Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I currently have a corn snake in a converted 30" aquarium, and a young ball python in a small 24" vivarium. I want to house them properly, and get another snake too (a Brazilian Rainbow Boa), so I intend to build a custom 3-level vivarium, with glass sliding doors. It will be 3' wide, 2' deep and 5' high (meaning each compartment will be about 20" high). That will give each snake 6 square feet of space, which depending on who you talk to is enough space for snakes of between six and nine feet (and I don't expect to have anything bigger than 6).

I plan to go about it as follows:
- Make a cutting list of all the wood I need and get a local timber yard to cut all pieces out of 18mm thick Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF), which does not warp and is easy to work with.
- Seal all internal surfaces before assembly, applying multiple coats - probably of water-based silicon sealant, but any comments welcome on that score.
- Assemble the unit. The back will be recessed in by about 2" to give me a cable hiding area. The front of each viv will be two sliding glass panels on glass runners, and the 2" lip holding the bottom glass runner will be hinged and bolted up in to position - this means that for cleaning I can remove the glass, undo the bolts then lower the lip so that I can more effectively sweep out substrate, etc.
- Seal the edges with aquarium sealant
- Fit the glass runners, then measure up for the glass
- Get the glass cut to size (safety glass) and have the edges sanded
- Create internal features (shelves and branches) using left-over MDF. Each viv will have a shelf at the back running the width of the viv (my corn likes to climb), and probably each viv will have a built-in hide under the shelf
- Install ventilation grills (not sure whether to use strips that run the width of each viv or just circular portholes to restrict loss of humidity - any comments?)
- Install light fittings with guards, wire up light switches (probably spot lights with dimmers)
- Set-up thermostats and heat mats (these are the auxilliary heat source for night time when the lights are off). The heat mats are my biggest concern - will they be OK inside each enclosure, or should I try and create a 'false floor' to conceal them?
- Try and get all the wiring really neat and tidy, switched and out of the way
- Paint the exterior
- After all sealants and paints have had suitable drying time, run 'dry' for several weeks to fine-tune thermostats and lighting set-ups, then furnish and introduce snakes!

At some point in the future I might put in ultrasonic foggers to help me manage the humidity for the ball python and the boa (and they look cool as well!).

I know this is a lot of work compared with buying off-the-shelf vivs, but this will be a single unit, whereas if I buy 3 vivs I will have to build or buy furniture that can take them all stacked, or distribute them around the house.

If anyone has any comments on the process I have outlined above, in terms of materials, tips, techniques or the order I am planning to do things in, I would love to know what they are! Please bear in mind I am in the UK so may not be able to access all the same materials as herpers in the US of A!

Thanks!

Simon Appleby

P.S. Please forgive the mish-mash of feet, inches and centimetres in my post - I think in Imperial for some things and Metric for others
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0.1.0 normal corn - "Slinky" | 0.0.1 normal ball python - "Humbug"

Some thoughts on your dimensions:
1) No way would I keep a nine foot snake in a three foot wide cage. I even like four feet of width for a six footer.
2) If your corn likes to climb, 20 inches of height may not be enough. Do all the cages have to have the same height?

Good luck!!

>> 1) No way would I keep a nine foot snake in a three foot wide cage. I even like four feet of width for a six footer.

I have seen formulas which say 1 square foot of cage per foot of snake, and some which say 3/4 square foot per foot of snake - on that basis, you can keep an eight footer (not nine, forgive my crap mental maths!), because the floor of the tank will be is six square feet (3' x 2'). But I don't intend keeping anything that gets bigger than six feet...

>> 2) If your corn likes to climb, 20 inches of height may not be enough. Do all the cages have to have the same height?

There's no reason why I could not vary the heights between the three tanks (or make the overall height of the unit greater!!!). I reckon 20" will be the average of what's left when the thickness of floors and ceilings is taken in to account. I don't want to restrict either of the others, so I think I will try to create a multi-level environment with shelves and branches so that climbing is an option.

Simon
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0.1.0 normal corn - "Slinky" | 0.0.1 normal ball python - "Humbug"

There is much debate about this but in my opinion, people tend to keep their snakes in cages too small. A 6 foot snake in a 3x2 cage does have one square foot per foot of body length but it will have a hard time doing anything but coiling up on one side of the cage or the other. Also hard to get a proper temp gradient for a 6 foot snake in a 3 foot cage. An adequate hide spot will take up a large portion of your cage.

Like I said - much debate. If you are a breeder and need to maximize snakes per square foot then you can maintain a healthy snake in cages like you mention. But if you are just keeping snakes as a hobby for the enjoyment of it I feel the snakes will be better off and exhibit more natural behavior in slightly roomier cages.

I've got 3x2 cages for my 4 foot ball python and juvenile Dumeril Boa, 3x1and1/2 for my juvenile kingsnake and carpet python, and a 4x2 for a 6 foot kingsnake. They all seem very happy.

Whichever you decide - good luck to you!!

I hope you are a good carpenter. A two cage complex is twice as hard to build as two individual cages, IMHO. I've built cages, but I don't consider myself a good carpenter.

Cage dimensions sound fine to me, for what you want to put in it.

Will the cage sit on the floor or on something? If it is on the floor, you will be down on your hands and knees at cleaning time. And the lowest foot is always the coldest part of the room. This can make heating the bottom cage difficult. My preference is to have cages sitting on something so that the lowest cage floor is at least 18 inches above the floor. Then I can sit on a stool while cleaning the lowest cage. With a 5 foot high cage sitting on an 18 inch high table, I'd have to stand on the stool to clean the top cage. I'd rather not do that, but YMMV.

The last time I built a cage, I glued a layer of bath paneling to the floor. This is a hard, man-made material about 1/8 inch thick with a very thin layer of plastic or something on one side. It is smooth and waterproof if a bead of silicone is run around the edges. It makes cleaning relatively easy.

Good luck with your cage building.

Paul Hollander

>>I hope you are a good carpenter. A two cage complex is twice as hard to build as two individual cages, IMHO. I've built cages, but I don't consider myself a good carpenter.

I'm OK - I think that by getting all the wood cut for me, it will take a major element of risk out of the equation. I'm also going to take my time over the job (the current vivs are perfectly adequate for the moment).

>>Will the cage sit on the floor or on something? If it is on the floor, you will be down on your hands and knees at cleaning time. And the lowest foot is always the coldest part of the room. This can make heating the bottom cage difficult. My preference is to have cages sitting on something so that the lowest cage floor is at least 18 inches above the floor. Then I can sit on a stool while cleaning the lowest cage. With a 5 foot high cage sitting on an 18 inch high table, I'd have to stand on the stool to clean the top cage. I'd rather not do that, but YMMV.

Good point - maybe I will put a small (one foot) cubby under the bottom to store stuff (spare substrate, etc.). I'm six foot tall so the top one should still be reachable for cleaning

>>The last time I built a cage, I glued a layer of bath paneling to the floor. This is a hard, man-made material about 1/8 inch thick with a very thin layer of plastic or something on one side. It is smooth and waterproof if a bead of silicone is run around the edges. It makes cleaning relatively easy.

Interesting idea - I will look into that. Thanks!
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0.1.0 normal corn - "Slinky" | 0.0.1 normal ball python - "Humbug"