Looking for input on cage design

[PitOnTheProwl]

That makes sense, and I'm building it with forward compatibility in mind, but to stay on budget I have to make some decisions on where to put the money. And it's much easier to buy an expensive thermostat six months from now and not have the wife mentally add that to the complete cost of the cage. She's good about not considering the jigsaw I bought because of this project to be part of the expense of the project, but then again I'm usually pretty quick to find another thing to use each tool for after the first project is complete to "help" her dissociate the tool from the project...."

Then you don't want her to know a rack is cheaper to build and allows you to house more animals??

Buy her something she wants, that will distract her.

[Spektyr]

Then you don't want her to know a rack is cheaper to build and allows you to house more animals??

Buy her something she wants, that will distract her.

See, that's the thing. The custom cage looks prettier and shows off the snake. Plus it's built (ostensibly) for a single snake. So she doesn't feel like I'm trying to sneak a bunch more snakes in. It gets my foot in the door to getting her more serious about snakes, she wants to get our girl a boyfriend (that can live happily in her starter and then current tank)...

You gotta pick your battles, preferably so that the wife doesn't consider them battles. Or at least thinks she's winning. After all, there are only two theories on how to argue with a woman and neither of them work.

[mechnut450]

you can play the flexwatt and then set a piece of plexie on tope and if you want to put some form of spacers between the two you can in the form of some washers from a hardware store ( just hot glue them to the plexie) ( get a stainless steel kind . and a lot of them you will want spares as you lose them or drop them during assembly.
also you can make a sliding glass front if you want ( it not hard ) just cut a groove in the front framing and I got a metal U shape metal ( at Lowes) and set it in the channel and set the glass to slide in that. with the2 pieces overlapping enough not to get stuck. ( also put the groove in the side frame parts to make the glass unable to be pushed on by the snake. ( just remember to attach some kind of handle to grab on the glass lol it hard to just slide open with out a handle )

[Spektyr]

you can play the flexwatt and then set a piece of plexie on tope and if you want to put some form of spacers between the two you can in the form of some washers from a hardware store ( just hot glue them to the plexie) ( get a stainless steel kind . and a lot of them you will want spares as you lose them or drop them during assembly.

I like this idea. I'm combining some ideas in my head and would like to hear what people think: Take a 12" x 24" piece of hardboard (pegboard without the holes). Put the 11" flexwatt on the bottom. Drill a significantly over-sized hole for the cord in the bottom back corner of the cage and then bolt holes at the corners and the mid-points of the long sides of the hardboard (with matching holes in the bottom of the cage). Bolt the hardboard down with washers as spacers (say 1/8" to 1/4" gap around the bottom). Does two things: first, you don't have the flexwatt tightly sandwiched between the hardboard and the melamine, which could create hotter conditions than desireable. Second, you're generating natural air flow. Hot air under the flexwatt wants to rise, and escapes around the edges which draws fresh, cool air up through the oversized hole for the cord. Add a single vent on the opposite side of the cage and the simple act of heating creates it's own air exchange.

Two questions: just how much ventilation do ball pythons need? They typically live in the deepest parts of termite mounds after all... can't be much airflow down there can there?

Also, what's the best way to get flexwatt mounted to the underside of something in a way that it will effectively transfer heat to the bottom of it (in this case, hardboard)?

also you can make a sliding glass front if you want ( it not hard ) just cut a groove in the front framing and I got a metal U shape metal ( at Lowes) and set it in the channel and set the glass to slide in that. with the2 pieces overlapping enough not to get stuck. ( also put the groove in the side frame parts to make the glass unable to be pushed on by the snake. ( just remember to attach some kind of handle to grab on the glass lol it hard to just slide open with out a handle )

I had thought of that and I could still do it, but I really don't like the locking options for sliding glass. If I were keeping hots, which I am NEVER going to do, having an actual lock (like the jeweler's lock usually employed on sliding glass) would be a definite must-have. But my home is 100% child-proof in the "we don't have children or really ever let any inside" way so I don't have any need or desire to actually lock the cage, only keep it secure against escape. A hook-and-eye on each side of the door does that well enough and doesn't interfere visually with the aesthetic of the cage.

[patientz3ro]

Hardboard is a BAD idea! It will expand when it gets wet, then disintegrate. You could do exactly what you're thinking with Plexiglas.

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[Spektyr]

Okay, still have the same two questions I need answered.

[Spektyr]

Well I've completed the build and figured out the answers I was looking for.

Don't worry, I'll follow everyone's lead and keep the secrets in case anyone else is silly enough to ask.