Personal Caging Preference

A good friend of mine, Greg Maxwell, author of The Complete Chondro, has had a profound and philosophical impact on me when it comes to proper enclosures/cages. In a nutshell, Greg feels that if you are going to spend several hundred dollars on a chondro, wouldn’t you at least provide it with a quality cage? Why spend $300 - $500 on a klauberi, only to leave it in a $10 aquarium? Neonates & juveniles are the exception.

Since we all have different requirements, needs and budgets, I thought I would share with you the cages I use and some of the modifications made to suit my requirements and needs.. Currently, I house all locality breeding colonies in one cage. For example, I keep all my Magdalena Mountain klauberi adults in one cage. By keeping all the adults together, I am assured that no breeding cycle will be missed. In September 2007, I began replacing my custom built cages with Vision 221's. The measurements of the 221 are 30”L x 24”D x 12”H. The only structural modification I make is adding more ventilation areas. This can be easily done by drilling small vent holes all the way across the back. This allows air flow through the cage, especially the cooler air needed for klauberi.

Set Up
Each enclosure has:

* One 13” fluorescent light fixture mounted inside the upper – front lip (hidden from view)
* One Ultratherm Heat Tape (6” x 11”) on one side (set at 84°) or Radiant Heat Panel
* One 20 watt halogen light directly above UHT (these come in white or black kits)
* Two - tiered basking rocks (1/8” thick)
* Substrate consisting of aspen chip (dust free), oak leaves and pine needles.


***Important Note: Each cage has its own Pro Products radiant heat panel or Ultratherm Heat Tape and is controlled by its own Johnson Controls Thermostat. I prefer it this way because I have noticed temp differences of 4+ degrees from cage to cage. Hence, each cage is controlled independently.

**** Vision will be producing the V300 this spring. It will be 14” tall, rather than 12”. Personally, I am looking very much forward to it. I think the 2” height increase will provide easier regulation of a thermal gradient.

 

 

              Feel free to email me if you have any questions, ideas or suggestions!

                                                       John W. Blume