive pet lizard for me. I may not be able to get one too soon as I am starting a program with a practicum and I don't know exactly how intense it is going to get, but I have been looking at custom enclosures sold near me as I would like to provide a minimum of 4'x2'x2' of space for my skink in the next few years.

I have read previous posts mentioning Cornel's World in Alberta and HerpHouses, both making large PVC enclosures which look very sturdy and spacious.
http://www.herphouses.com/terrestrial-p ... -cages.php
https://shop.cornelsworld.com/product-category/caging/

I am wondering if anybody has had experience with either of these and if they felt the cages met their needs, particularly with high humidity subspecies? Especially if anyone has had issues with outgassing, as I have read about it happening with PVC enclosures made by other companies and worry about my future skink being exposed to harmful fumes.

Thank you for reading, I apologize if this topic has been posted and I just haven't found it yet. I am rather new to forums in general too

Well, I'm not in Canada but I'm sure API (Animal Plastics) would ship there..I currently have eight of their cages and couldn't be more satisfied. They have been doing this for a long time.

I had a look at a few of their models, looks like they have some of the best deals for reptile caging! My only concern is cleaning and moving the enclosure as I may need to take it apart and reassemble it. Have you ever had to reassemble your enclosures for moving or cleaning, or is it ok to keep them in one piece?

The AP plastics cage is sealed along the inside seams with silicone (by you after assembly) so it is not normally meant to be taken apart again. You would not need to take it apart to clean it though.

I have six enclosures from Greg West at Cornels World. 2'x4' floor space, four of them are 2' tall and two are 1' tall. They are excellent quality enclosures and I would highly recomend them. The 2' tall enclosures are very nice and give a more open feeling, but for budget crunching the 1' tall is perfectly suited for a bluetongue also. They come in white, black, or grey and Id definately go with grey or white, black is a bit like a cave.

I keep meraukes in them. You still need to provide humidity retaining bedding, humidity hide and/or misting as you would any enclosure, but the sealed design of pvc enclosures allows it to be maintained longer and more easily.

The Cornels World enclosures cannot be disasembled but they are very light weight and can be easily handled by one person. Ive moved a couple times with mine with no issue.

Ive never had issues with outgassing with my enclosures. Greg was very good to deal with both times I ordered mine, Im sure he could answer any questions you may have about it if you get in touch with him.

I have no experience with HerpHouse, but whichever you choose I think youre right to go the rout of PVC enclosure if you can.

The american companies reccomended in the previous posts have great products, but i think you will find once you take currency exchange and shipping cost into account they will be very unafordable.

Best of luck!

Awesome, thank you so much to everyone for their responses!
I am definitely leaning towards getting one from Cornel's world as they are so easy to transport and maintain, and only a province away so I can save on shipping. I agree, at first glance, some US cages looked very affordable until I calculated currency exchanges and duties on the item to ship to Canada.
I have a few years to think about this before I can get a BTS, but I like to plan ahead and learn everything I possibly can to prepare myself (also it is very exciting, I can't wait to share my home with one of these tiny-legged cuties!).

Thanks for telling me they come in grey and white, tcopitho, all the preview images on the site were of black enclosures so I had no idea! I will definitely talk to Greg about those colours of PVC, as more mellow-toned walls may be more pleasant for the skink to look at.

I also forgot to mention, if you are in the Vancouver/lower-mainland area, Greg usually goes to the spring and fall reptile expo in Abbotsford, so you could arrange for him to bring it for you and save on the shipping entirely. Otherwise I think he can work out some pretty decent shipping costs.

Its super exciting to be getting your first bluey, even if it is a few years off