So far, I am pretty impressed with these cages. One of the doors is a bit cattywompus, but that is not bad out of 14 total doors. Better than i could have done. This order is to replace this unit:
This thing is 8' long and made out of 3/4" particle board and weighs 800 pounds empty. It was my first caging unit and is about 10 years old. Past its prime and time to retire. From the picture you can't tell that it was starting to call apart. And then the rubber mallet helped it along
Between mounting the casters and flexwatt, setting up the new cages, setting up timers and light wiring, setting up the thermostat and heat wiring, preparing the cages for occupants, moving animals, dismantling the other caging unit, hauling it to the curb, and cleanup ..... I think it took around 10 hours. Figures it was the first weekend my wife decided it was cool enough that we didn't need the air conditioner on. But the final product turned out great.
I had not bought cages in so long that I forgot how much it costs even after you bring the cages home. These all came with built in lights and the flexwatt was already wired (not mounted) so one would think that it is just plug and go. There is over $200 worth of "stuff" that went into getting all of those set up. Casters may only be $8 each, but that starts to add up. Plus all new powerstrips mounted to the rear. Those two stacks have a total of 26 wires! Getting everything organized and set up properly the first time makes life a whole lot easier down the road. All of that nickel and dime stuff starts to really add up.
But the boas seem to be really enjoying it. well, as much as a boa can enjoy a cage.