Every Reptile Enclosure I Have Ever Purchased – Should You Buy?
Reptile enclosures can be one of the most difficult things to purchase when you’re first starting out with a reptile, even when you’re a little more experienced. Especially when in most cases you have to upgrade at least once because of how quickly they grow!
So in this post I’ll be going over every enclosure I have purchased with my own money in the past almost three years of reptile keeping. It’ll be like a little review for each so that you’ll know what to spend your hard earned cash on. Let’s get into it!
Zilla Premium Desert Starter Kit, 10 Gallon
Purchasing this enclosure was not my finest moment, but I try to be as transparent as possible on my platforms. After purchasing my first reptile, my bearded dragon, the lady at “the pet store that shall not be named” told me that this would be an amazing enclosure for him. This kit was possibly the stupidest decision I had ever made when it comes to reptile keeping and let me tell you why:
Reptile Carpet- Any reptile carpets like these are known for ripping out teeth and nails, as well as harboring a lot of nasty bacteria because they cannot be cleaned properly. This was included as part of the kit and is a terrible thing to have in a reptile enclosure. If you want to read an amazing blog post about why reptile carpets are probably the worst choice of substrate, here’s an amazing one: https://www.evolutionreptiles.co.uk/blog/cage-carpet-why-and-why-not/#:~:text=Some%20of%20those%20organisms%20are,can%20be%20a%20real%20issue.
Nano Basking Spot & UVB Lamp- I won’t go into too much detail, but let’s just say that these nano lights are in no way okay for reptiles that need heat and proper UVB. The nano basking bulbs do not put off even close to the amount of heat that bearded dragons need for example. The nano UVB is a ridiculous concept when you consider that a lack of proper UV results in metabolic bone disease in reptiles.
Honorable mentions of course are the cheap thermometer and the hide that they outgrow in about a month, but the big mistake for me in purchasing this enclosure kit was the enclosure itself.
Ten gallon enclosures are not okay for reptiles due to the lack of a heat gradient in the enclosure. Without a warm and cool side on opposite ends of the enclosure, you are basically cooking your reptile. With no way to escape the heat, the reptile cannot cool down and this can be detrimental to their health.
Additionally, I am not a huge fan of top-opening enclosures because it is usually a fairly common cause for stress. For example, in bearded dragons there is something that we call their “third eye”, the parietal. This is positioned on the top of their head and is very sensitive to changes in light and dark. So, when you go over their head to grab them, they can actually sense the change in light since your hand is now above them. You can read more about this type of “eye” here: http://www.anapsid.org/parietal.html?fbclid=IwAR03mldcW_lspWnP3SS9XSvj8yEL0RLr2Kn09boTHJfF5G34Rn6xCiEhv-s By having an enclosure that requires you to grab them from the top, handling becomes a very stressful time for the reptile and can ultimately make it more difficult for your reptile to trust you.
Lastly, glass enclosures are not the best option for species that require a higher temperature in the enclosure. Glass enclosures aren’t known for holding heat in very well, which is necessary for reptile enclosures since reptiles are cold-blooded and cannot digest their food properly without the right heat to aid them. Glass enclosures also are not the best enclosure to make them feel safe and often results in “glass surfing”. Whether it be the lack of security in their enclosure or that they can see their reflection in the glass, these enclosures usually aren’t the best option to keep them stress-free.
I will note though, for species that are best kept at room temperature, glass enclosures aren’t the worst. The more common species I see them with are geckos and frogs.
That was a bit of a long one, but it is the enclosure I most regret purchasing. Zilla Premium Desert Starter Kit, 10 Gallon gets a 0/10 from me.
Exo-Terra® Natural Terrarium Reptile Habitat and Zoo Med Double Door Naturalistic Terrarium
My two leopard gecko enclosures in 2020.
I’m reviewing these two brands together since they were practically the same exact enclosure. I used these enclosures for my leopard geckos when they were both under six months old, so they were decent sized enclosures. These enclosures were both 25 gallons, which I believe is around 30 inches in length,12-16 inches in width and 12-16 inches in height. It’s a little foggy in my memory so I’m not 100% on the measurements.
