A useful custom-enclosure enquiry does more than ask for a price per square metre. It identifies the animal, habitat, usable space, site, openings, floor, environmental equipment, finish, construction, delivery route and local responsibilities. This checklist helps Bật Mạnh and the buyer define the same project before either side commits to fabrication or freight.
Unknown values can remain marked “to be confirmed” during the first review. They should not be hidden inside a fixed price or replaced with assumptions copied from another species, another building or a reference photograph.
The minimum information for a first reply
- Animal: accepted common and scientific name where relevant, quantity, adult size/life stage and important climbing, chewing, digging or escape behaviour.
- Purpose: permanent home, outdoor-access run, night enclosure, exercise area, quarantine, breeding, transport or another clearly defined use.
- Target size: preferred external width × depth × height plus any minimum usable interior required by professional guidance.
- Site: indoor/outdoor location, dimensioned photographs, climate, supporting surfaces, sun, rain, wind, drainage and known predators.
- Construction: fixed welded, rigid modules, flat-packed panels or “please advise” based on the delivery and installation route.
- Finish: natural-finish 304 stainless steel or powder-coated 304, including colour/texture preference.
- Destination: country, postal code, smallest access opening and whether a pallet or crate can be received.
- Contact: buyer name, preferred reply address and the person responsible for technical approval.
1. Record the animal and the husbandry brief separately
The animal identity tells the fabricator what can climb, push, chew, dig or pass through an opening. The husbandry brief tells the project what usable area, floor/substrate, shelter, temperature, humidity, ventilation, light, shade, water and enrichment are required. One does not replace the other.
For reptiles, send the accepted species name and the environmental ranges with measurement locations. For cats, include number, mobility, indoor retreat route and escape behaviour. For rabbits, guinea pigs or chickens, describe social grouping, shelter/coop connection, ground use, predators and weather management. Start with the relevant catio, reptile, rabbit/guinea-pig or poultry-run guide.
2. Separate external, usable and access dimensions
| Dimension set | What to measure | Why it changes the quote |
|---|---|---|
| External envelope | Maximum width × depth × height, including roof, stand, wheels, handles, overhang and external equipment. | Controls fit in the room/site and the assembled structure's footprint. |
| Usable enclosure | Clear animal space after frames, floors, substrate dams, dividers, shelves, trays and equipment zones. | Prevents decorative or service space being counted as animal space. |
| Clear openings | Human door, animal passage, service door, sliding panel, feeder port and emergency access. | Controls transfer, cleaning reach, equipment replacement and escape risk. |
| Delivery route | Gate, doorway, lift, corridor turn, stair, landing, vehicle and unloading constraints. | Determines whether the project can remain welded or must be divided into modules. |
| Packed pieces | Largest panel/package, package count and target lifting weight. | Changes packing, freight method, handling and local labour. |
Use millimetres as the controlling fabrication unit. Inches can be shown for the international buyer, but mixed-unit drawings need one stated source of truth. Mark whether each dimension is fixed, preferred or still negotiable.
3. Define every face of the enclosure
Do not write only “stainless cage with acrylic.” Label the front, rear, left, right, roof and floor. For every face, state whether it is bars, woven/welded mesh, stainless sheet, acrylic, polycarbonate, glass, another solid panel or an interface prepared by a local contractor.
Then record the opening or joint at each transition. The main panel opening is not the only escape path: doors, tracks, corners, roof edges, floor perimeters, cable ports, drains, tunnels, coop connections and removable dividers can create smaller or larger secondary gaps. Read the panel-selection guide before choosing every face from appearance alone.
4. Describe daily operation before fixing doors and trays
5. State climate, environmental systems and local services
An indoor air-conditioned room, humid reptile habitat, covered balcony, coastal garden and fully exposed poultry run place different demands on panels, coating, drainage and fasteners. Send seasonal high/low temperatures, sun direction, salt or pool exposure, rainfall, wind and any washing chemicals.
