4x2x3 Maple Wood Enclosure Progression

Howdy Folks Just wanted to show my new build and progression. This build is primarily for a new Coastal Carpet I will be adopting shortly, but Honestly its a bit overkill at the moment, But I wanted to have a Forever Home so That I didnt have to build multiple enclosures. She will Go into Quarantine for 2-3 months and will probably reside in a RUB for an additional 3 months until she is larger, but I'm sure my Ball will happily enjoy all the extra space in the mean time.

Friday Night, I drew up some simple plans:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...32ad46d180.jpg

Day 1: Saturday: Bought Supplies, cut to size and left the Front panel uncut because I was indecisive on whether I wanted a bioactive setup or just a regular setup.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2f0240fdc0.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...1143e37df7.jpg

Day 2: Sunday: I decided I wanted a Bioactive Setup so made a 6 inch dam on the bottom and 3.5 inch on the other sides.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4d5a1200c8.jpg

To Come: Sand corners, waterproof inside, Tile inside walls (for aesthetics), Add tracks for glass, Add Moulding ( aesthetics), stain outside. I'll stain and add legs later (its pretty easy and not vital right now)

Looking good!

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Coming along great. I always draw out plans ahead of time or if I'm feeling crazy I will 3D model it on my PC. I have two bioactive enclosures for reptiles I'm hesitant to do it for my BP's though as what I have works great and they don't make much of a mess with shed or waste. But I do think bioactive enclosures look nicer.

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Originally Posted by gunkle

Coming along great. I always draw out plans ahead of time or if I'm feeling crazy I will 3D model it on my PC. I have two bioactive enclosures for reptiles I'm hesitant to do it for my BP's though as what I have works great and they don't make much of a mess with shed or waste. But I do think bioactive enclosures look nicer.

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This website is good for having cut plans: https://www.cutlistoptimizer.com/

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Originally Posted by wnateg

This website is good for having cut plans: https://www.cutlistoptimizer.com/

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Thanks for that link...
That'll come in handy when my Bredli and Carpet are ready for their forever homes.

I finished the first coat of drylok after work today, I'll let it dry for 3-4 hours and put another coat on before bed tonight; then put another coat on tomorrow before work. On another noteI just noticed I didnt put the vent holes in, guess I'll wait until all the coats are on and do a little touch ups.

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Originally Posted by Mike Beaulieu

Looking good!

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Thanks!!

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Originally Posted by gunkle

Coming along great. I always draw out plans ahead of time or if I'm feeling crazy I will 3D model it on my PC. I have two bioactive enclosures for reptiles I'm hesitant to do it for my BP's though as what I have works great and they don't make much of a mess with shed or waste. But I do think bioactive enclosures look nicer.

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Thanks, I'm more so interested in the Bio for my viewing pleasure and to give a more natural environment. My ball only poops once a month, so a headache in that regard.

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Originally Posted by wnateg

This website is good for having cut plans: https://www.cutlistoptimizer.com/

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I really appreciate it; I will definitely use this on my next build for my ball, this enclosure is for a coastal carpet.

Now that I failed to place holes for vents, I started doing research on hole placement, but I am seeing some pretty conflicting information from two different groups concerning Air flow.
Group #1 says vent #1 should be on Cool side at the bottom, and Vent #2 should be on Warm side towards Top. This in turn will encourage good Air Flow. ( which I agree with and seems to be how the majority do it)

Group #2 says the opposite; Vent #1 should be on Cool side at the top, and Vent #2 should be on Warm side towards bottom. This will still allow air flow, but will potentially retain heat longer. ()which makes sense as well)

I can see the logic in both but not sure which way to go, Any advice from the more experienced people in snake keeping. Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks in advance

You can always put both vents in the middle of each side. :D (good luck deciding!)

It also matters where your heat is coming from...UTH (bottom) or RHP (overhead)...

Heat will be coming from Overhead, using ceramic Bulb, and possibly RHP in Future.

Just finished the last coat (4) of drylok. Each coat allowed to dry with fan blowing nearby for minimum of 3.5 hours.

When I get home from work this evening I’ll cut holes for vents and apply touch up paint. As for bent placement, I’m leaning towards either group 2’s line of thought or what Bogertophis commented.

Any other info on vent placement is greatly appreciated. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...b69f3297b7.jpg


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you can look at my threads here in the diy forum you'll see where I placed them. About 1/2 to 2/3 up from the bottom. I figure I'm getting some air leaking in from doors to help with some circulation. No issues so far with mold or stagnant air.

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Well had a pleasant Surprise today, My aunt who I haven't seen in about 2 years came to town, visiting from my Texas for a conference so we hung out a bit after I got off work and had dinner. Just got home a bit ago from dinner and only have time to apply the silicone, which is now complete and should be fully cured by tomorrow evening after work.
This project is coming along very well, Tomorrow I will most likely be able to drill holes for the vent and sand outside. As for the venting, I think I will do I think I'll save the staining of the wood for this weekend.

Well the exposure is mostly done. Honestly still debating on where to put the vent holes. But not a big deal. The stain doesn’t look that great, it’s my first time ever staining. So depending on how it looks when it’s completely dry, I may or may not add a poly on top. I still need to cut the glass and I’ll the husbandry.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...9d219e6dc0.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...38fd3f904f.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...11f9f162a5.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2b3b44e849.jpg


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Looks great. Stain can be a bit pain in the ass. Takes practice I have trouble with the darker stains so I stick with the light ones myself. They are a bit more forgiving. Don't sweat to much on the vent placement. As long as you have air flowing you'll be fine. Start with a small amount and you can add more holes later if needed.

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So I decided to do away with the stain, so I re-sanded the entire enclosure, used some really good primer/hider and then really good paint; And it looks really good now. Itleft the Drill in the pics to show scale.

I still have to do LED lights, heat (CHE), purchase and install glass. Then it’s complete.

What sucks is I haven't been able to all get glass, but all the glass shops close at 5pm, some even close at 4pm, so this makes getting glass damn near impossible , unless I go during Lunch, AND.... they are all closed on weekends. They must not want my business. Which blows.


https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...7072ee2e08.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...7b3962cd36.jpg


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Man, that’s looking awesome already! I was JUST talking the last two days about figuring out how to build my own enclosure (least handy person ever!), as almost no one makes non-glass enclosures over 2ft tall! Stoked to see how this turns out.