Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am going to get a 40 breeder tank, and my freind is going to be digging up sand out at his house on the mesa, and i will bake it in the oven to sterlize it about 400 degrees for 45 minutes should do it. i will also have him dig up a few small sage bushes that iwill incorperate into the rock pile hide space on the cool side and then on the warm side i will have a another rock pile hidespace/basking area. running through the tank i will put my large spinal collum, just because it should look pretty cool and will give the thayeri (evelyn) more fun stuff to slither under and over, and i am debating building and underground hide also that will be able to be viewed from the front glass on the tank. i will plant an aloe clump in the corner for more climbing and hiding area, i would love to fill the tank with alot of plants but natural desert plants grown in clumps so i will have to stay true to that and keep it somewhat bare, and to top it off my girlfreind is going to paint a custom background for the natural habitat, she will use the pictures from the vivid website for insperation. i wan this tank to have a good dimentional effect and a safe functional environment, if anyone has any suggestion feel free to let me know, i am always open to new ideas

adam
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1.2 THAYERI
1.2 CORNS SNAKES (SNOW/STRIPEDSUNGLOW/WHITE TAIL CANDYCANE)

0.1 REDFOOT TORTOISE
0.1 PYXIE FROG

Adam:

Your tank plans sound great, and I'm sure all of us would appreciate seeing pics once you have it completed. I have only three suggestions for you to consider. 1) Be careful with the rocks. It might look great to have big rock piles, but that can be a death trap for snakes if the rocks are dislodged. Consider using small groupings of sandstone that might even be siliconed together (not sure if silicone is even practical for this use). Another option is to use fake rocks that weigh much less. 2) Bear in mind that thayeri come from areas of relatively high humidity; they are surface active at night when temps often are quite cool (60s-70s F) and relative humidity is high. Your snake will need access to a high-humidity hide of some sort--this could be hidden from view if it's not as natural looking as the rest of the tank decor. 3) Keep your plants in small containers (as you have them growing now) rather than transplanting them directly into the tank substrate. This will keep them rooted and make complete cage cleaning a simpler proposition.

Good luck!

Bob

the rocks will definatly be siliconed together no doubt, and the plants will be in a container also, and there will me a moist hide space(moss for that) but my thayeri are always active they just hang out they hide occationaly but they are very social, i know that is the wrong word to use but you know what i mean, thanks for the tips i appreciate it
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1.2 THAYERI
1.2 CORNS SNAKES (SNOW/STRIPEDSUNGLOW/WHITE TAIL CANDYCANE)

0.1 REDFOOT TORTOISE
0.1 PYXIE FROG

I have a zonata in a natural cage and for a moist hide I made a rock wall on one end of the cage with a row of approx 6" high rocks. All rocks sit directly on the floor of the cage and are not tipable. Inside the rocks I filled a 1/2" layer of Calci-Sand and, then about 4" of loose mulch/soil. I soaked that with water then put a 1/2" layer of dry bark chips on top. The snake absolutly loves it. It burrows in the soil and makes it own hide and when the soil dries the tunnels harden. About once a month I resoak the mulch. The rest of the cage is dry Calci-Sand and dry bark chips.
This snake was also a cronic nose rubber and once I made that it stopped rubbing it's nose completely.
Also when you soak the mulch don't use too much water. A little will seep out around the edges of the rocks but the mulch will absorb most of it if you pour it on slowly and the rest of the cage will stay dry.

Sounds great Adam, I can't wait to see the pics as the tank develops. The only thing I can think of is to take into consideration the cleaning and maintainance(any sterilization) into your plan. Conceptually, it does sound like it's going to be an awesome terrerium and very feasible.
Good luck,
Uncloudy