Enclosing a large rack

Long story short, I'm moving soon and expecting certain major life events that mean I have to scale my reptile room back to a nook meant for a desk in my new living room. Since I built both my racks while keeping in mind that I heat the reptile room independently, neither are enclosed on any side. I'm planning on only keeping the largest rack (the center one in the photo), and I don't think closing in the sides and back will be enough to keep in temperatures.

http://i.imgur.com/nDHwdFF.jpg

I'm thinking for the back and sides I'll just do some of the sanded plywood from the hardware store, but I'm open to suggestions about what to do about the front. Should I go for cabinet type doors, or maybe framed glass or plexiglass? This rack is a monster, so should I do only a pair of doors, or maybe a top pair and a bottom pair? Do I need to worry about airflow while the doors are closed, which they will be most of the time considering the ambient temperatures my husband enjoys. Should I consider supplemental heating besides the heat tape? It's a nine shelf rack meant for all sizes of ball pythons, 4 feet wide by 18 inches deep by 6 feet tall with only a hair under 5 feet of actual rack space so this is not a small project. It's going to be in my living room, so I'd like it to look as much like a furniture piece as possible instead of the raw wood look it has now. I think I'd also like to get my hands on a router so I can have something besides tape holding the heat tape down.

These are some hefty modifications and I'd love to hear if others have done something similar to what I'm describing and how.

If you wire heat tape on your racks you'll be fine leaving it open on the sides.

If aesthetic are an issue then you'll want some type of doors on them. If not, a blanket that hangs down the front will keep the heat in. You can remove the blanket for feeding, cleaning, etc. and then put it back when you're done.

How cold is it that you need to enclose it?

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Originally Posted by bcr229

If aesthetic are an issue then you'll want some type of doors on them. If not, a blanket that hangs down the front will keep the heat in. You can remove the blanket for feeding, cleaning, etc. and then put it back when you're done.

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That's actually not a bad temporary fix and I'll may end up with that at the start. Aesthetics are kind of an issue, though, and I also need to be looking a little farther down the line at child-proofing my setup. The reason I'm having to downsize my space is that the second bedroom that was going to be my snake room is going to be a nursery instead. It's what we wanted, just wished we had planned a little better earlier :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by bondo

How cold is it that you need to enclose it?

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Low 70's, mostly. Give or take some fluctuations for the seasons (high 60's to upper 70's unless heating/ac break down). Between maintaining proper temperatures and the needed child proofing I figured closing it in would be the best option available.