DIY bredli enclosure! w/pics! dial up warning!

[SLACkra]

ok well i got a free shelf from my boss. its just over 4ft long and just under 2ft wide and tall. its made out of that white stuff, m somthing. anyways needs a bit of fixing up and modifieing to turn this shelf into an enclosure. here are some pics of it!


The enclosure

now whos that sexy lad with the mini afro sitting behind the shelf

Now here are some of the problems with it that i will be fixing

holes need to be filled in where the little pegs used to go to hold the shelves up

old piece of tap which i will have to eventualy remove

strange pinkish stain

the left hand side wall of the enclosure is really grotty so i plan on attempting to clean that up.

several things i am planning on doing. here is what i am going to do:
1 fill in those annoying holes
2 add melanime pannel to front and make the divider easily removable.
3 repaint it white
4 cut hole in divider so snake can go from side to side.
5 add linolium flooring(easy to clean! and water proof)

your thoughts and opinions please.

the divider is to provide a greater temperature difference between the warm and cold side.

andrew

[craig.a.c]

Looks like your all set Andrew. That would make a good enclosure for any snake.

Just wondering, what is linolium flooring?

[Jason]

well done it looks like it is all coming along well.

i wouldnt bother with the hole in the divider so it can get from side to side, as a hatchling one side is huge enough and when it gets big enough just remove the divider....just a thought.

[Spyke]

1, Wash the whole thing with bleach, diluted with water.
2, Fill the wholes with a white, sikaflex/silastic, (its waterproof)
3, Forget the lino, Melamine is waterproof anyway.
4, Forget about painting it, it should come up pretty good with the bleach/water.

hint, metho or turps, should get the tape residue, and pink stain off.........Seal all the joins/seams with the silastik/sikaflex


Edit: forgot to ad that this is what I would do, if you still want to do it another way, it is upto you.

Cheers, Spyke

[diamond_python]

i wouldnt bother with the hole in the divider so it can get from side to side, as a hatchling one side is huge enough and when it gets big enough just remove the divider....just a thought.

I agree. One side looks well and truly big enough for your new hatchie. I would wait until he is big enough then remove the divider and make it a big enclosure. On the other hand, you could get another hatchie and make 2 enclosures out of it.

[craig.a.c]

3, Forget the lino, Melamine is waterproof anyway

Ahhh, lino. The stuff on kitchen floors. I feel like an idiot for not knowing that.

Post some pics when your are putting it all together Andrew.

[SLACkra]

well i am thinking of getting a 2ft tank for while its small. thinking of upgrading ye old saltwater so once the snake is done with it salty time!

2, Fill the wholes with a white, sikaflex/silastic, (its waterproof)

your way sound easier. ok will go with that then.
what is sikaflex? is it white?

will try metho you mean metholated spirits right? think i got some of that some where...
i will clean it with bleach also!

ok heres a question for all you guys. how do you protect the sides of melanime that aren't protected, without the white covering. also i want to add the little front pannel so i can if i want to add a substrate(want it to be possible to have the enclosure for multiable purposes, desert lizards other snakes ect).

also i am going to stop buy a glass shop sooner or later and ask em how much it would cost to have a sliding glass door made for it.

thanks for the advice

andrew

[hugsta]

I would go with sikaflex rather than silicon, my personal preferance. Sikaflex is the same stuff they use to seal in the front windscreen of your car, although there are a couple of varieties now. It will therefore withstand temp changes, stop water penetration and is also quite flexable. You can get in white and a variety of other colours now.

Any bare bits of timber can be filled in with the sikaflex, just make sure they are dust free and clean. Use a damp cloth to get rid of excess, but be prepared as this stuff sticks to everything.

[SLACkra]

ok so sikaflex is really good but i have to be careful not to make a mess. so its like silicone? just seel up the corners and smooth out the sikaflex. i should be able to get sikaflex from bunnings or home hardware right?

andrew

[Spyke]

yep, most hardware places like, Bunnings and home hardware, should have it :-)
and yes I was talking about methylated spirits before

Cheers, Spyke

[Frank]

I am looking at getting either a Bredli or Murry Darling. Just wondering on a good size enclosure that would suit. In relation to heating would a creamic heater do or should I use a lamp. I have a Blonde Mac with creramic and she seems fine apart from not eating frozen fuzzies, but she will eat live or freshly killed.W

[beknluke]

Hey Andy (don't you just HATE people call you that?? )
As for the whole 'melamine is waterproof' thing, well, if it is the kind of melamine that you buy from bunnings, as long as you seal the corners w/ silicone, as far as I know, it's pretty water proof.
BUT - if it's not THAT type of malamine, but more an MDF with a plastic-y coating on it, then it WILL absorb moisture and will eventually bubble!! (I have some tanks that were sold to me as melamine that have done this!!)
Good luck hun
Bex

[SLACkra]

Hey Andy (don't you just HATE people call you that?? )

Hey Shorty (don't you just HATE people who call you that??)

how do i tell if the malamine i got is good malamine? it seems water proof...

cheers

andrew

[pugsly]

Hey mate, that size is huge for a the size snake ya getting, one thing you must remember with the doors,snakes are escape artists!! Im sure the rock has already told you that but trust me they will get through a 3mm gap mate its nuts.

Goodluck with the construction i know what its like.

[foxysnake]

The melamine enclosure you're construting is pretty much like the 1 I'm in the middle of getting and making. The holes you are filling though, I'm leaving for extra ventilation.