Benefits of snake enclosures vs aquariums

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Originally Posted by MrBeeBow

how do you seal the wood? is a RHP needed for wood then?

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You can either cover it with waterproof contact sheets, think vinyl or some other food-safe plastic, paint with a non-toxic sealer or paint (like high gloss bathroom/kitchen paint), or line it with another plastic-type material like those sheets you see in public restrooms. I've seen the thin plastic sheets at Home Depot and Lowes. You just want something to keep the humidity from warping the wood over time or soaking it up. Use bathroom caulking to seal the seems and any screw holes.

RHPs work great or you can install a CHE and put a lighting cage over it to keep the snake off of it.

I very recently switched from a glass tank to a PVC tank. Aside from the heat and humidity issues already mentioned with glass tanks, I was getting very tired of having to take the entire lid off every time I needed into the tank. The whole top screen had to come off, but my CHE was attached to it, so I had to rest it diagonally across the top of the tank to prevent burning anything with the bulb. This left very little room to reach in and do anything, and it got to be really difficult for me to get my snake out. Not to mention, I needed two hands to move the lid, so I'd either leave the lid off the whole time he was out or ask my boyfriend to help me. The front doors on my new PVC enclosure are so much nicer and easier to work with, and the temperature and humidity levels are much easier to maintain.

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Originally Posted by elleon

I very recently switched from a glass tank to a PVC tank. Aside from the heat and humidity issues already mentioned with glass tanks, I was getting very tired of having to take the entire lid off every time I needed into the tank. The whole top screen had to come off, but my CHE was attached to it, so I had to rest it diagonally across the top of the tank to prevent burning anything with the bulb. This left very little room to reach in and do anything, and it got to be really difficult for me to get my snake out. Not to mention, I needed two hands to move the lid, so I'd either leave the lid off the whole time he was out or ask my boyfriend to help me. The front doors on my new PVC enclosure are so much nicer and easier to work with, and the temperature and humidity levels are much easier to maintain.

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Still one of the "dinosaurs" using 40 gallon breeder terrariums for my snakes. lol Yes they're a pain but when you do establish balance with them heat-wise and humidity-wise, they are beautiful to look at.

As to the persnickety problem of having to remove the entire screen to get inside the terrarium, a friend who owns a pet store in town turned me onto screens that pivot on the middle. You can access the tank on one side and leave everything untouched on the other side. I'd like to shake to hand of the person who invented it! lol He or she made my life a whole lot easier when it comes to caring for my snakes. :-)

<><Peace

PVC, it's less of a hassle.

Cleaning and maintaining glass enclosures is quite the hassle !!

Esp. if you have to "mist" regularly. If you get any of the mist on the glass, it will eventually turn spotty, and its not fun to remove water spots from glass. If you ever want to do a thorough cleaning or sanitizing, gosh, the weight !! Not to mention, its glass, so you have to be so careful around it, too.

With the prices of reptile enclosures being so reasonable, I can't think of one good reason to have a glass enclosure with a species like that. Unless one happens to have a glass enclosure laying around already.

I wouldn't go out and buy one, though..