GliderCENTRAL

Reptariums

Posted By: Anonymous

Reptariums - 10/10/05 02:27 PM

I'm ordering a 260 gal rep tomorrow and have a couple of questions that I've not found answered on the boards. Do you guys order the soft tray that's sold separately for the reps? What type of bedding do you use since there's no grate separating them from the urine, feces, and dropped food on the bottom? Do you sand or anything in the bottom PVC framing to make it sturdier (a little more bottom heavy)? Have any of you had incidents of these falling over? Thanks,Lindy
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 02:53 PM

I don't know about the bedding/bottoms... but as for the sand- I don't think that would be a good idea.

Sometimes when taking off the mesh the frame tubes come apart & then you'd have a real mess cleaning up sand. The only way to avoid that would be to (semi) permanently connect the tubes & then you might have a hard time taking down the cage if you needed to move it or travel or something.

I personally don't like reptariums for anything more than a travel cage for many reasons. The one I have is a 36 gallon (I think) and it hasn't tipped over yet. I do like to keep a blanket on it for some extra weight to hold it in place. But there's a big difference between the one I have and what you're getting! I've never seen/used one of the gynormous ones...
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 05:07 PM

I LOVE my reptarium!!!!!!! I have the 260gal one and it's great. I don't use bedding. I use a large piece of fleece on the bottom to absorb any urine and puppy pads UNDER (outside) the reptarium to catch any urine that may get through the mesh if they've played around with the fleece. I don't worry about the feces because they don't play on the bottom of the cage anyway. They're only on the bottom a tiny bit. As far as the tipping over thing, I've got two gliders in my reptarium and I have the wheel secured at the top. They prefer it there for some reason. They refused to use it when it was at the bottom. They run in that wheel VERY very hard. And it hasn't (and won't) tip over the cage. I think it'd take a LOT of force from those little babies to tip over that huge cage. I highly recommend reptariums. To make sure they don't start chewing on it, I'd recommend putting something in their cage for them to chew on INSTEAD of the cage. I have this roll of stuff I bought from PetsMart that's made for birds and they can shred it til their heart's content. They love it. They actually started chewing on the reptarium at first but as soon as I put that stuff in there, they started shredding it and leaving the reptarium alone. Good luck with your new awesome cage! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 06:23 PM

One more question. Do you glue the PVC pieces together somehow? We want to replace the framing that comes with the rep with regular PVC but aren't sure what sort of bonding material to use that would be safe for the gliders.

UHBribbitt: Thanks for the tip! What's the stuff that they chew on called? I haven't noticed mine being chewers, but it would be nice to have a plan in place.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 06:37 PM

I didn't glue together the framing and I wouldn't recommend it. That way you can pull it apart to transport it if you need to. But that's a personal choice.

This is the shredding stuff. There's a TON of it in that one package. Just unroll a little bit, cut a piece off and tie it inside their cage.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 07:21 PM

That looks awesome! I'll definately try that stuff. And I won't glue. We thought we had to use an adhesive to keep the cage from falling apart.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 07:41 PM

Nope not at all. I'm using the framing that came with the reptarium until something cracks and I need to make my own and they all fit together just fine and don't come apart. And even once I make my own framing, those PVC joint connectors hold tight. So there's no need to glue. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 07:51 PM

I love my repatarium also. I have only had my gliders about a month but I have learned a lot already. I cut several pieces of fleece to fit the bottom and change it every other day. Shake it out in the trash or outside, toss them in a bag and at the end of the week I wash pouches, cage liners and misc. cloth toys together in a small load. I do use one of the softliners in the bottom and once a week or so, I take the softliner out and clean it in the tub with hot water. I wipe down the rest of the cage and reassemble. I don't have a problem with odor and it isn't a tremendous amount of work. I hated cleaning it before I started using the fleece liners. It was nasty. That has solved a multitude of problems, not the least of which is noise with crunchy treats and toys at night.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 08:31 PM

Does the soft tray go INSIDE the rep on the bottom or OUTSIDE and the rep sits in it? Is the tray worth the $20something plus shipping?
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Reptariums - 10/10/05 10:07 PM

I asked that same question a couple weeks ago and I was told that the trays are completely unnecessary. That after a while, they'll get stiff and crackly and have to be replaced. I don't use one and don't see any reason at all TO use one. It just seems like one more thing to get smelly and have to replace eventually.
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