Showcase  & Custom Oak Cages

ShowCase Cages

For our main breeding facilities, we use both Vision  and Showcase brand injection molded cages.  Both are made from nearly indestructible plastic polymers that are chemical and stain resistant, have good heat retention properties and are extremely light weight for their size. They are also seamless and thus watertight. Access is through front sliding glass doors. They are the least problematic reptiles housing being easy to clean and maintain. While we like the Visions, the sizes best used for Uromastyx are not shippable by the common carriers and have become too expensive to still recommend. They also are designed more for a commercial herp room rather than for use in a living room or office.  For in-house use, we feel the Showcase cages are the better way to go. They have a highly sculptured look to them, giving them a more home-friendly appearance. 

They also come with many user friendly refinements such as a large basking site insert full full access from the back, a power cord pass through slot, a top slot for inserting a long fluorescent tube for main cage lighting, and an under tank indent for placing a heating pad under the tank for night heat.   They also have both bottom and top interlocking grooves to make the cages easy to stack cleanly.

They come in three colors, forest green, terracotta tan, and sandstone gray, and 4 sizes. The best size for use with Uromastyx is 48" long x 24" wide x 18" tall which we offer for $400 + $50  shipping.  We also offer the smaller but taller 3' x 24" x 24" version for $300 + $40 shipping and a 2' x 16" x 18" tall version for $200 + $25 shipping.  We can also supply the large 5' x 24" x 24",  two basking site version for $600 + $75 shipping.  These cages hold their value very well and being a petroleum based product, can actually increase in value over time with the rise in oil prices. Any of these can usually be shipped within 3 business days of your placing an order and delivered within a week. We've set this section up with a shopping cart feature so you can order the Showcase cages direct from this page.  Just click on the color you want first from the drop down menu. Then the "Add to cart" button below the cage  size you want.  You can record "quantity wanted"  after the link takes you to your cart.  Note the "Continue shopping" on your shopping cart button insists on redirecting you to the Supplies page not back to this page.  Just hit "back" on you browser bar to get back here easier.

4' Showcase Cage (recommended size for Uros)

5' Showcase Cage

3' Showcase Cage

2' Showcase Cage

Custom Designed Oak Habitats

Oak Six Cage Stacked Setup

NOTE (5/01/2007): We are finalizing designs for a stackable, collapsible oak cage for  better ease of moving and for less expensive shipping.  All the non-collapsible oak cages shown below are only available for direct pickup at Deer Fern Farms or at local shows (WA, OR).  The collapsible cages will be very similar in looks but available only in the flat -backed design (no corner units are possible in a collapsible form at this time). They are incredibly easy to setup - no tools required. Once we finalize the model, I'll post photos here. 

   Our Custom oak habitats come in two formats, flat-backed rectangular units (the common form most reptile cages and glass tanks come in) and corner units (angled backs to fit snuggly into room corners). These are hand build by our specialty design carpenter, Roy Hunter. We construct these cages with solid oak framing and trim with oak-ply backs and bases. We have base footprint designs worked out but their exact final dimensions are up to you - we make these to order in any movable size you wish (please note that makes these available as "Pickup" only as they are not readily shippable.  If you need a shippable cage, we have set-dimension collapsible oak cages - details coming soon).  Our criteria in designing our oak habitats are as follows:

1) They must be furniture grade. That is, they must look good enough to blend into a professional office or living room and look like quality furniture;		We like to have some of our Uros around us, not just out in the herp room. But we don't want our house to look like a laboratory or scare off company. Thus we wanted cages that could pass for as close to "normal" house furniture as possible. Likewise I feel a nice cage reflects well on the animals inside, and thus want my displays to be as nice as possible.
	Poly Stains, Solid Oak Frames and Trim

2) They must be easy to clean, easy to move, low maintenance designs;		We have carpeting throughout our home and moving bulky cages when we want to clean carpets or rearrange things is a major pain! We also wanted access through a small, easy open door for daily feeding plus access through as large as possible a door for moving cage furniture in and out as well as for major cleanings. The trick was to do this in a way that still kept the doors as inconspicuous as possible.
	All doors are held flush to the cage with hidden Cabinet hinges

 

