snake enclosure under 125g fish tank *DUW*

okay, so we've begun making drake (hog island boa) new home.

first... this is the tank the enclosure is going under:

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images.../tankstand.jpg

and this is the rock we are using. the top piece goes across the back of the enclosure. the lower piece is the warm end piece.

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images/snakes/rock.jpg


the cool end will be ventilated so no rock on that end.

there will be driftwood for him to climb on... aspen substrate... we bought the glass for the door today... 36" x 18". the door will come off it's hinges for ease of cleaning.

i'll keep this thread updated with pics till we are done.

we have to let the glue sit till monday... and then we'll do the grouting!

What type and generation are those frontosa.

Can't wait to see this thing finished... nice rock.

they are bismarck frontosa... all F1 and wild caught. at this point we aren't sure how many females we have... as they don't sexually mature until 3 years and some of them are 'just' 3 years now.

the bull's name is alex and keeps everyone in line with a gentle touch.

the daffodil bulchers breed like crazy. we often have hundreds of fry at once. it's so cool to see this swarm rise up out of their nest and feed.

there's also some alto. comp. in there. a little mixture as we don't plan on ever removing or selling their fry if they breed.

all the cichlids are f1 or w/c though... except of course the babies which have survived of the pulchers. ;)

rapture... i can't wait for it to be finished...

Looks like it's going to be very beautiful! Can't wait to see the finished product! And I'll bet Drake will love it!

i feel so badly that it isn't completed yet... but nothing i can do... glue and grout need time.

so hopefully... he'll be happily climbing around it by the end of the day next sunday...

okay so we worked really hard today but we didn't get finished. :( so tomorrow morning we'll get the last little bits from the hardware store and drake will be in his new enclosure by lunch!!! (our lunch not his LOL)

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...eenclosure.jpg

you can see the UTH we have attached to the top of the cool side of his enclosure to assist with ambient temps in the winter. we've also attached a piece of driftwood for him to hang out on. (you can see the inside view of the vents here as well)

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...enclosure2.jpg

i'm using a piece of driftwood as his hide... i've attached his UTH between two pieces of ceramic tile (taped together with alum. tape) for ease of cleaning and to add weight to his UTH so i didn't have to tape it to the wood.

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...enclosure3.jpg


http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...enclosure4.jpg


http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...enclosure5.jpg

we found these wonderful vents... made of hard plastic. as you can see by one of the above pics... they have a little ledge on the inside which drake can sit on (at least a small portion of him) if he wants to.


http://www.timelessspirit.com/images/snakes/vents.jpg

at this point we'll leave this side open till we get the shelves made for it.


http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...filterside.jpg

and... can you feeeeeel the anticipation of this? we are alllllllllllmost there...

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images/snakes/almost.jpg

Wow Aleesha... it is coming along great. Very cool use of space and I love the slate. I am sure he is going to love it. :)

i hope he does. this has been more work than i anticipated that's for sure. the screws for the hinges are too long so my hubby is off at the hardware store getting shorter ones and then... we should be drake in his new home. noon was the hoped time... but's it 12:30 here so we've missed yet another deadline - oh well... deadline are made to be broken LOL

That is very neat. know that my BCI loves climbing around on the driftwood in his cage.. and I like the aspen idea since it seems that boas enjoy burrowing sometimes :) I also like how in the right side, there is some privacy offered by the sides of the enclosure so he does not feel looked-at all the time.
Isn't it great to have a hubby that not only accepts your snake obsession, but helps out with it?!

it sure is jen! he did such a nice job of this enclosure... we both did. we worked hard on it and i'm proud to say... DRAKE IS IN HIS NEW FOREVER HOME!!!!!

i specifically designed it to have that nice quiet dark area jen... so he could get out of 'inquiring eyes' if he chooses.

here's some more pics folks!

this is his new hide... under a nice curved piece of driftwood with some greens on it. he soooo loves his greens. he pokes his head out of them (as he's always had this particular piece in his enclosure) especially when dinner is served. i hope he loves this one as much as his old one.

