Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

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Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Rob » Sat Apr 03, 2021 7:18 am

Hello, my name is Rob. I have been researching for a retirement pet and really like the BTS. I seriously want to do everything right. Even if it means taking a couple of years. My goal is to have the best setup. My question is going all glass or a PVC enclosure. Would the BTS like to have a 380° view? Humidity is not a problem where I live, GA. Thank you! Rob
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:04 am

PVC. A hundred times over. Reptiles feel more secure in this type cage, I scrapped all my glass years ago. Was recommended by another breeder to use, and my skinks are much happier. Glass is also heavy, can crack, and it's tough to keep the heat in. My pvc cages never need any more than a 25 watt bulb, and if I need to move them I don't need to call in the world wrestling team.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Rob » Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:54 am

Thank you so much for your reply. I have been spending hours on this forum learning. I have one more question for you in particular, please. What is your favorite pvc enclosure ? Maybe your top 2 choices. Thank you again, Splashy !
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:07 am

Animal Plastics. But the wait time is horrendous. Order it six months before you need it.
I find them far superior to anything else out there, but there are many more choices available now. I have had to buy inferior brands at times when I needed something fast. Reptile Basics has some too, I've purchased a few snake racks from them and am very satisfied.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Rob » Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:20 am

:thumbs: Thank you. I am taking my time with this, doing it right.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby rixusaku » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:40 am

I heard that Kages is becoming really popular as PVC enclosures. I'm saving up for one to replace my glass enclosure.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:46 am

I have three of them. I don't like them because:
Very light plexiglass doors which need to be locked to prevent escape.
The plexiglass gets all scratched up when my males are in season and...
once put together, the doors cannot be removed for cleaning.
This is one of the inferior brands I mentioned in my post that I had to buy
because I needed something fast on multiple occasions.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:49 am

Oh, forgot something...the doors on all three cages are not cut evenly, and there is a large overlap on one of them that darn near prevents me from installing a cage lock. The quality control there needs a good kick in the butt.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby rixusaku » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:55 am

Splashy, are you talking about the Kages brand? If so I just looked at the animal plastics people and their enclosures are a lot cheaper. I dont like all the horror stories that are going on with them currently (a lot of people are waiting a year with no answer on when they'll ship) and customer service is not existing unless you harass them. Buuuut....I might get one from animal plastics instead regardless because of the price and I'll just keep in mind the wait times with it.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Terreos » Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:16 am

I’m surprised no one mentions ZenHabitats? They have a few cage sizes and you can either get a wood panel or pvc panel as the main material. It holds humidity rather well and was very easy to put together. Plus it’s cheaper than all the others from what I can tell. If you get the 2’x2’x2’ or 4’x2’x2’ you can buy an adapter piece to add another of the mentioned sizes to make it larger. I’m considering adding another 2’ to mine once Nibs is fully grown. My Skink is very active and loves crawling around when it is active. So I get the feeling it would enjoy the leg room.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby rixusaku » Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:50 pm

I took a look at Zen Habitats and I'm more partial to either Animal Plastics or Kages because of the customization features with them that Zen Habitats seem to be lacking in, plus it looks like the previous two have more enclosure size options. It looks like Zen Habitats only do either 2x2x2 enclosures or 4x2x2 enclosures. I was looking to upgrade to a 6x2xY (the height is variable for me depending on what I can get my hands on) enclosure personally just to give my boy a little more room to walk around since he seems iffy about roaming around outside the enclosure, so timid. It feels like the 4x2x2 enclosure he's in is a bit cramped despite me knowing that it's pretty much a unanimous size that everyone uses for their BTS's. He's half the length of the enclosure already the long way.

Edit: scratch that, it does look like they have a lot of different sizes. I was just looking in the wrong section. It also looks like they provide a top shield to hold in humidity as an addon. Looks like they could be promising.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Terreos » Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:10 pm

I can gladly keep you in the loop with my experience with it as time goes on. Like I mentioned I’m very likely going to buy one of the expansions pieces and make it into either. 6’ long or maybe even a 8’ long. Nibs is maybe around 13”-14” already and I feel it would feel cramped in the current size of 4’x2’. But I have seen many owners in care guides have full adults in this size with no apparent issues. I tried the humidity cover they provide before I got Nibs into the enclosure and it would stay rather humid inside. So it definitely works if you have a species that needs more humidity. And so far I have no issue keeping the humidity between 40-50. :thumbs:
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 5:09 am

Yes, I was talking about the Kages brand. A friend of mine owns a reptile shop and he was a distributor, and I had them within the week. I had no choice, could not wait.
I find the Zen habitats to be cheaply made. The DIY cages also, I have one of those for another emergency situation that came up. Cheap grade PVC and bad fitment. There are plenty out there now, but I'll wait for my APIs and make temporary housing if necessary.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Rob » Tue Apr 06, 2021 5:55 am

Splashy, I plan on getting either a Northern or Eastern BTS. With that in mind, what options would you order with the Animal Plastics Cage? For example would you order the 81/2 screen on both sides? Black or white etc..
Thank you for answering my questions. Sincerely, Rob
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:12 am

I keep and breed both, so I need to stack my cages. The one on top gets the circle screen cutout for a lamp and I modify the others myself. I do not use any nighttime heat, my (internal) bulbs are no more than 25 watts. I will try and post some pictures later for you if I get a chance.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Terreos » Tue Apr 06, 2021 8:35 am

splashy07 wrote:Yes, I was talking about the Kages brand. A friend of mine owns a reptile shop and he was a distributor, and I had them within the week. I had no choice, could not wait.
I find the Zen habitats to be cheaply made. The DIY cages also, I have one of those for another emergency situation that came up. Cheap grade PVC and bad fitment. There are plenty out there now, but I'll wait for my APIs and make temporary housing if necessary.

Did you have a Zen Habitats cage? When I was looking for a cage they originally were pretty low on my list because Klints Reptiles made some points about fitment general build quality. But they got a newer model and they fixed all the issues he had with the last one. So they’re atleast trying to improve their product. When I was putting mine together I had to use a mallet on some of the corner pieces to get them into the aluminum pieces. But there seems to be no exposed sharp edges or gaps so fitment does not seem to be an issue with the newer ones. I can’t speak about the quality of the PVC as I’ve never had the other brands mentioned. If it wasn’t for the nine month wait time I was quoted for from Animal Plastics I probably would’ve went with them.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Rob » Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:09 am

:D. OK I just heard from Animal Plastics and they sound friendly and professional. Thank you again everyone for the great advice! As soon as I get my nerve up I will order the cage. So excited!
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:40 am

Never had a Zen, looked into it and just simply didn't meet my needs. Looked a bit too lightweight for heavy lizards that need heavy 'equipment'. Plus, I do not like wood panels used for reptile cages for many reasons, way too many to list here. Probably not bad if you have just one pet but I need to stack cages, and these looked like they would self destruct under such circumstances.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby splashy07 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:42 am

Here are a few pics. Pardon the mess in last pic, she’s about to drop a litter. Also pardon the bad pics due to glare.
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Re: Would a Northern BTS rather be in an all glass or PVC enclosure?

Postby Rob » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:57 am

:shock: Splashy, I am so jealous! I love critters, and your setup is awesome. I am definitely going black. It's a clean look. Good job! I am going to order mine today and wait until next year to get a baby Eastern. I figure I will have little choice but to wait since it takes months to get the enclosure. Gives me more time to read and learn.

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