Large enclosure build.

[Snakeboyaz]

I've often thought about this. I can see no possible downside of warming their water up some. Not sure how well a heat pad would do, my idea was using an adjustable aquarium heater. I say give it whirl and see how she responds to it.

[Bogertophis]

I put a 20 gallon swimming tub in the bottom. Thinking about putting a UTH under the tub to heat the water some. The water is always 10 to 20 degrees cooler than the air around it. Would be heated by the sun in nature. Thoughts?

I like the cave too!

But about heating the water, remember that warmer water will be much friendlier to bacteria & all that...if you plan to change the water frequently, your snake would
probably love a heated swimming pool, but it might be detrimental to health if you get too busy to stay on top of that, & with 20 gallons, that might get "old"?

[distaff]

Does the the twenty gallon have a spigot so it can drain to the outside? Alternatively, are you using the "python" hose that aquarists use to drain tanks from the top? Is the tub removable for sanitizing, or do you need to get in there yourself to sanitize it? Just curious. I've read most of this thread, but am not visualizing how the maintenance will be done.

There is a video series I found last night (and ended up binge watching till the wee hours), which has one episode on anacondas and the water area. He doesn't go into it in detail, but basically suggests a mechanical filtration system with a sump. (S'N'A, or something like that, short for Snakes and Adders, which is the name of his shop in the UK.)

Do you have a drainage layer and spigot for the planted area? If the snake is in and out of the water, things could get soggy. Love planted tanks, and big enriched enclosures - never done one for anything bigger than a corn snake, and never put an an aquatic area.

Please keep us updated!