Long story short, I'm moving soon and expecting certain major life events that mean I have to scale my reptile room back to a nook meant for a desk in my new living room. Since I built both my racks while keeping in mind that I heat the reptile room independently, neither are enclosed on any side. I'm planning on only keeping the largest rack (the center one in the photo), and I don't think closing in the sides and back will be enough to keep in temperatures.



I'm thinking for the back and sides I'll just do some of the sanded plywood from the hardware store, but I'm open to suggestions about what to do about the front. Should I go for cabinet type doors, or maybe framed glass or plexiglass? This rack is a monster, so should I do only a pair of doors, or maybe a top pair and a bottom pair? Do I need to worry about airflow while the doors are closed, which they will be most of the time considering the ambient temperatures my husband enjoys. Should I consider supplemental heating besides the heat tape? It's a nine shelf rack meant for all sizes of ball pythons, 4 feet wide by 18 inches deep by 6 feet tall with only a hair under 5 feet of actual rack space so this is not a small project. It's going to be in my living room, so I'd like it to look as much like a furniture piece as possible instead of the raw wood look it has now. I think I'd also like to get my hands on a router so I can have something besides tape holding the heat tape down.

These are some hefty modifications and I'd love to hear if others have done something similar to what I'm describing and how.