Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello folks,

This is my FIRST posting.

I recently nabbed a 70 Gal Oceanic Lizard Lounge Terrarium (36" long 25" high and 18" deep) for FREE. My goal is to use this for a large adult King Snake, haven't narrowed down the species yet... but figured to go a nearby Herp convention and see whats out there. The glass is in great condition and I plan to sterilize the heck out of it before putting it to use. It appears to have tint/or some thermal layer on side/back.

My tank looks like THIS but with only 6 vents in back.

Question #1: What method of cleaning would you recommend to sterilize it? Water/Bleach then rubbing alcohol afterwards?

The tank did not come with the glass lid top that I keep hearing the Oceanic Systems Inc. used to make for them.... discontinued? But got a basic wire mesh screen instead. The only major problem with the tank are the vents. 10 circular vents (2 on sides & 6 on back) with one small hole for wiring. The vents are in bad shape, one missing and several more broken, with others damaged. I figured its best to replace them all.

Question #2: Where do I find spare parts (vents) for this discontinued product?

Question #3: Should the vents be sealed up and use the top as full screen ventilation? Will heating it be an issue for King Snakes? Or should the top be retrofitted with plexi-glass and with pilot drills for top ventilation then then replace vents? Other suggestions?

One thought I had was to create a PVC tube cave connecting the back two vents/ kinda like a hamster tubing system but just simpler and design it so the tube can unscrew from outside if need access. Any thoughts/comments on this?

As for heating/lighting was planning to use flexiwatt or heat pad with thermostat for one end with red spot heat lamp and leave the other side alone. Then have a strip of UV lighting, whats the cheapest I can get these for? Will there be any issue with the Plexi-Glass melting or something like that when used with heat lamps/UV lighting? With this size tank i'm at a loss for what the proper lighting/heating I should go for.

I'm open to feedback/suggestions.

Last question: What type of King Snake do you think would fare best in this environment.

Thanks for reading and ur inputs!

David

Welcome to kingsnake David. Hope you find this site helpful!

I'm sorry, but there are lot of your questions I can't answer, but I figure I would offer what I can.

I don't know where to tell you to get parts for the tank. Ventilation is great, I shouldn't worry about having too much, unless it's going to create a chill in the enclosure.

As for choice of kingsnake, the net says an adult can live in a 20 gallon aquarium. But I would stick with a smaller species, maybe a Speckled King, Scarlet King, something like that. But it's based on your preference. Also, females will be larger than males, so you may want to think in terms of a male to widen your options.

Depending on where you live, heating may not be that extensive. We keep our Apalachicola king in a custom made 4ftx2x1.5 (I think that's correct) enclosure. All sides are plywood, and the front door is screen for ventilation. As for heating, on top of our house staying at 74-76 degrees already, he stays in the designated 'snake room' which usually keeps a constant temp of 85 degrees during the day, so we don't provide him with anything other than a low watt light. You may need to decide on a species before you start shopping for heating, because different kings call for different things.

I hope I've been somewhat helpful. Enjoy, kingsnakes are definitely a different breed. Compared to our pythons, I call him crazy lol.

I hope you take the time to hit our kingsnake forum, that is where the more experienced keepers in this species hang. Here is the link!
Kingsnake forum

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Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
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