List heating, ultraviolet light, thermostats, sensors, misting, ventilation fans, filtration, pumps, drains and electrical penetrations as separate equipment items. Identify which are supplied by Bật Mạnh, supplied by the buyer or installed by a qualified local contractor. No electrical or controlled-habitat system should be assumed from a photograph.
6. Describe material and finish component by component
Bật Mạnh can quote specified frame, bar, mesh, sheet and selected hardware components in 304 stainless steel. Those 304 parts can remain natural-finish or receive powder coating when colour is requested. The quotation should name the underlying material and finish rather than using “inox,” “painted” or “100% stainless” as blanket descriptions.
List acrylic, polycarbonate, glass, seals, wheels, anchors, roof sheets, timber, PVC, electrical equipment and purchased locks separately. State animal-accessible surfaces, expected abrasion/chewing, UV exposure and the intended cleaning products. Optional items should remain optional line items instead of appearing in photographs and disappearing from the scope.
7. Choose construction after the route is measured
A compact enclosure may suit a rigid welded body. A large catio, long run or bank of enclosures may need rigid subassemblies or flat-packed panels. Modularity reduces the largest carried piece but adds joints, hardware, assembly labour and gap checks. The welded-versus-modular guide compares those trade-offs.
For each module, record its label, maximum dimensions, lifting orientation, supported edges, joint plates, fasteners, tools and assembly sequence. State whether sealant, anchoring, glazing or electrical work happens at the factory or destination.
8. Keep product, packing, freight and destination costs visible
| Commercial line | What the buyer should see |
|---|---|
| Fabricated enclosure | Confirmed modules, materials, finish, doors, panels, hardware and supplied accessories. |
| Engineering/design scope | Drawings, revisions, prototypes, samples and which professional reviews are excluded. |
| Export packing | Package count, protection, crate/pallet where agreed, labelled hardware and packing documentation. |
| Transport | Service, trade term, named place, estimated/transit basis and whether delivery is port, terminal, kerbside or another point. |
| Destination costs | Duties, taxes, customs clearance, storage, unloading, local delivery, installer and site works unless expressly included. |
| Unknowns | Items awaiting drawing approval, packed measurements, destination quote or local specialist confirmation. |
Review the international ordering and packing guide. Its drawing, package, trade-term, document and arrival-inspection process also applies to animal-enclosure projects.
9. Approve a drawing and responsibility schedule
A useful drawing labels overall dimensions, usable zones, panels, openings, joints, supports, locks, equipment penetrations and interface points. A responsibility schedule states what Bật Mạnh fabricates, what the buyer supplies and what a local structural professional, electrician, glazier, veterinarian, husbandry specialist or installer must approve.
Reference photographs explain a preference; they are not production drawings. If an item is not shown or written in the approved scope, both sides should resolve it before fabrication rather than assuming it is included.
10. Plan receiving, assembly and acceptance
- Photograph packages before opening and record visible freight damage.
- Check module labels, hardware quantities, panels and accessories against the packing list.
- Assemble on the prepared level/supporting site in the documented sequence.
- Verify alignment, rigidity, doors, locks, removable parts and every primary/secondary gap.
- Complete local anchoring, sealing, glazing and regulated services through the assigned people.
- Stabilise habitat temperature/humidity and test equipment where applicable.
- Do not introduce the animal until the completed system has passed the project-specific check.
Copy this structure into the first email
Animal and quantity · enclosure purpose · husbandry/welfare source · external and usable target size · panel plan · doors/locks · floor/substrate · equipment · indoor/outdoor site · natural or powder-coated 304 preference · welded/modular preference · destination/access route · requested items · items supplied locally.
Email nguyenbatmanh@gmail.com. Bật Mạnh can then return a focused question list and distinguish confirmed fabrication from the values that still need specialist or site verification.
Discuss the animal, habitat and installation site
Send the accepted species, quantity, husbandry brief, target dimensions and site photographs for an early technical review. International transport is not a standard service and remains separate from the enclosure design.