There are some tubs with a see-thru portion or more transparent additional door on one side, and some that are fairly transparent generally. Not as clear as glass, but you can see in more or less. You can also keep an eye out on Craigslist for used cages.
But this person's Tumblr has some nice setups in both tanks and display cages that you can probably get some inspiration from at least: http://rainbowsnakes.tumblr.com/snakesetups