making a better top for glass tanks

id really like to get a glass tank for my future ball rather than buy a plastic cage or make one, just seems a lot easier. i live in houston so ambient humidity is really not an issue around here. but, im concerned about the tank holding heat and humidity well. i was thinking of doing a fake expanding foam/quickcrete background in a glass tank to make it look more appealing to the eye and i hoped it would help insulate the tank some also. ive read that screen tops are what really affect the tanks ability to hold heat/humidity though. i was wondering if anyone has ever made/bought a top for a snake tank other than screen tops to help with heat and humidity issues?

I only have glass tanks with screen lids. If you have a water dish with a large surface area (perhaps over an uth or under a heat lamp) and keep a large portion of the lid covered with plastic, it should be fine.

For my 40 g tank I have a piece of cardboard cut to fit about 2/3 of the lid, and that's inside of a garbage bag taped to fit.... It's just cardboard wrapped in thin plastic.. Easier to remove than say taping a piece of plastic down over the top. It traps the humidity pretty well, and I just mist the inside a little with a spray bottle here and there.

As for the quickcrete I have no idea what that is or what you're talking about lol. But I think putting concrete or anything similar in the tank sounds like a bad idea to me. I don't know though. If it's heavy it might break the glass on the bottom?

The foil treatment is the cheapest way to treat screen tops to hold heat and humidity, and another option is having a fitted sheet of plexiglass over the screen with holes melted in for ventilation on one side.

I know of people who have made their own lids from sealed wood and plexi so the fit would be tighter and they wouldn't need the lid clamps. :)

There are many options for glass tanks...but they all involve covering the back and both sides of the glass with insulation of some sort and the screen top with a good insulating/reflecting material. I'm not sure if the foam background would do the trick or not... but just remember that in doing that you're reducing the floor space width in the cage. :)

A glass tank can be just as secure and stable as any tub out there with a bit of effort. Good luck with preparations!

ya if i got a glass tank i was gonna get maybe a 40g or so since the background would take up some of the space. here is the background thing im talkin about for ppl that dont know:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...background.php

people do it in fish tanks all the time. if its safe enough for fish, i figured that it would be just fine for a snake tank if ya know what i mean. after all, fish would be breathing in anything that the fake wall leaches out, snakes wont. it is mostly expanding foam with a layer of quickcrete over it, so weight should not be an issue.

i guess ill have to settle with a screen top if i get a glass tank. i like the idea of having plexiglass over most of it with ventilation holes though.

another great forum for thatll have some great advice on a project like yours is http://www.vivariumforum.com/ ... they got some seriouly pimped out vivs there for anything from fish to snakes to plants

and as for a better top to a glass cage ... the reptile shop i got my lil BP at said she sold glass lids for a few of the smaller sized tanks but was all out when i got my set up... so u could try some local shops or ebay maybe