Building new enclosures, need suggestions.

[Kaskadian]

Hey guys/gals,

I mentioned before that I have been keeping snakes for many years. Among other things, I kept burmese pythons. This required the construction of large enclosures (8' l x 2.5' w x 2' h).

Now I love carpentry, it's been another hobby of mine for many years as well as something my father and I have done since childhood. We built a number of enclosures over the years and this (see below) was one of them. I need some advice on improvements that I could make to the design, any other other features that should be implemented.

Please note, this enclosure had been sitting for a number of years and had something (I believe mice) get inside of it. I'm not sure what, but it is a horrid mess at the moment and will be disassembled in order to fully sand down the interior and repaint it, as well as fully replace the wiring and heating system. The original wiring had been chewed through and that just won't do; so I will be replacing the heating system in its entirety as well as the wiring. The doors for the heat adjustment have also been damaged and removed. I've since cut a wood panel that will replace the opening as a finished door once it's been properly painted and finished.

Please let me know what you think of the current design and let me know of any improvements you think I could make.

The interior looks horrid from sitting, mice, and on the right side you can see where the heating has been removed. Constant temps are 92/82 hot and cool. Also the tank was divided in half for young burmese, leaving 4' x 2.5' x 2' on each side. Any questions just ask.

Thanks!
Patrick




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[Bloodborn25]

Looks nice just some TLC and it's back to new.What's the lumber material a/c grade plywood?, also the heating system are they hear panels or just bulbs hook up to dimmers also remember to get the biggest dimmer you can or the thing your turning down will run through it fast if you get 5-10 amps above the system. In all its really nice wish I could build well had the money for it hopefully I'll be getting a job soon almost 16 come on pet store XD.

0.1.0 normal Ball Python

[Kaskadian]

Looks nice just some TLC and it's back to new.What's the lumber material a/c grade plywood?, also the heating system are they hear panels or just bulbs hook up to dimmers also remember to get the biggest dimmer you can or the thing your turning down will run through it fast if you get 5-10 amps above the system. In all its really nice wish I could build well had the money for it hopefully I'll be getting a job soon almost 16 come on pet store XD.

0.1.0 normal Ball Python

Hey bro, thanks for the comments! It was made out of "A grade" (high end furniture) plywood. Even though it was smooth to the touch I sanded it further.

The heating element is covered flexwatt (110v), which was sealed under a piece of ultra thin plexiglass surrounded by waterproof latex caulk. The same for the connectors. It was then covered with durable aluminum heat resistant tape. I've never had any issues with the tape because of how smooth it was. I got a beefy dimmer for the setup in order to avoid any kind of issues with the system.

On full blast (dimmer on highest setting) I get about 94-95 degrees (this was tested over a week to determine I wouldn't burn my snakes) and a slight turn down keeps it around 90-91 degrees. I of course kept the hot side around 91. The cool side stays around 80-82 degrees with highs around 85 during summer days.

Good luck on the job! It wasn't terrible to build cost wise, it just took a bit of time and knowledge to get it done.


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[Bloodborn25]

Your welcome. Ya I got a great wood shop teacher if I don't have the tool he does I just come in any time and use it :-P have a fun time with any other cages

0.1.0 normal Ball Python

[Kaskadian]

Your welcome. Ya I got a great wood shop teacher if I don't have the tool he does I just come in any time and use it :-P have a fun time with any other cages

0.1.0 normal Ball Python

Focus in class my man. I was lucky to have a mechanic dad who loves wood working. The stuff you learn in shop will help you in countless ways! It'll pay off big time in the future if you decide to make custom enclosures, or decide to keep big snakes that require large custom enclosures (burmese/retic/green anacondas/etc). Take advantage of having access to those tools.

If you (or anyone else) has build questions I would be happy to answer them. I've been building this style of enclosure since I was about 14-15 years old (when I got into keeping "big" snakes).

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[Kaskadian]

I plan to build 2-3 more enclosures in the following weeks. I'd love suggestions on any possible improvements on these upcoming enclosures.


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[Kaskadian]

No suggestions? I'll be buying the lumber to begin another 2-3 enclosures in the following week. I'll be sure to post the progress in a separate thread.

[Bloodborn25]

Depends on species of reptile or amphibian. A closing house vent would work for ventilation but it looks good you should do a video on the process sure help some people out

0.1.0 Nbp, 0.1.0 blotched king.