Basic Caging
Rule number one in caging is make sure your critter can't get out provided you don't leave the cage open. I worked at a pet store that had green and bahaman anoles, house geckos and a very surly tokay gecko roaming the back of the reptile room due to inadequate caging. Never mind selling animals that are very un-handlable, so were more likely to get lost anyway. About once a month we would have to round up the Ball Pythons because someone left the locks off and they pushed the cage open again... here are some ideas to keep it from happening to you.
Glass Aquariums | Wood or Laminate Terrariums | Breeder Systems | Escape
Glass Aquariums
These are most popular in the US. A standard fish tank is the base with a screen cover sized to fit the top. If an animal is especially strong, or a snake clips are used on the cage to keep them from wandering away. The upside is the container is waterproof, and easy to attach heaters to the bottom. The downside is they can be drafty, and humidity is sometimes hard to maintain. Lights can be placed on the top screen, but the screen can filter a lot of useful light, and the heat can sometimes melt the plastic rim of the aquarium. That said they are just about all I use (good use for chipped fish tanks.)
Glass aquaria are especially useful for frogs or other semi-aquatic critters as you can build a half land - half water setup. Making it look nice costs a lot, but the basics are easy.
Wood or Laminate Terrariums
More common in countries other than the US. I'm not sure why these haven't caught on in the US, but they haven't. Every once in a while I see a wood cage for sale, but most of them are extremely expensive here. Most of them have sliding glass front doors and can be easily locked. Heating can be a problem as you have to put it inside the cage if you want it to be stack able. The are often prettier and can look more like a piece of furniture than a fish tank.
Breeder Systems
Many breeders or serious collectors keep their critters in rubber maid or sterilite tubs for ease of cleaning and space saving. I've considered it a few times for space saving, but invariably decide against it. I prefer to see my critters. They're not exactly display animals, but they also aren't a collection, or a breeding hobby. I keep them because I like them, can afford it and I think they're cute. Keeping them in racks would defeat several of my purposes.
Rack systems work by having tubs that have perfectly sized slots they fit into. Some systems use covers and some don't. There is normally a shelving unit the tubs slide into with no gaps so that nothing can get out. Heat tape is placed along each shelf to keep half the cage warm. These racks are commonly used for snakes or other reptiles that do not need UVB lighting. Animals that do need UVB lighting are rarely kept in racks.
An alternate to a true rack is fiberglass or plastic cages that stack. most have spaces hollowed out for lights and such, so they can be used as display cages and still be stacked. Most are prohibitively expensive if you want more than one.
Escape
So something got out. This is most often a snake, or a gecko with climbing ability. (The only animal to escape in my house has been my white's tree frog. She made it down a flight of stairs and scared the dogs before I found her, covered in dog hair and a little pissed off.) If you're lucky this is a docile handlable critter that won't bite any of your neighbors.
Put out a bowl of water, for a snake it should be near the cage along a wall. Snakes will follow the path of least resistance to the floor, then most follow walls until they find something to hide in or under. You can also try putting out a hide with a heat pad under it if you have an especially cold house. If it is about feeding time try putting out a defrosted mouse overnight, preferably in a hide, so the snake might decide to sleep there. If your snake eats live, set up a small cage with a mouse in it to try to entice them out.
Check anywhere dark and moderately warm, under refrigerators and other appliances, among electronics and such. Often the curl up inside couches as they like the feeling of being surrounded. basically at this point you are taking apart everything in your house the animal could conceivably fit inside.
Check for holes in your walls, around heating pipes is a big one. if you're lucky the holes will be small enough your critter was restricted to one room. If not, at least be conscientious and inform your neighbors of your escaped pet and give them a number to reach you if they find it.
if your escape is a climbing gecko of some sort, I wish you the best of luck. The pet store I worked in was infested with house geckos, anoles and a very unpleasant Tokay gecko for years.
