mark, thanks for your replies. you bring up good points. i had only considered what might happen if the pump failed to turn on, but not if it failed to turn OFF. while 10gal of water wouldn't be enough to fill the enclosures and drown the snakes, it would certainly damage if not destroy the cage. i'll definitely need to create some kind of safeguard against that.

also hadn't thought of a sprinkler timer. the one i have for my yard is way more complex than i need, but a simpler one could be perfect.

i'm all for manual watering- keeping up with plants and water bowls in two cages should be simple enough. i just wanted an automatic system that would allow me to go on vacation for a week or two without bothering someone to come by and water my snakes. oh well, i'll keep chipping away at it (and taking suggestions!) but i may wind up skipping the water system. it will definitely be complicated to install, and potentially disastrous if it fails.

-j

[ Show Entire Thread ]