How would you utilize this space for a reptile room?

[wnateg]

For now, the space I have available for a reptile room is a walk-in closet with slightly odd dimensions, so I was wondering if yall could help me plan out how to use the space.

Here is a blueprint of the space:



There's roughly 22" to the left of the double door (it opens out, not in) and 27" on the right.

I have a 36x18x24 exo terro and a 4'x2'x3' custom plywood enclosure to fit, plus whatever other enclosures I buy in the future. I did order a 4x2x18" from ap, but I might cancel that and get from boamaster instead (they look pretty nice from what I can tell).

The animals I have to fit in this room are an ETB, scrub, retic, and a large roach bin. I am also waiting for an eastern indigo and black tail cribo to hatch for me to get.

Right now my plans are to put the plywood enclosure and exo terra on top of it on the left side of the room, then the right side could be 5' long enclosures stacked on the right side, but I may want something that doesn't need 5' long. I almost scrapped the exoterra and plywood for uniform pvc enclosures to satisfy my OCD, but I am trying to be cost efficient too.

Here's how it's currently setup:

(You'll notice there's a door on the back wall, but it doesn't need to open, so it's not in the blueprint)




Any suggestions?

[Craiga 01453]

As far as a layout is concerned, I'm probably no help. I'm still trying to figure that out with my snake room, hahaha.

I figured I'd chime in with my thoughts on Boaphile enclosures. I've got two now, and I'm very happy with them. The biggest drawback I can think of in comparison to AP is that AP uses 1/2" PVC. Since I don't have any APs I can't really compare, but that's been a very common "pro" in the AP column from I've heard in my research.

That being said, I love my Boaphiles and would happily add another in the future. I have heard of them bowing if stacked, but I think if stacked properly that shouldn't be an issue. I'm planning on stacking my two with a Neodesha on top and I'm not worried about bowing at all, everything lines up so the weight is evenly distributed on the walls rather than ceiling of the enclosure.

And just to throw it out there, I've always been an advocate for glass working well for snakes. I still believe that. However, now that I've got a few PVCs in a nice neat stack I'm definitely only adding PVC enclosures. I haven't replaced all my glass enclosures, but likely will eventually. I'll probably just keep a few small glass enclosures for quarantine.

Good luck, I'll be interested to see which direction you go.

[Bodie]

Seems like you should base your layout on the indigo and cribo cages since both are active and get big. I am envious that you're getting an eastern indigo. One of my favorite snakes. I live in florida and applied for for a permit to keep one years back.....and was denied. Oh well. Since you can get captive born, you would think a permit would be fairly easy to get. Then again maybe it was just me. Lol. Anyway you will have your hands full with cage cleaning with those two!! Both are awesone!

[wnateg]

As far as a layout is concerned, I'm probably no help. I'm still trying to figure that out with my snake room, hahaha.

I figured I'd chime in with my thoughts on Boaphile enclosures. I've got two now, and I'm very happy with them. The biggest drawback I can think of in comparison to AP is that AP uses 1/2" PVC. Since I don't have any APs I can't really compare, but that's been a very common "pro" in the AP column from I've heard in my research.

That being said, I love my Boaphiles and would happily add another in the future. I have heard of them bowing if stacked, but I think if stacked properly that shouldn't be an issue. I'm planning on stacking my two with a Neodesha on top and I'm not worried about bowing at all, everything lines up so the weight is evenly distributed on the walls rather than ceiling of the enclosure.

And just to throw it out there, I've always been an advocate for glass working well for snakes. I still believe that. However, now that I've got a few PVCs in a nice neat stack I'm definitely only adding PVC enclosures. I haven't replaced all my glass enclosures, but likely will eventually. I'll probably just keep a few small glass enclosures for quarantine.

Good luck, I'll be interested to see which direction you go.

I am looking at boamaster, not the boaphile, though I think bowing is the main concern with either of them, but boamaster uses 1/2" thick, so it should be alright, though they don't have the center brace like AP. And it seems they ship faster than AP, so that's a plus. And I like the design better.

Seems like you should base your layout on the indigo and cribo cages since both are active and get big. I am envious that you're getting an eastern indigo. One of my favorite snakes. I live in florida and applied for for a permit to keep one years back.....and was denied. Oh well. Since you can get captive born, you would think a permit would be fairly easy to get. Then again maybe it was just me. Lol. Anyway you will have your hands full with cage cleaning with those two!! Both are awesone!