3) They must be suitable as permanent housing for Uromastyx.		It doesn't matter how nice a cage looks, if it isn't suitable for the intend animal, it's worthless. Our primary concerns were heating/lighting/and venting. We wanted the cages as short as possible while still allowing sufficient head room to put in the needed basking lights and daylights. Next we wanted reasonable air flow, but needed to insure the cages retained enough heat to be suitable for Uromastyx without having to run excessively high wattage bulbs. Once those concerns were met, we wanted to maximize floor space while still allowing the cages to take up minimal "wall" space.
	Each Cage is made to match up for clean stacking upon each other, doors are held flush

The logical solution to most of the criteria was to make the cages modular (stackable). Each individual cage is designed as a "stand alone" structure (fully finished in stained oak) but is made to perfectly fit on top of any other to give the appearance of their being one solid unit. This allows not only easy moving of the cages, but allows flexibility in cage placement. Thus we can place say three cages in one spot, then later change our minds and painlessly move any number to another spot. All have finished tops, so any cage can be the "top" cage in the unit.  These are all oak construction and all sealed with a non-toxic water proofing for easy cleaning. All the doors are attached with "cupboard" type clips for easy removal and are routered for easy replacement of any glass or screening that might get broken over time.

 Front View of Stackable Corner Oak Cages (2 cages + Blank Center + Stand) _

CORNER HABITATS: The angled back and sides of the corner units allow you to use the "dead" corners in your home. Our base unit design is setup at the ideal size for a pet Uromastyx (18" in height, with the wall sides, front glass, and depth (front center to back center corner)  being approx. 27".  In order to maximize viewing area, we  squared off the front corners, giving an extra 10" of see-through space.  This also permitted us to place rip-stop mesh (much better than screen or hardware cloth) at each end, allowing cross ventilation.  Since these are squared off, they can also function as extra doors.   Thus each cage has three potential access routes (the front for moving in large objects, and one corner for quick feeding / general access - you pick which corner you wish us to make into a door.)    

Our standard units are made to stand alone or can be stacked to form a  corner "China-cabinet" design, with a base stand for hiding supplies, ect.  The final height is approx. 6' and fits all but the narrowest corners (note we can make smaller units  but we feel 24" is the minimum side length for use with most ground dwelling reptiles. If you're not looking for such a large unit, note each cage is made so it can stand alone. An 18" stand is impractical for a single cage, but a single cage can easily be "hung" on wall braces or placed on your own shelving to put it at the ideal eye-level for your home. 

FLAT-BACKED HABITATS: This is form most commonly used by reptile enthusiasts. They are constructed in the same manner as our corner units but are made to fit to fit up against your wall rather than tucked into corners.  We can make these as stand along habitats with glass or solid sides.  Or if you wish a large wall display, they can be made one flat side so they can be aligned into a 6 cage wall unit as shown above.     

Custom Oaks Pricing / Terms

OAK CORNER UNITS: A standard sized Oak Corner habitat unit  (18" H, 27" per side, 10" squared corners) is $210 per finished cage.  Note these are available for direct pickup only -they can not be shipped. These come w/out lights but we can wire in both a 18" fluorescent fixture as well as a swivel basking light fixture for $25.  This will meet all your lighting / heating needs for each cage. We wire these into one cord, so if the cages are stacked, only three cords are produced, allowing you to use only 1 extension cord to plug in all three cages.  We plug all our cages into automatic timers, keeping our lives that much simpler!

If you need a BLANK unit in the center of a stack (as in the cage shown near the middle of this page), those are available  for $75.   STANDS are made with enclosed snap-in doors so you can hide supplies out of sight but close at hand and are available for $125 each.  If you wish larger custom size units, please let us know and we'll get a quote. 

FLAT-BACKED UNITS: Our base size for these is 4' long x 24" wide x 18" tall. and are $275 per stand alone unit. Stands are $125 each and blanks are $75 each.  If you want a standard size 6-cage wall unit, the total cost for 6 cages plus two stands is $ 1,400.  Please note these are available as pickup-only units and are not generally shippable except by custom freight.

Once you've placed an order with us, we require 50% down to buy the materials and begin construction on any of the custom oak habitats.  Construction time varies but usually can be completed within a month.  The balance is then due when you pick up the cage.

To place an order with us, please e-mail  or call us  (360) 435-2679 Pacific Standard Time.  We accept personal checks or money orders, Paypal and most major credit cards.  For any of the custom oak cages, discuss your order with us by phone or e-mail first, then click on the "Buy Now" button below to send a credit card or Paypal payment. Please mail checks or money orders to:

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Email: douglasdix@deerfernfarms.com