These were better enclosures for the leopard geckos because they were both front opening and had a good amount of floor space for them to walk around. Of course I hadn’t used them very well since they were in a quarantine set-up, but the floor space was fairly decent for leopard geckos.
The enclosure on the bottom was a lot wider than the one on the top, which I find that I like a lot better now. More floor space is always an amazing thing for leopard geckos, so that is one thing these enclosures were really great for.
The only negatives I would have to say about these enclosures involve the price and them being glass enclosures.
These were priced at around $150-200 for each and believe they are still priced that way. Front opening glass enclosures are actually a lot more expensive than I think they’re worth, especially for the size and the trouble they have keeping heat in. These enclosures are not something I would buy again, mostly because of the price since I know there are far better brands out there made with PVC.
Generally speaking, these enclosures are okay. I truly do think there are better enclosures out there for cheaper prices and that will hold in heat better, so if you are in the market for a new enclosure I would look around a little more before purchasing these. Exo-Terra® Natural Terrarium Reptile Habitat and Zoo Med Double Door Naturalistic Terrarium get a solid 6/10 from me.
Zen Habitats (Various Sizes)
I wanna start this off by making it clear that I am an affiliate with Zen Habitats, however this review will be completely honest. That being said, if you are interested in purchasing an enclosure from them, feel free to use my link! Any purchases help to support me and my reptiles immensely. [https://www.zenhabitats.com?aff=22] or [https://kamsreptiles.wordpress.com/f/zen-habitat-affiliate-links to see several enclosures that I personally have]
These enclosures are definitely one of my favorite enclosure brands that I have had by far and that is because of their large enclosures for larger species and how classy they look. I’ve always been a fan of lighter colors, so I love that these enclosures are bright and look really nice in your space.
I also love the ability to stack these enclosures with ease, because I have a very small living space at the moment and it would be very difficult to keep enclosures that couldn’t stack in this way.
These enclosures hold heat and humidity in extremely well because they are made with PVC. I have three species that require very high humidity percentages, so these enclosures have been very good to me over the past few years.
I personally have only had two issues with these enclosures:
– First off, these enclosures are meant to be built with a rubber mallet… not a hammer. I built one of mine with a hammer and broke a couple pieces off one of the corners. This was an easy fix though. I messaged them on their site and they were able to send me a couple new pieces for me to continue my build, even though it was 100% my mistake. The pieces are made of plastic, so the general rule of thumb is to build with them like you actually care, unlike me and my hammer.
– Second, the acrylic panels in the front do scratch up pretty good after a while. My bearded dragon is a free-roamer most of the time, so when he wants out, he scratches at the doors. So after around two years I have some pretty scratched up acrylic doors, but again, they would be easy to replace if I messaged them and purchased some new doors to slide in. I do believe they have a warranty as well.
– Oh, and a tiny rather inconvenient problem would be that suction doesn’t stick to the inside of the enclosure. But I’ve gotten around it by hanging things up by command hooks or with bread ties through the screen at the top. Suctions never stay up for me in any enclosure anyways, so that’s a super minor one but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to mention.
I know that for some people these enclosures would be labeled as kind of pricy, however I truly believe that these enclosures are worth the investment if they’re what you’re looking for. When I brought up the price of the previous enclosures, that seemed crazy to pay almost $200 for a small, glass enclosure when I can pay $150 more to purchase a PVC enclosure that was created to suit my reptile’s needs.
Since I have been a happy customer and supporter of their company since 2020, Zen Habitats gets a 8/10 from me.
All American Cages 36x12x12 & Conversion Kits
My enclosure set up back in 2020-2021! All American Cages on the right.
Let’s start this one off as well by saying I am also an affiliate with All American Cages, but that will not influence my viewpoint on these enclosures at all. That being said, if you are interested in purchasing an enclosure from them, feel free to use my link! Any purchases help to support me and my reptiles immensely. [https://allamericancages.com/r?id=uqee3n]
These are really amazing enclosures for reptiles who aren’t as large as bearded dragons, but still need a good amount of space. These enclosures were a little too small when I had them, but that was my fault in buying the wrong size.
