I saw the picture you posted in a thread below. Good looking burm you got there. He does look a tad thin, but he also looks healthy. If you want him to bulk up do it patiently over a length of time with a very healthy diet that results in muscle development and not fat. He will become robust, thick and strong with the above mentioned diet regimen. Age also plays an enormous factor in the girth of a snake. A one year old 6 footer will be much thinner than a 2 year old 6 footer. And a 3 year old 6 footer will be considerably thicker than a 2 year old,. and so on. I call this, "Maturity girth".

And as for the cage itself...
1) Does he need substrate? I don't think so, while Tony does ("all snakes need substrate!". How would you clean the cage with the substrate?

All snakes need to have a highly absorbent substrate to absorb any and all urine and other fluids related to waste. Belly infections will result if they are forced to lay in their own fluid waste. I use newspaper. Many use aspen or mulch shavings. I find shaving-type substrates messy and harder to clean so we stick with newspaper. If you go with a shaving type substrate do not use pine or cedar as they contain toxic oils/vapors that can harm or kill a snake.

2) Would lanolium work well for the floor?

Yes, linoleum works very well as a leak-proof barrier between the wood and the source of fluids.

2b) If the cage started as two 4' sections, what is the best way to water-proof the seal between the two halves? maybe Tony has an idea...

Kitchen and bath silicone/caulk. It is very strong and entirely water proof and will last for yeeeaaaarrs.

3) How does removable ends sound? The ends would slide up and down with either runners or just tabs to hold it in place, and in the bottom ones there would be bolts to hand-tighten so as to hold it in place (hole in tab, hole in end-slab, depression in side of cage for bolt to hold onto). That way I can easily extract the hide box and water bowl from the side(s) for cleaning, or to get the snake out if side-extraction would be easier... It might also make it easier on him to get to the feeding box if that's what we do... We'll see.

The less-complicated your cages are the fewer problems you will have throughout the time you keep your snakes. Try to keep the designs as simple as possible and everything will be a lot easier with many fewer problems.

4) For air flow, we're thinking that along the top (and maybe the back - unsure) we'll put screening between two layers of 1/4" or 1/2" plywood and have either holes or thin strips all accross it so as there can be ventalation without the chance he can break out. Would this work? Or maybe should we use fair-size holes with strong hardware cloth? I think we'll also put a vent in each of the ends, too, just for air flow.

Never place your vents on the top or too near to the top. Heat rises and all your heat will flow out the top the same as water would pour out of a container with a hole on the bottom. Keep your vents about 6 to 8 inches above the floor of the cage and this will cause your heat, the snake's heat to be trapped inside but will still allow for adequate ventilation.
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David Beauchemin
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