Quarantine Setup 1
- Well, right now I use this to quarantene a box turtle...so, it's newspaper and
cardboard to make sure I can keep the tank very clean.
- 36 x 24 inch footprint, 15 inches high custom glass tank.
- Partially covered by home-made screen top (1 x 2s and window screen) for
incandescent lamp with 60-100 Watt bulb, depending on inhabitants and season.
Room for an UV fluorescent light.
- Plexiglass cover for rest of cage. I use that cover only when I have sick
animal in there to keep the temperature up.
- Tank sits on particle board shelf which sits on cement blocks.
- I used to use this for my water turtles, but I've moved all my turtles outdoors,
and they are much happier there. This tank works well for quarantine as it is
accessible, and large enough to keep the animal in it for several months. It's
waterproof, so I can hose it down for cleaning, or simply to give the animal
inside a shower.
- This is a quarantine setup. This turtle gets soaked daily and has access to
natural sunlight. This is NOT an appropriate long-term setup for a box turtle! This
particular inhabitant needs a high humidity semi-tropical setup. (Note the extra
water bowl right under the lamp.)
Quarantine Setup 2
I originally had this setup built for my boa constrictor. Then I converted it to
use as a quarantine setup.
- Size: 48 inches long; 32 inches wide; 28 inches high.
- Cage was custom made using plastic for the outside and plexiglass for the door.
Cost was around 300 dollars.
- Locks were added to keep children from getting into the cage.
- Cage is heated by a heating pad stuck to the side and a ceramic bulb. For snakes, the
lamp is covered by chicken wire to prevent accidential shorting/burning. Heaters are
on simple probe thermostat to prevent overheating on hot days.
- Additional heating pad can be added under substrate. However, I've moved away from
under-substrate heating.
- Small light is used to provide light only.
- In the back and on the sides the I've slipped pieces of insulating material
to keep the heat in, as the plastic doesn't isolate as well as wood.
- Water bowl is placed under heat source to incerase cage humidity to about 60 percent.
- Currently I use this cage for turtle quarantaine. It heats easily to 80-85F
evenly. I also use it to winter turtles that do not hibernate.
- The box in the corner is for incubation of eggs, since this cage has the perfect
temperature for incubation.
- This cage is easy to clean and scrub. I've used a variety of substrates in it from
newspaper to leaf litter.
- The cage is big enough to hold plants, which increases humidity, if necessary.
- Since this was built as a snake cage originally, no provisions for fluorescent
lighting. However, all quarantine animals have access to natural sunlight.