They sell enclosures made with ABS and PVC, but I had the ABS enclosures. ABS is a type of plastic, so it isn’t as durable as PVC would be, but I personally haven’t had any issues with the quality of the enclosure. As long as you’re not throwing around the enclosure and damaging it on purpose, I see no reason why the ABS wouldn’t be a sound material for an enclosure. It also holds in heat/humidity very well and I do like how sleek the black looks.
These enclosures also have an option where you can have premade cutouts for your lighting, which you can kind of see in the picture above of my enclosures. For the UVB, we installed it by drilling a hole through the top and mounting it on the inside, which was very simple to do.
These enclosures are also very fairly priced and already put together when they’re shipped to you, so that’s always a plus. If you have a leopard gecko or a reptile that is similar in size and enclosure requirements, I think these enclosures are amazing.
They also recently came out with conversion kits which I ended up using for my new rhino rat snake’s temporary/quarantine enclosure. They’re also very affordable conversion kits for both arboreal and terrestrial species, for a few different enclosure sizes now. Conversion kits are always a good option for people that don’t want to spend a lot of money on a glass enclosure like the ones I talked about above, since they can easily buy a 40 gallon breeder and fix the conversion kit onto it so it is also front-opening.
I like these enclosures a lot and I think they’re very accessible to many people due to the affordable price point. All American Cages gets a solid 8/10 from me!
Alright, y’all. Get ready for the most glowing review of a reptile enclosure company you have ever seen.
Of course, before I go any further I will mention that I am also an affiliate with Custom Reptile Habitats and if anything I mention here sounds amazing to you… feel free to check them out with my link: [https://customreptilehabitats.com?sca_ref=2144516.Xp7XjBQA4f]
I bought these enclosures back in October of 2022 and immediately fell in love with them. I did however buy the design that I don’t believe they sell anymore, but it would be worth checking out occasionally to see if they come back. These ones are the Essential ECO 3 Foot Enclosures 36x24x18. It is helpful to note that when I bought these enclosures, they did take a long time to get to me. But the four months were worth receiving a great quality enclosure.
I also have a video of my husband and I building these enclosure here:
These enclosures are hands down the most high quality that I have seen on the market. That being said, of course these were not cheap enclosures by any means. But the quality makes the price so incredibly worth it and I do not foresee these enclosures wearing down any time soon. The enclosures are made in the U.S.A and built to a standard rather than a price, which is so clear to see once you get your hands on them.
The top and bottom pieces of the enclosure are pre-built and shipped to you that way, so it makes the process of putting together the whole enclosure that much easier. The wood pieces slid into their place with ease, the glass doors were easy to add in, and overall the whole process was a breeze. We bought the enclosures that you could stain to a different shade which made the process take a little longer. However, if we hadn’t, I’m guessing that the whole build would have taken maybe half an hour.
You can also choose whether you want a substrate barrier built in, which is helpful for people who want their enclosure to be bioactive, or even just with substrate. This for sure has an edge over other companies where you have to add in a separate piece for the barrier.
I really love these enclosures and I could not be happier with my purchase. They are very sturdy, sleek, and absolutely gorgeous. My geckos love the amount of space as well.
A very happy and immediate 10/10 from me and the gecko babies. Also I feel like I should mention that I was 100% not paid for this review. I just really like them.
Alright, that’s all the enclosure brands I have ever purchased! There are so many different type of enclosures out there and it can be very hard to pick which one is best for you and your reptile. I hope this was able to give you a little insight on the enclosures that I have gone through and ended up landing on for good reasons.
If you have any questions on enclosure requirements or anything that I’ve talked about in this post, feel free to message me on my Instagram: @kams.reptiles
Thank you to whoever requested this blog post, I think it was a great idea. I hope you all have a wonderful day/night, I am so glad you’re here.
*last updated 5/23/23
