Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey peeps,

I'm wanting to get started with a pair of house snakes but will not have a lot of money for housing and wanted something I could expand on later. I should also tell you I am a terrible carpenter but only concerned with functionality, not looks. I have intentionally removed any and all extras in an attempt to keep from screwing the whole thing up somehow.

Please critique my plan with my KISS goal in mind:

1. Have melamine cut to the correct dimensions.

2. Screw the melamine together at the corners and use a support bracket and hope nothing cracks or splits in the process. Would any kind of glue help? I do have clamps.

3. Right now I'm only going to have one shelf, but I figured I'd put my boxes in there with the heat pad under them, and then put CDs on top of the corners of the boxes before screwing the sides in so that enough space is left for the box to slide? Is one CD's width enough? I could not draw a straight line to save my life and I have no idea how to use a level, so I figured having the boxes in there is the best bet I have of actually getting it leveled enough so that snakes do not escape.

Questions I have... the odds of success and will the heat pad on the melamine burn my house down lol I could also add some wood pieces to the bottom to place distance between the heat pad and the plastic but I am using a light dimmer so I'm not sure if I still need to do this?

Thanks!

You can certainly do what you stated. It takes an aweful lot of concentrated heat energy to ignite melamine. Your plastic box will melt and kill the snakes long before the melamine could ignite.

You also have other options.

What I like are those metal wire shelving racks. You can lay the heater right on the metal wire shelf and place the box directly on it. The metal wire conducts the heat and spreads it out nicely - nearly impossible to melt anything. Of course you need to use a controller, but it is nice to know you are about as safe as can be.

Of course the boxes you use must have lids in this case.

Just another option for you that costs rather little and requires no cutting or drilling, is light-weight and movable, and it can be used with just about any height or style of box as long as you can keep the lid on tight.

I saw one person adjust the wires shelves so the boxes fit somewhat snug. He tie-wrapped wood slats on the underside of each shelf to prevent the box lid below from being lifted off. Worked perfectly. He ordered extra shelves. The rack holds 6 large blanket boxes.

My pic shows a metal rack (not the wire type) I bought for $35.00. It isn't large but holds small cages and shoeboxes. Just perfect. Not lidless, but I do not care for the few snakes I have now.

Look on youtube for snake racks. Lots of inexpensive ideas.

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Mark

Hi Mark,

I actually do not care if my system is lidless or not, but the boxes I have seen at walmart and target do not seem to have secure lids. Perhaps, I am mistaken? If those lids will contain the snakes, then that would simplify my life a lot.

I hear you. A binder clip on each side (lengthwise side) can work nicely. Kind of a pain but works. Easy to forget to put them on though.
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Mark

Check out the new Sterilite boxes at WalMart and Kmart, etc. They have little handles/clips on each edge to securely keep your snake in...I have a wife that doesnt appreciate loose snakes so I just upgraded to these and they come in many sizes.
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Scott MacLeod
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