Enclosure Advice

[David Pruett]

I am getting ready to upgrade the enclosure for my 3.5-year-old BP.

PetCo is having a great sale right now & I was thinking about getting a 40 gallon breeder aquarium.

The plan was to lay it on its side so I can access it from the front. I figured I would block off most of the screen with plexi to retain heat, use a lower wattage bulb for lighting to keep the top glass from getting too hot, and use a substrate heater in the bottom.

The thing is, I've hard a hard time finding examples where other people have done this, so I was concerned that there might be a problem with this plan that I hadn't thought of.

Any advice?

[Exotic Ectotherms]

The one thing I would be most worried about would be the BP rubbing his nose on the abrasive screen. It could get raw and possibly very badly infected.

[smd58]

if i understand you right, your going to put a heat light on the glass? if so dont do this you stand a good chance of the heat braking the glass. and i also agree that it will rub its nose. set it up the right way you get more floor space, and safer for the snake and you wont be upset if the tank cracks.

[David Pruett]

The one thing I would be most worried about would be the BP rubbing his nose on the abrasive screen. It could get raw and possibly very badly infected.

I thought about that, but I wasn't too worried, since I was going to cover most of the screen with plexi anyway. The plan was to leave enough open mesh at the top part of the lid for good air circulation and cover the rest.

Plus, she's not much of a busybody.

[zina10]

Of course its your decision, but I would NOT get any glass enclosure. There is just so many things that speak against it...

For one, for about the same price you should be able to get a reptile cage with front door. Something made out of a lightweight material.

A glass cage is heavy. It is difficult to clean because of that. You will get hard water spots from misting and eventually that looks very unattractive. A snake will feel far safer when 3 sides are non see through. A reptile cage is easier to heat and keep humidity in.

There are now many reptile cages that are great for display, but still far easier then glass to maintain...

However, if you are set on the glass cage, I would definitely NOT use any kind of screen material in the front, like its been said, your snake will end up with bad nose rubs...

[David Pruett]

if i understand you right, your going to put a heat light on the glass? if so dont do this you stand a good chance of the heat braking the glass. and i also agree that it will rub its nose. set it up the right way you get more floor space, and safer for the snake and you wont be upset if the tank cracks.

Like I mentioned, I figured I would use a low wattage (low heat - maybe florescent?) bulb to keep the glass from getting hot - I'm not using the light for heat, just for light.

As for nose rubbing, check my other reply post and see what you think.

[Kaorte]

I think you are better off going with an actual reptile enclosure from somewhere like The Boaphile or Animal Plastics. You will then get a front opening enclosure, with a plexi glass front. No nose rubbing, no need for lamps.

Its a much smarter choice than buying a huge 40g tank (which is too big anyway) and trying to rig it to be a front opening enclosure.

[snakesRkewl]

You might not get enough heat off of the low wattage bulb to allow it to warm the tank up to correct the ambient temperatures.

I'd replace the whole screen with plexi and make enough holes/slits in the plexi for air exchange.

I used a 40 gallon breeder with the screen top for awhile a few years back and had no problems except the humidity issue as almost all tanks have.

[alohareptiles]

I think you are better off going with an actual reptile enclosure from somewhere like The Boaphile or Animal Plastics. You will then get a front opening enclosure, with a plexi glass front. No nose rubbing, no need for lamps.

Its a much smarter choice than buying a huge 40g tank (which is too big anyway) and trying to rig it to be a front opening enclosure.

x2...But I'd suggest RBI aka: Reptile Basics...They have cages and tubs and the turnaround is faster than other companies...And the customer service it great too...

[alohareptiles]

RBI's 3' cage would be more than enough...Or you can order their 3 tub CB70 rack system too...With the tub system, all you'd need is a t-stat and you'll be good...With the cage, you'd need heat and a t-stat...I have both set-ups and love them both...Different types of snakes in each though..LOL