Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,im going to build a new enclosure for my ball python because he is out growing his 33 gallon glass aquarium. I was just wonder what is the best type of wood to use? any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

I am not sure exactly what types of wood would be best. I will leave those to Chris Harper and others (that actually know what they are talking about). I just thought I would mention, dont go too big on the enclosure for your ball. Ball Pythons are very shy and secretive animals. Giving the animal too much space can cause un-needed stress. If you build a relatively large enclosure make sure you put several hides in there for his comfort. My ball pythons have done very well in a 3'x1.5' enclosure.

Good luck with your ball. There are very knowledgeable builders in here, that I am sure can point you in the right direction as far as the wood.

Best Wishes,

chris

>>Hey,im going to build a new enclosure for my ball python because he is out growing his 33 gallon glass aquarium. I was just wonder what is the best type of wood to use? any help would be appreciated.

I used melamine from home depot for this cage, and it cost about 70$ to build, including glass. It is very easy to build with Striking Serpents instructions. http://showcase.netins.net/web/reptiles/cage.html

Derek

You can use just about whatever you like. I would avoid cedar and redwood, but that's about it.

It really depends on what you want. Attractive appearance, light weight, or a cage that is as inexpensive as possible. It's really only when you try to get attractive, light, and cheap all in one cage that you run into problems.

My favorite wood material for reptile is still birch laminated plywood. Even the lower quality types you get at Home Depot and other HIC's is pretty good.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

2.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

4.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

Thanks for the advice guys, im looking forward to seeing the finish product.

Coming from the view point of someone whose had his hand in carpentry, and planning to construct a cage myself, there is no precise answer.

Rally it all depends on cost and how you want to finish it. If your looking to stain and polyurethane it i would recomend something like oak or maple, or popler, although most of these are going to cost you a pretty penny. Melanine is a good option as it comes already finished and is fairly inexpensive. I would avoid laminated pine as it can tend to peel from over exposure to moisture. THe chepeast way to go would be pine ply wood or particle board finished with a good non-toxic water resistant paint.

Daniel Rioux