• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Questions before a build....

mxracer4life

mxracer4life

"Daniel Boone"
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I am in the process of developing plans to UPGRADE my boa's enclosures. Right now I have 2 seperate cage set ups, one is a single for a female boa, the other houses my breeding pair of boas. My breeding pair are seperated, into a stacked cage. I am wanting to build an enclosure, out of wood, make it a stacked 4 cage design. My questions are this, the height of my cages now is 16'', should I keep that, or can I got to 14'' or 12'' tall. None of my boas have been big into climbing. Second, the heat will be supplied by flex watt, which I have only used in the past with glass aquariums. When using wood, I would assume that it needs to be on the inside of the cage with something covering it, correct? Third, if I am going to have 4 cages, measuring 5' wide x 2' deep x 12'',14'' or 16'' tall (each), with wheels on the bottom, what door set up would work best, I am wanting to get away from plexiglass and use real glass if possible. Any suggestions would be awesome.

By the way, I am in a hurry to construct this, I have a female that is due soon and I am shooting for having this done within a couple of weeks.

thanks! Jeremy
 
Thats actually where I got some of my ideas. I have everything down now except for the flexwatt. Tell me how you think this will work. For the flooring of each cage, instead of using m 3/4'' I thought about using 2 sheets of my 3/8'', and place both sheets together. That way, since I don't have a router, I can cut a space out of the top layer to set the flexwatt down into, therefore giving it some air space. OR I might go with two 1/2'' pieces so I will have more space, but either way, you think it will work? I was thinking of using some old plexi to cover it, but instead of having the flex attached to to the plexi, lay the flex down inside the wood, with some sort of protective covering, like aluminum tape, and use the plexi as a protective layer against the snake, moisture and bedding. Will two 11'' strips be sufficient to heat an enclosure that is 14'' tall x 60'' wide x 24'' deep?
 
I would go with the 3/4" and forget about recessing the flexwatt. And for reference...2 half inch pieces would reduce your air space since your piece would be an inch thick instead of 3/4". If it makes you feel better to cover the flexwtt then go fr it...but remember that any material or medium that you must process heat through in order to get to your animal is lost through absorption.


Can it heat your enclosure? That depends on ambient air temps and final temps you plan to achieve. Most species will still require a hot spot to be provided and possibly variosu types on UV lighting.
 
Well, the ambient temp in the room is about 78 degrees. What if I just lay the flex down, attach it to the wood, and cover it with lenolium? I am building for some adult boas. Right now I have a wooden cage with lenolium down, then a couple sheets of newspaper over that, will that be too much covering it? My female boa will have the top cage (this is going to be a stacked 4 cage design), and she will have the 2 11' strips of flexwatt AND a ceramic heater, but the lower levels have to be heated from the inside. I could place 3 11'' strips in the other cages. OR I can install a ceramic heater inside the cage, like I have right now and just cover it with a protective screen so they can't burn themselves. Which would work better?
 
Or I thought about using cypress mulch, having that would allow me to run the flex a little warmer, correct? Cause then the heat would be distributed through the mulch, instead of a flat surface. As long as I can place my hand on THAT surface its not too hot, correct? Sounds like flex is best used on glass or plastic enclosures.
 
I use tubs. Only problem I see with wooden cages and large constrictors is that they are prone to be messy. Commercial cages without tight corners tend to be easier to clean up. If you use wood, you better properly seal it and its corners or odds are you will have a bunch of headaches.

If ambient is 78 consistantly, you technically do not need flexwatt at all. You COULD use the flexwatt as your hot spot. I keep my boas at 75 ambient and use flexwatt to provide a hot spot of 90 for about 5 hours a day.
 
If you use mulch, the odds are you will need to use heat from above. Somewhat hard to provide necessary heat through the mulch via flexwatt. I guess it can be done, but heat from above would be better in this instance IMHO.
 
Well, I am DEFINATELY aware of how messy boas can be with wooden cages. I have learned that they have to be sealed very well. I am using lenolium right now, with newspaper on top, should I just stick to that with the new cage? I wanted to try the mulch, again, to help with looks and humidity, as well try to distribute the heat. I wasn't exactly talking about keeping an eye on actual temps with just a touch of the hand. I have multiple temp gauges and do monitor it closely, what I was talking about was the actual flex watt, I plan on keeping a close eye on the flex's actual temp, what I meant to say is CAN the flexwatt get hotter than what a hand can handle? Did I say that right? :)

Question: I plan on using some type of thin metal (or related substance) under flex, is this safe and will it help direct heat upwards?

I am all about the wood. I have been using it for a year now, have pretty much figured out how to keep feces inside the cage, instead of running down the sides, sealing it in a way that if water is spilled it will not leak, and sealing it to keep bacteria from forming in wood. I like the look of wood and have researched it A LOT. I just prefer to ask questions and get multiple answers from different people, I think that is the best way to make a decision, is a mix of your own ideas, along with many others. Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it. Have a good night.

Jeremy
 
To sum it up. I have decided to go with 3/4'' wood, I am sanding it down really well right now. Then I am going to stain it, let it dry, then sand it again, lightly and apply a thin coat of poly. Once the poly is good and dry, I will sand it lightly, add another coat, let dry, then another coat, having atleast 3-4 coats of poly. Then I am going to place the flex on each individual level, cover it with some cheap, thin lenolium, then newspaper. Once I have the cage assembled, I am going to run it for a few days, check my temps, if ok, go for it, if not, add another heat source. The top level will house my adult female boa, which is pregnant, and she will have another heat source (ceramic heat emitter). The the doors I have not decided on yet, but am steering away from sliding glass. I want more of a finished look, like a framed door with plexi or something. How does this sound so far. AND, keep in mind, I am still in the process of this, I am using all the info available. Later

p.s. What about having flex on the bottom and the back side? I have lots of it.

Jeremy
 
I will have some pictures up here is a few days. It's coming along really good. It's looking way better than I thought it would.
 
Let me know what you think. It is 99% done. Just need to add locks, couple of touch up spots and a few door handles. I will take a better pic when I figure out how to turn the flash off on my digital.

Thanks!

Jeremy
 
I don't know what happened. Let me try again tonight when I get home. Sorry.

p.s. the only enclosure I am adding an extra source of heat is the enclosure for my prego boa, just in case I have a problem with temps, I want a back up.
 
Thanks, I appreciate it. I figured it up, I have 62 hours into it and about $200 out of pocket, that doesn't include all the scrap and stuff I already had. I like how the ventilation turned out. I wasn't big on just drilling holes, but I found a way where I could mount a 2 x 2 board across the back, and drill all the holes straight and true. I used a 3/8'' drill bit and made about 12 holes vertically on each side and then all the way across the top. Temps are working out great, there was no need for a second heat source for my female. I got it done in enought time that it got to sit for a week and air out BEFORE the babies came. I still need to touch it up in a few spots, but I am pretty happy how it looks. Thanks for the help! Appreciate it.

Jeremy
 
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