Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my girlfriend took Tiki in to get the scales looked at and it ended up just being a bad shed likely from the humidity problems associated with the tank.

Now it looks like I might be building a custom enclosure and was wondering what you guys would do. The vet recommended wood sides and top with glass just on the front, some holes in the lower sides for ventilation.

Shouldn't be too hard to build, but I was wondering if you guys know what size and number of holes would be needed and what kind of covering you would use on the wood to prevent rot.

Any thing you would include if were to build an enclosure would help a lot.

...oh and she has a 20 gallon tank right now so I'm guessing I'd be doubling the size, length for sure.

I hate to refer you somewhere else....you'll have a great chance of getting the info you need here in this forum, but check out Kingsnake's Cage & Habitat Design forum as well. You'll get still more ideas and help there if you are set on building your own.

For BRB's I do like wood. Even more so if you are NOT in a warm herp room. The wood provides thermal mass and helps maintain temps.

I like cabinet grade plywood. Minimal is stain and a few coats of a good water based polyuerethane. I like varathane diamond elite. ultimate for cleaning and impervious to water is to laminate the cage paices with formica before assembly but that does take some skills/tooling you're average Joe might not have.

For venting NOT near the bottom, or your BRB will get nasty stuff in the holes if ya get my drift!! My 2' x 2' x 19" cage sections each have one 2" round vent. Plus of course some gaps around the door. but not much.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

awesome, that's what I needed to know. I take it all the joints...aside from lid of course would be caulked and sealed?

Yes, sealing all the joints is important. Also, tight fitting joints goes a long way to staying sealed. Any movement in the joints can cause any caulking to fail.

Oh yeah, forgot in my original note. With a wooden cage IMO RHP's (Radient Heat Panel) work best. along with a controller, again best is a proportional thermostat.

A really good setup can easily caust several times what the occupant did but then again, will extend the life of said occupant.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

think you could recommend a specific kind?

I got mine from Pro Products and am happy with them. They will work with you to help you select the correct one based on your cage size, materials, herp and home temps where the cage will be.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Alright Dave, here's another question for you...or anyone else who might read this: I've been doing my research for the design of this enclosure and I think I'm going to have the door on the front so I can have lamp housing on the top and it is confusing me when I read about all the different types of reptile lamps there are. I still plan on rolling with the RHP, but right now I can't afford to include it.

So what I'm wondering is what kind of lighting should I plan to include. She uses a heat lamp right now, which I will use for now to heat. But I also saw some stuff about UV-A and UV-B lamps, and that's where most of my confusion is right now. Do BRB's need a good UV-A/B lamp?

They do not need any light. They are nocturnal and secretive. The more light you have in or on the cage the more time they spend hiding.

>>Alright Dave, here's another question for you...or anyone else who might read this: I've been doing my research for the design of this enclosure and I think I'm going to have the door on the front so I can have lamp housing on the top and it is confusing me when I read about all the different types of reptile lamps there are. I still plan on rolling with the RHP, but right now I can't afford to include it.
>>
>>So what I'm wondering is what kind of lighting should I plan to include. She uses a heat lamp right now, which I will use for now to heat. But I also saw some stuff about UV-A and UV-B lamps, and that's where most of my confusion is right now. Do BRB's need a good UV-A/B lamp?

Perfect, good to know. I'm sure once I get this book I ordered that I wont have all these stupid questions anymore...but here's another:

Are BRB's bottom dwellers or if they are given the opportunity to climb around would they take it? At the moment I'm looking at dimensions of 3' long and 2' deep and was thinking 3' high, but I don't know if I should be looking for longer and shorter, of if taller is the way to go.

How would you supply heat if under-tank heater is the best away to go?

>>How would you supply heat if under-tank heater is the best away to go?

Depends how thick the cage material is. Putting flexwatt under melamine isn't gonna heat much. Some people put a piece of glass over flexwatt in the cage, and silicon it down. I know Dave has Radiant Heat Panels in his cages, or at least some.
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Thanks, Matt

so you're saying basically build it right in on top of the wood base...

The point is for belly heat, you can't heat the cage through the floor. The heat needs to be going through thinner materials. Two options, 1 cut a hole in the floor a little larger than UTH. Then route in and seal in a piece of plexi or glass or?? and attach UTH underneath. Or make a subfloor. Either way, the electrical properties need to be fully insulated!!!

Like I said before with a wood cage I have and like RHP's.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

>>For BRB's I do like wood. Even more so if you are NOT in a warm herp room. The wood provides thermal mass and helps maintain temps.
>>
>>I like cabinet grade plywood. Minimal is stain and a few coats of a good water based polyuerethane. I like varathane diamond elite. ultimate for cleaning and impervious to water is to laminate the cage paices with formica before assembly but that does take some skills/tooling you're average Joe might not have.
>>
>>For venting NOT near the bottom, or your BRB will get nasty stuff in the holes if ya get my drift!! My 2' x 2' x 19" cage sections each have one 2" round vent. Plus of course some gaps around the door. but not much.
>>-----
>>Thanks,
>>
>>
>>Dave Colling
>>
>>www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
>>
>>
>>
>>0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
>>0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
>>
>>LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
>>26.49 BRB
>>20.21 BCI
>>And those are only the breeders
>>
>>lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

When it comes time to build my cages, I will put much more ventilation then that. My room is rather humid.
It varies from person to person on their situation
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Thanks, Matt

ya i live in Calgary...it's not a very humid place especially when it hits minus forty Celsius like the other day...

Then less ventilation as Dave said will be needed.

The only problem with glass is you will need to keep the water bowl away from it. Heated glass spilled water = broken glass. I would try plexi if you can get some, but it might warp. Not a good situation either way

And I think this was mentioned, but put the vent somewhere near the top of the cage, if it's low then you're gonna be cleaning a lot (Your BRB will defecate or pass urates near or through the vent)!

>>ya i live in Calgary...it's not a very humid place especially when it hits minus forty Celsius like the other day...
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Thanks, Matt

that's a very good point. I'm an architectural technologist, so if i put my design into autocad, think you guys could let me know if there are any problems with it?