Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Dad and I scrapped the idea of building our own shelves and cage when we ran across this desk/storage stand in Best Buy on clearance. It looks like it will stand up to heat/humidity pretty well, and it looks real nice too. It isn't as deep as I would like, but I think it will be okay? Going to put a lot of decor in there, and climbing branches.

The inside dimensions for the cage part are 35"L by 13 3/4"D by 17 3/4" H. Will that be okay for a corn?

The front will have sliding doors on a 4" lip top and bottom. The bottom will be lined with leftover showerboard along with 5" along the back and sides; will that be enough or more? Also, any ideas to keep an inquisitive baby corn from slipping between the glass until he grows too big not to fit?

There will be a few more holes drilled on the left side for ventilation, and also the top will probably be a paneled screen hinged top so it will lift up. The original frosted glass top that came with the furniture will probably find some other use. On the right side, where the divider and cabinet is will be a "hood" sort of deal for a heat emitter fixture, and behind the cabinet door will just be misc. storage and probably where the thermostat we will wire in will be housed.

I'm not quite sure how to place a UTH in there... What I wanted to do was remove the original nice wood bottom that came with the furniture, place the showerboard on top of the metal frame and a piece of plywood underneath the metal frame so that there is a space between for a UTH, but Dad is worried the showerboard will melt. We will think of something. Any ideas from the more experienced cage builders? =)

Thanks!
Redkite7

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http://redkite7.deviantart.com
Poor College Student: Email me about Pet Portraits!

that will work should turn out to be a nice set up
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0.1 Albino Cal. King (Fokker)
1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn (trouble)
0.1 Creamsicle Corn (Spot)
0.0.2 Anery (Thanks Jimmy)
1.2 Dogs(2 Boxers, Cookie and Joe, Lhasa Apso, George)
1.0 Betta
0.1 Wife
0.1 Kid

>>My Dad and I scrapped the idea of building our own shelves and cage when we ran across this desk/storage stand in Best Buy on clearance. It looks like it will stand up to heat/humidity pretty well...

Is this a vinyl coated pressboard or is it a stained sealed wood? Either way it may very well break down when exposed to moisture so making the insides more durable is probably a good idea.

>>The inside dimensions for the cage part are 35"L by 13 3/4"D by 17 3/4" H. Will that be okay for a corn?

Most cornsnakes produced in this country are kept in sweaterboxes with a floor area of only 20"x14" and just a bit over 5" of height. That does not make it right but does suggest your cage is large enough.

>>The front will have sliding doors on a 4" lip top and bottom.

That might be too much. The lips will take away 8", the glass track probably another 3/4". That leaves a viewing area of 9" which does not make for an attractive cage, IMO.

I'd experiment with a shorter lower lip and maybe no upper lip at all. If the top needs support I'd try to do it from above the cage.

>>The bottom will be lined with leftover showerboard along with 5" along the back and sides; will that be enough or more?

I should have read this before making my comments re. moisture resistance. This should work fine. It still will be helpful to know what the insides are currently sealed with.

>>Also, any ideas to keep an inquisitive baby corn from slipping between the glass until he grows too big not to fit?

I don't recommend keeping a small cornsnake in a cage this large. They tend to do better in smaller cages, presumably because it makes them feel more secure.

>>There will be a few more holes drilled on the left side for ventilation, and also the top will probably be a paneled screen hinged top so it will lift up.

The lift up panel sounds a bit more complex than necessary. What purpose does it serve?

>>I'm not quite sure how to place a UTH in there... What I wanted to do was remove the original nice wood bottom that came with the furniture, place the showerboard on top of the metal frame and a piece of plywood underneath the metal frame so that there is a space between for a UTH, but Dad is worried the showerboard will melt. We will think of something. Any ideas from the more experienced cage builders? =)

Why do you even need a UTH if you'll be using a CHE?

Regardless, don't remove the floor. Instead just cut a hole out of it a bit bigger than the UTH and mount the shower board over that. Tape the UTH from underneath.

It won't melt the showerboard.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

that's going to look great. Good use of a great pieace of standard funiture.

Keep your baby corn in something smaller maybe a ten gal. just until it grows up a bit.

make sure you use aluminum tape if you choose to tape the uth from underneath as stated in previous thread.