Buillding enclosure for spotted

[mattooty]

Hi all, After a fair bit of thought and searching around on the net i'm going to build an enclosure for my spotted python. He's 2 years old and he's currently living in an oversized clickclack.
The question i'm posing to all you carpenters cross herpers is..
1) What length should it be, i'm not after minimum length, but a practical length for him to explore without being to massive.
2)In terms of heating i'll be using a mat, where do i put it in the enclosure? Beneath the floor? Above the floor and below paper?
Substrate will most likely be newspaper for ease of cleaning.

Cheers guys
Matt

[dickyknee]

hey Matt
You will get varied opinions on size , I keep mine in tubs or 700x400 enclosures , 800x600 would be the max I would use ...
Heat mat can go under the cage , it will heat through the timber .
News paper is good , and its free .

[Auzlizardking]

Hi Matt,
900 x 600 D x 500 H is a great size enclosure for a spotted
I have seen heat mats above and below the floor of enclosure but I have never used heat mats myself.

[sweetangel]

make sure you have a thermostat for a heat mat in the enclosure. they get really hot!! also if you want lots of exploring room i would go with Auzlizard

[mattooty]

I've got a thermostat so thats one thing i've done right. Whats Auzlizard?

[dickyknee]

Auzlizard is Darren , he made a comment regarding the 900x600 sized enclosure .......

[Jen]

i've been told not to put the heat mat inside the enclosure, as it could be affected by snake wee, but as others have said, it will heat thru the timber. Or you could tile over it.

[Auzlizardking]

Originally Posted by mattooty

I've got a thermostat so thats one thing i've done right. Whats Auzlizard?

Matt - sweetangel was saying go with what I said about size if you want the snake to have room to move around,

[Auzlizardking]

Originally Posted by dickyknee

hey Matt
You will get varied opinions on size , I keep mine in tubs or 700x400 enclosures , 800x600 would be the max I would use ...
Heat mat can go under the cage , it will heat through the timber .
News paper is good , and its free .

But ever of these are also great size enclosures to use.

[cracksinthepitch]

Like the tile idea. A matt finish with smooth edges would do the trick, maybe a small ceramic square with heatmat and paper beneath it and thermostat probe on top of it to ensure no burns.

[Jen]

make sure you seal the tile to the floor tho, maybe silicon around the edges or tile the entire floor

[pete12]

put the heat mat in the enclosure with a bit of mdf screwed over the top