Making a lid. Have a few Q's

[SnakeKittyFishy]

It's getting to be that time for me... my baby is growing up! Darigan is nearing the 3' and I think it's time for an upgrade. I'm looking at expanding my collection which would call for a rack system but for now I won't be adding any new snakes so I'm using tanks right now. Well I acquired an interesting tank for free awhile back and have been working on it. All it needs is me to finish the custom water dish and a lid. It has decor, bedding, UTH and a nice big hide.

So the interesting thing about this tank is the shape, six sides and measures 3' long x 13" wide x 17.5" tall. Not sure what that would be in gallons lol... this tank looks custom built with wood frame, glass back, and might have been used as a fish tank(not sure, has thermometer sticker for fish tank on the side) but I do know it was used for lizards(came with wire top that pokes me alot >.<, sand and various decor/hides) I cleaned all the sand out, had to vac it out and saw it had at one time carpeting inside, well the plastic carpet/doormat stuff I guess. I took that stuff off. I washed it out with soap and water then rinsed with clean water and wiped it out. It cleaned up quite nice I let it air out awhile before I put in decor items.

So down to business. My hubby is good at making things so the actual lid shouldn't be a problem. I just need to figure out where I should put the vents. I also wanted to add a heat lamp since it gets cold here and the tank is so tall. I want to keep the ambient temps up but keep in humidity at the same time. I was thinking that I'd use the old top screen lid for the vent holes. I've included pics...

The UTH is on the left under the hide with the water dish going on the far right in the corner. I just need to know where I need to put the vent whole and light whole at. Any other things I need to work on just let me know, and also let me know how it looks

[cmack91]

first off it looks great
second, i would put the light on the right, with the outside of the lamp about 6-8'' in from the right (so its not directly over the water (cool dish by the way)).
and as for holes you could either put one on each side or a longer, thinner one towards the rear, on the left (imo), if you choose one big one i'd make it 7-8'' long and about 1.5'' wide, if two smaller ones, make the one above the water smaller than the one on the left, this way air flows right to left bringing the humidity with it, 1.5x1.5'' on the right and like a 2x2, maybe 2.5x2.5 on the left (diameter would be the same if theyre circles), and then if your humidity isnt holding you can cover them partially (i'd use foil), i think thats about all the advice that i have right now (i've been up way too long). and do you have any pictures of the snake? (just out of curiosity)

[SnakeKittyFishy]

Thank you for the swift advice and compliments That's along the lines of what I was thinking, I also forgot to ask how I might put locks on the lids... I was also up way too late and tried to be thorough with this thread lol, in fact I didn't go to bed until 8am

As for pics, I have tons if you're willing to click this link: http://s1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb437/LindzW/ I'm too tired to put more pics in lol He's the more yellow one

[cmack91]

those are two very good lookin' snakes you got there, i really like the smaller ones goldish, yet orangeish hue he has, its pretty cool, and same with the dot on the back of the bigger ones head (in the stripe), thats pretty unique

[SnakeKittyFishy]

those are two very good lookin' snakes you got there, i really like the smaller ones goldish, yet orangeish hue he has, its pretty cool, and same with the dot on the back of the bigger ones head (in the stripe), thats pretty unique

Yeah, the smaller one is a female I plan to breed to him once she gets bigger. They both have a tail stripe that I hope will get passed down into their babies ^_^

[cmack91]

that should be interesting to see what happens, i still need to get mine sexed, ive just been calling it a male for 5 years, have you breed before?

[SnakeKittyFishy]

I've never bred before, I can't wait though! Have you ever tried sexing the snake yourself? Popping is best for beginners. It takes some practice though, or in my case I did it on acciddent lol

[cmack91]

no, and ive never tried popping, but i'd rather have it probed anyway, popping just looks super painful, i dont know if i could do that to my snake...

[SnakeKittyFishy]

That's what I thought, so I tried to be gentle. When I did it on accident, I was showing someone what you do but didn't expect to get it lol.. I did it on my little female and she didn't seem bothered, she was just like 'whatever'

[SnakeKittyFishy]

So does anybody have any ideas to put locks on the lid? The lid will be made of plastic/lexan? Dunno yet, just need a general idea since I don't wanna just weigh the lid down with a big rock lol