Yes, that's one reason I'm thinking putting like (3) 5'x2'x18" on the right side, because they will be able to use them at some point, though I'll need to do something temporarily smaller when I first get them. The breeder said he would help complete the permit, and it shouldn't be a problem, so that's pretty cool. Eastern indigos look like awesome snakes.

[Craiga 01453]

I am looking at boamaster, not the boaphile, though I think bowing is the main concern with either of them, but boamaster uses 1/2" thick, so it should be alright, though they don't have the center brace like AP. And it seems they ship faster than AP, so that's a plus. And I like the design better.



Yes, that's one reason I'm thinking putting like (3) 5'x2'x18" on the right side, because they will be able to use them at some point, though I'll need to do something temporarily smaller when I first get them. The breeder said he would help complete the permit, and it shouldn't be a problem, so that's pretty cool. Eastern indigos look like awesome snakes.

Whoops, obviously read that wrong. Hahaha, disregard that.

[EL-Ziggy]

You can probably get away with that space for a year or maybe two but it's gonna be a tight fit if that's a long term or permament space. You have some potentially very large snakes to house. The scrub, retic, Indigo, and Cribo will all need 6-8 ft. enclosures with preferably 18-24 inches of vertical space. I would definitely suggest converting to stackable pvc enclosures. They'll help you maximize your space in the long run. I'm in the process of upgrading enclosures now. I'm a big fan of AP cages and will probably stick with them exclusively. I can get a little OCDish too. Balance, Uniformity, and Symmetry are very important to me.

[wnateg]

You can probably get away with that space for a year or maybe two but it's gonna be a tight fit if that's a long term or permament space. You have some potentially very large snakes to house. The scrub, retic, Indigo, and Cribo will all need 6-8 ft. enclosures with preferably 18-24 inches of vertical space. I would definitely suggest converting to stackable pvc enclosures. They'll help you maximize your space in the long run. I'm in the process of upgrading enclosures now. I'm a big fan of AP cages and will probably stick with them exclusively. I can get a little OCDish too. Balance, Uniformity, and Symmetry are very important to me.

Finding a new place is definitely a goal and hopefully not too far on the horizon. Eastern indigo wont hatch until august 2020, so I may just focus on finding a new place with more room before then, skip ahead to some 6'.

[EL-Ziggy]

Finding a new place is definitely a goal and hopefully not too far on the horizon. Eastern indigo wont hatch until august 2020, so I may just focus on finding a new place with more room before then, skip ahead to some 6'.

PVC enclosures are a bit pricey. I wouldn't want to have to uograde those more than once. I'd forego the 4 footers for your bigger critters and divide some 6s and 8s that can later be used as adult enclosures.

[Alien]

If serious about moving I would move. If I wasn't going to move I would build some custom enclosures using as much of that space as possible?

[WrongPython]

I'm more or less in El-Ziggy's camp, though I'd argue that you should budget even more space for your snakes. [I have very high standards for reptile housing, so keep that in mind and make of the following what you will.]

Going off AP sizes, I'd personally consider a T100 a minimum for an Indigo or a Cribo -- they're big, active Colubrids, they'll use all that space. You could probably get away with using T70s for them if you're pressed for space and need to stack. For the scrub and the (presumably mainland) retic, you'd ideally have small rooms (think 12' x something) over PVC cages. Ultimately, they're both be active 12+ foot giants, so even a T100 would be too small (by my standards) by the time they're done growing. I'd be happy to more of "WrongPython's Thoughts on Housing Giants," but I'll leave things there for now for brevity's sake.

If I were in your shoes, I'd prioritize your hunt for a new place where you'll have a larger snake room(s). That closet might not be sufficient space for much longer given how fast retics can grow. I'd get one or two of the 8' enclosures as soon as possible and divide them up between your snakes. As El-Ziggy said, given how much the PVC enclosures cost, this will be the most cost-efficient route in the long term. I think you'd ultimately be happier spending more money on good PVC enclosures over building plywood ones -- they'll last longer, look a bit nicer/more uniform, and retain heat and humidity better. That said, PVC enclosures of the dimensions I mentioned are wicked expensive, and properly constructed plywood enclosures are by no means bad enclosures. If giving your snakes the space they needs means going the plywood route, then go for it!