Tokays and ABS Plastic Cages

[Imperial Geckos]

Does anyone keep there Tokays/other arboreal geckos in plastic (ABS) reptile cages, like those made by Repti-Racks?

I am asking because I am thinking of buying a Pair of Tokay Geckos and I am trying to avoid a screen cage or a large EXPENSIVE glass Exo-terra enclosure.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[marauderhex]

I keep my tokay (as well as the rest of my collection) in a plastic enclosure. The main part of the enclosure is high impact molded polystyrene and the door (front opening) is plexiglass. It has holes in the sides for air flow, and the enclosure holds humidity like a champ. I highly recommend them.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

Justin, do you know what company makes them?

Thanks!

 

[TranceZ]

I keep my tokay (as well as the rest of my collection) in a plastic enclosure. The main part of the enclosure is high impact molded polystyrene and the door (front opening) is plexiglass. It has holes in the sides for air flow, and the enclosure holds humidity like a champ. I highly recommend them.

post a pic

 

[marauderhex]

Here's a link to the imgur album with pics of all of the enclosures. I love the ability to stack them. Some have screens in for lights to be put on top, like the BTS and fire skink tanks. Others we left the original plastic there to help hold in heat and humidity.

Edit: I get all of my enclosures through Paul Mitchell: www.pmherps.com

 

[Imperial Geckos]

Thank you Justin! I was looking at "HerpCages.com" but I am looking for a specific size. I am going to contact them today to see if they make custom cages.

 

[marauderhex]

Good deal. Galactus, my female tokay, lives in a 20x20x20" cube and seems pretty content with it. The goldens and cresties have 16x16x16" cubes. In case you were wondering what the sizes were.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

I have designed a 28" x 18" x 30" (l x w x h) with double swing out doors, removable divider (for easy cleaning and baby removal), and screen portion on the top of the cage for a heat lamp fixture. The cage will have a total of 8.7 cubic ft. If the ABS plastic works, I will be in contact with a local guy who builds racks and cages and he will make this happen.

Then I will be purchasing my Tokays!! Fingers crossed!

Thanks for all the help Justin!

 

[marauderhex]

Sure thing. They build the same kinda cages that I use, so you might want to just use UTHs foil taped to the side of the enclosure as the heat source. Don't worry, the plastic can handle much higher heat than what they can put out, even maxed out. This way you can avoid having the screen part, which will help hold humidity much better.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

I thought about that, The screen cut out will only be 9" squared and that is the exact amount of space needed to fit a large heat lamp fixture. I do not like 11" Flexwatt and feel it is not very safe. I have low wattage 3" on all my racks. I messed around a bit with 11" a few years ago but, not my cup of tea.. lol maybe I am being bit too paranoid. I like the idea of having heat lamps overhead for the Tokays. There will also only be a few vent holes on the other side of the cage. I feel It will hold humidity well. Ohh and by the way...In case you didn't notice I am in Miami, Fl...Its ALWAYS (for the most part lol) humid here!

I am actually also going to be getting another pair to test year round outdoor screen caging. We have some wild established populations of Tokays in Florida, so I thought I would give it a try!

 

[marauderhex]

Galactus came from Florida. She might be one of your invasive ones. I posted her origin story as I know it in my thread, Who Says Evil Can't Be Trained. Check it out, it's a good read.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

So some disappointing news... ABS will not work with arboreal geckos. My crested gecko was sliding all over the place and could not "stick" to it. I am going to try to get in contact with BARRS, and see if I can get a cage done in a reasonable amount of time. BARRS/Herpcages.com uses high impact polystyrene.

 

[marauderhex]

My cages are high impact polystyrene and all of my sticky geckos can stick to it, so at least you know it should work for you.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

Can/Do any of your arboreal geckos hang upside-down in the cages you have them in?

 

[marauderhex]

Yep, all of my stickies have been observed hanging upside down at one point or another.

 

[TranceZ]

Don't mean to hijack this thread or anything. I'm thinking about getting a few tokays in the future anyone know some good breeders that ship?

 

[marauderhex]

You looking for morphs or just CBB?

 

[TranceZ]

Not interested in any high end stuff, but don't want wild caught either. Just normal bred Tokay's.

On the other hand wouldn't a 20 gallon with the vertical conversion kit work fine instead of going the plastic route? Just my $0.02

 

[marauderhex]

It does work, I switched all to plastic for purposes of stacking. Living in a 2 bedroom apt doesnt give you much space when you have 21 animals living in your bedroom.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

Not interested in any high end stuff, but don't want wild caught either. Just normal bred Tokay's.

On the other hand wouldn't a 20 gallon with the vertical conversion kit work fine instead of going the plastic route? Just my $0.02

I have a large 40 gallon I could do that with, but it would be so heavy and hard to clean. I really want to go with the plastic cages. So, I have found a solution to my problems. I will simply line the inside of the cage with nylon window screen. This will give the geckos 100% use of the whole cage.

I will keep you guys updated once the cage building process begins. Now to purchase my Tokays :main_thumbsup: