Tank problem w/ cat

[Cinne]

I've got another issue on my hands now, and I have posted here and got great replies and solutions. Long story short, brother and sister in law moved in, brought 2 cats. One cat stays away, other cat has a fasincation with my ball python's 20gal zilla tank. The sliding top with the two holes and two locking rings? That one. I think it's the older model now.


Problem is, the cat has busted the screen out of the top twice. A minor one a few days ago, and then 80% this morning. Punishing the cat with water bottles or things like that won't work, as she is very.. special if you get my meaning. I can try keeping my door closed, but my room can be high traffic so I'm not sure how that will work. My brother, dad and I were talking about modifying it to have a plexiglass lid instead of screen, but I'm not sure how to do that. Are there any tutorials or advice? I'd love to get her out of the glass tank and in to a tub, so any advice on that would be great too. She's in the upper 700g, so a 15 or 28qt, right?

[MootWorm]

Simplest fix is to just keep the door shut. Barring that, you could take out the screen and affix plexi to the frame of of the lid. Drill holes for ventilation if there aren't any in the front or sides (not entirely sure how your tank is constructed). If you want to skip that altogether, I'd highly recommend a tub. I have a 700ish gram girl, she fits comfortably in a 28qt with one hide and a water dish. Very easy to heat and maintain humidity as well All you do is put some vent holes in the lid or sides, put an UTH on a tstat under the tub and call it a day.

[Crazymonkee]

I would most definitely keep the door shut at least until you find a way to redo the top or get a tub...


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[Cinne]

The door will be shut at all times, unless I am in my room. Like I said though, my room tends to be high traffic so there definitely needs to be some other solution. I'm thinking more so on a tub than the plexiglass, as it sounds easier and better in the long run. So that's what?

28+qt, holes drilled in it for ventilation but not enough to let humidity escape, thermostat, thermometer&humidity gauge, UTH. I'd rather not use flexwatt, and if I got a 28qt what size UTH would I need? I know a thermostat would keep the temp from getting too hot, but they need a certain amount of area for bellyheat, right?

OH, and if anyone happens to see my older post about caging, the ambient temp will stay above 75 degrees in my house, and in my room. Just not above 80.

[Naom9Anne]

I have one girl in a viv and my boy in a a tub and I personally prefer the tub. The viv is more aesthetically pleasing but I find I have less issues in my tub with feeding, handling, stress, humidity etc and I honestly believe they are more secure. My boy is 700g and in a tub but unfortunately I don't know the capacity as he came in it when I bought him.

I agree with Mootworm, I find that humidity keeps much better in my tub and the temperature is easier to monitor.

For security I would suggest the tub although affixing a stronger top to your tank would also work. It comes down to your personal preference
Cats can be quite sneaky (not an owner of any myself) so I understand your issue and the stress it could be causing you BP.

Good luck in creating your cat-proof environment!

[fxs]

Hypothetically .... if the "special" cat were to erm "fall" into the tank, is there a possibility that the inhabitant of the tank might "mistake" the cat for a fluffy rat and .... you know, kill two birds with one stone?

[PiercingPrincess]

Or get rid of the cat >.> That would probably be easier and solve a lot of your problems :p

[MootWorm]

One more thing... Don't assume a tub will solve all your cat problems. Make sure the tub is either on the floor or secured very well. About a month ago, I had mine sitting on top of a table, and my cat managed to knock it off :/ Luckily my snake was ok, but I about had a heart attack lol.

[KyleZ]

Your short-term solution will be to keep the door closed, "traffic" issues aside, if you care about the animals... A long term solution could be to invest in one of the manufactured plastic enclosures such as AnimalPlastics, which are very much sealed units with available locking/latching type doors. Not to mention they are much better for holding constant temps/humidity and such.

I have two *very* curious cats who are obsessed with my snake enclosures. Now I do have a designated snake room that stays closed and locked most of the time (always when I'm not home), but with all my cages being modular plastic units, while I'm home, around the area, I can leave the door open, and while the cats will annoyingly climb up on and around the cages, there is no way they can get into them.

The little criminals in action...

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

I have a little tank for rats and mice and 2 snake enclosures. My cats pay little to no attention to them at all,the rodents or the snakes they just don't seem to care much..