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Custom built enclosures are pretty much the only answer. I am pretty handy so I build all my own but there are several professional cage builders out there too.

I currently use different size cages either lined with formica or sealed with heavy spar polyurethane. I have plans drawn out for my currently unfinished basement to do built-in enclosures. For the big females they will be walk-ins with FRP walls, heated concrete floors, and sunken water tubs with drains. Everything will have plumbing running to it. Pick up the "chunky pieces" and rinse the rest down the drain. With cage maintenance that easy, I figure a quick daily walk thru is all that will be required to keep enclosures continuously clean and sanitary. Easy...that’s what I’m shooting for.

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Someday I’ll get it all done. I had a fully plumbed 700 gallon gator pond complete with a pump out system in the basement of my last house. Of course usually these projects get all finished right about the time we decide to move somewhere else and then I have to start all over! Go figure.

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Yemanja! So glad to hear you still have those beauties and they are doing well! I’ll shoot you some info directly. If your email is not still the same, shoot me your new one and we’ll get in touch.

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The cages I have now are not all that "amazing". The big plumbed ones I describe in an above post are planned for "someday". Cages I use right now are not any different than anyone else’s I’m sure. In simple terms, a big wood box that’s coated to make it waterproof with a sliding glass front and thumb screws to lock it shut. I use a keyless lamp holder for light and heat tape on the bottom for heat. Pretty simple.

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The cage in the background of that pic is one I specially made for the bigger girl and is the only one like that I have. The rest are the simple ones. That one is made from particle board covered in Formica (counter top laminate). It is sealed with latex/silicon kitchen sealant. The hinged doors are 1/4" glass in a grooved 2x2 frame polyurethaned to seal them. Not the cheapest way to go but works quite well.

Anytime you use a heat mat or tape you need to have some way to regulate it, either with a thermostat or a rheostat (light dimmer switch). This will keep them from over heating. The heat tape I use is the 11" wide stuff from flexwatt. Now, here is my disclaimer.....the following is NOT the recommended way to use heat tape with wooden cages. If you use it the way I do you must closely monitor temps and you should use a good thermostat to prevent overheating which could cause a fire. So if you do it my way, you do so at your own risk. With that said, I used a router to recess an area in the bottom of the cage on the underneath side (outside). This provides a place for the tape to sit into and allows air flow around the tape. It will gently warm the portion of floor directly over the tape. Because it is not inside the cage, there is no direct contact with the animal or it’s excretions. I have used it this way for years without incident but there again, you must pay close attention to it and have some sort of fail safe to turn it off, should it get too hot.

By the way, there will be an enclosure section on my website and a DVD on cage building is in the works as well. (There actually will be several DVDs for sale on the site once it’s up and running). Just be patient, I’m working as fast as I can!