Pine plywood?

[Salamander Rising]

I use pine in my cages but I do seal the bottom 1/3 of the cage I built to prevent ( reduce ) the amount of mold that can form under the wood. I am about to build a display cage for my mother ( she had to have one of my pieds I am willing to take pictures and video i anyone wants.) I am goingto put a piecce of temperd glass in the front to let people see the cage ( the cage will be 2 large at first but in a couple years it be prefect for the snake.) I do seem to have a better results when I place my snakes in larger cages to get them to eat and such.

So do I.

When I first got Alice [the former/recent escapee] his breeder told me he was a "finicky, sporadic eater" and that he would be 'happy' in something like the 20" square cubicle he was in at the breeder's place.

I put him in a 40G breeder tank with a Lucy lid and the snake never looked back.

He'll eat on any day that ends in a Y, now.

When I got him, he was a medium-sized 3 year old who weighed about 750 grams.

He's now almost 4' and over 1500 grams.

He loves his new 2' x 18" x 4' house.

My snakes who live in "houses" are more gregarious and outgoing than the ones who live in tubs.

They may be snakes who 'like snug security" but I think they really enjoy having room to roam and exercise, too.

I know the ever-expanding Kelly is getting antsy in her 10 gallon tub.

I think because I have a Lesser girl coming August, I can justify getting Kelly a "house" to hubby so the new baby can take over Kelly's tub.....

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I used Oak Plywood to build my cage that was a beardie cage and converted for a Ball Python. In the end I could have gone with pine because I sealed the heck out of it with a water-based sealant (4-5 coats on the inside). I even ended up using an oil-based stain because locally there were very few options in water based. WIth proper sealing/curing it is non-toxic. The key to it all is to allow appropriate times to cure for any stains used and also the sealant. If you seal it properly it is easy to clean and I used iron on edge veneer to clean up the edges and make staining sealing easier. It also gave a finished look.

The cage bottom for me was tiles I grouted in (for the beardie). Extremely easy to clean. Unfortunately I can't use a UTH with my setup because i converted it. I use a CHE and cypress substrate to keep humidity at proper levels. All temps good and humidity is perfect and holds for days. No issues with cleaning or hold buildup. I think the sealing (4-5 coats) makes the difference here.

If I were to make another plywood cage for a ball python or other snake I would create a PVC floor within the cage and keep an inch from the bottom of the plywood floor. This would allow for flex watt or UTH pad.

That is beautiful!