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images/snakes/hide.jpg

this next pic is his branch... one of them as he has two which are fastened up high for his "up up UP" mentality (other boa owners know what i'm talking about)

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images/snakes/branch.jpg

here he is on his other hide... he's found a spot he loves already!

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...esweethome.jpg

and here's a pic from when we first put him in:

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images.../exploring.jpg

and finally... the painted, screwed, cut, glued, cemented - finished product!

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...s/finished.jpg

by the way... all the wood which looks unfinished is triple coated with verathane. the rock and cement has been sealed and the driftwood has been baked. the aspen is a few inches deep and yes, there's a nice big water dish in there although i don't think it showed up on any of the pics LOL

his completed enclosure is: 55" long x 33" high x 21" wide. the inside height dimension is a little different... 29" high.

omgoddess, i know i know... i'm pathetic. but he's soooo freakin' cute in his new home. he's been sitting here like this... for about 20 minutes now LOL can you see his little face? (well big swollen face actually... but hey, you get the idea)

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...s/peekaboo.jpg

well he seems to be liking his new home. he's been exploring all around... hanging out on all the driftwood and trying to figure out how to get through the glass door LOL

so now, let's cross our fingers and hope his swelling goes down! at least now... i can sleep knowing he's in the best possible enclosure i can provide.

Aleesha,
That thing looks great, and it looks like Drake has set up shop for the long haul. I'm glad he likes his new home.

thanks tim!

we've decided with this almost 40 degree heat wave we are having here that we need to add a bit more ventilation for the week or two a year we do get intense heat. so... we are adding another vent on the front. on the right side. as you can see by the pics... his two vents are on the right end...

so what do you think? should we add another vent down low on the front or up high? i'm thinking down low since his other vents are mid to high...

fortunately all these vents can be closed if we wish, so no worries for when it's the cooler winter months!

That is so awesome Aleesh :) All that's under our 125g tank is a filter and some nets. :/
Nice filter (completely unrelated) what brand is it? I use a canister Marineland in mine.

that's a fluval fx5... this baby will filter a 400 gallon tank on it's own... i'm super pleased with it. ;)

any suggestion on where to put the last vent?

and some reallly REALLLLLY great news... drake ate today for the first time in ages. i'm so pleased. here's a pic of him as he hunted for his rattie.

*proud mama grinning*

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images.../drakeeats.jpg

okay i 'think' we are really done now :D we added another piece of driftwood to the upper part of his enclosure. now he has three pieces all attached with long screws (very secure) so he has double the floor space in essence by having this higher area for him.

we've also added the other vent. no one here had an opinion on where to put it so we decided to go low...

so, here it is, the 'finally' finished product! you can see the new vent and you can see the new piece of driftwood across the front. this piece is approx 3 ft long... so a nice long piece for him to coil around!

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...s/newvents.jpg

and since he wanted to watch us work... he hung out in his upper cool side driftwood loft watching the cutting and drilling... i bet he'll be on that new piece of driftwood in no time!

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...hangingout.jpg

*note* his swelling seems to have increased a bit since he got into this new enclosure but hopefully as he settles in, it'll begin to reduce.

Oh Aleesha that looks so nice for him. They do so love to climb! We are looking for some sort of big old fashioned wardrobe to rehab into a nice habitat for Luke's young male BCI and another "special project" on a walk-in closet.

oh what a GREAT idea jo! if you do it, please post pics so i can see!!!

Nice! Maybe, since most of the sides are solid, it will minimize the possibility of him striking against glass again? Like, if someone walked by (I know you have cats..) and he saw it through glass, he might strike at it.. but there not being much glass.. less likely..? Just a thought. Looks like a happy boa!

he was in a frosted plastic enclosure before in my room where he didn't have any critters or people bothering him.

in the living room he has LOTS of people and critters visiting him daily. he does spend quite a bit of time looking out the glass... back and forth and up and down... i just hope he's happy and content in his new luxury cabin!

That's brilliant Alleesha!! I'm all about DIY and that's an awesome use of space for sure. :rockon: