Building a 5 star enclosure (hopefully)

[driftoz]

I was just meaning a lush green looking enclosure not really going for a rainforrest and was always looking to emulate a eucalyptus forrest, sorry I didn't elaborate more.

Thanks for your help again mate

check out my viv pics in my album its only small but i have green marine carpet and fake vine leaves and a fake twisting vine around some branches looks nice and green and jungle like to me and my coastal loves it and have a 3d rock wall ready to go in which i will hang some more green vine leaves off it. will be doing another when i build my 5-6ft high enclosure in a year or so when my coastal grows.

 

[townsvillepython]

this is one of mine still not really finished the background yet. the jungle shot im having printed on a vinyl sticker for $90

 

[mrbaggins]

Kenshin, with the rock wall, I've been reading it up and a lot of folks use QuickCrete Quckwall, but I can't get it in Wagga. IS pretty much any cement render going to do it?

 

[Kenshin]

yea should do as being cement once it dry's its completely non-porus and nontoxic, then theres a number of ways to colour it like throwing oxides over it

 

[J-A-X]

Bunnings do a product called 'acrylic render' that will give you better results than straight concrete, $20 for 10kg bag, i would think most hardware shops would do something similar, if you cant see what you want ask if they can order it in,

 

[evozz]

Jax, that enclosure of yours is AMAZING! Especially if it was the first one you'd ever done, and didn't go as far as you had originally wanted...
What sort of trade experience do you have? I could never hope to make something as good as that, though i have less than 0 trade experience :lol:
I'd love to have something like that for our jungles

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

Go the elaborate enclosure, waterfall does have the problem of when the snake blocks it but we have figured out ways around this. PM sent so check that out, cheers

 

[Chris1]

so nice to see some people go all out with their snake enclosures, much nicer then shoving them into a sterile tub where u cant see in and they cant see out,....

 

[J-A-X]

Jax, that enclosure of yours is AMAZING! Especially if it was the first one you'd ever done, and didn't go as far as you had originally wanted...
What sort of trade experience do you have? I could never hope to make something as good as that, though i have less than 0 trade experience :lol:
I'd love to have something like that for our jungles

Thanks for the compliment, that is the first attempt at building anything, as for trade experience, that would be a big fat ZERO... i'm the stereotypical technology nerd, a female, AND 50yo ! ! and this was only built last year...

I knew most of the theory (thanks to a very handy Dad) I read heaps, bought power tools, and learnt by my mistakes. You are only limited by your imagination. If cost is an issue (and i will admit mine was cheaper than getting one retail but still not a cheap exercise for the financially challenged ) try finding old wardrobes to convert, most of the work is then done for you, you then only have to wire it, decorate it, decide on doors / windows, and your done,

One the upside, my next one / two / five, will be done a lot quicker and cheaper now i've done this one, and i'm with 'Just_plain_nuts' Go the elaborate enclosure. it is possible to have it look awesome and easy to maintain if you put a bit of forward thinking into it,

 

[liney]

You can buy foam(polystyrene) from any Clarks rubber store here in Perth and rip out hunks with ya hands and glue other bits on to make it look realistic and then put on about 4 coats of render cement and then paint it to your colour preference and then seal it as mentioned above. I did this for my SW Carpet and his enclosure is 5ft high x 4ft wide x 2ft deep. He loves it because of the different levels for him to sit on ledges or branches in different heat gradients- and it looks good too

 

[RushiesReptiles]

Nice looking enclosure..Im in the middle of building one myself slowly myself. Wondering where to start lookig for thicker bits of foam, or what type of company carrys or uses this....? very interested.

 

[J-A-X]

if you cant find thick foam buy a small tube of liquid nails,it doesn't eat into the foam and makes a strong bond, PVA glue is not strong enough,

 

[Troyster]

yea should do as being cement once it dry's its completely non-porus and nontoxic, then theres a number of ways to colour it like throwing oxides over it

Sorry mate but concrete is in fact porous unless you seal it with a paint/sealer.

 

[Kenshin]

ah yeh, i think i mentioned in one of my first posts on this thread to seel it

 

[J-A-X]

'bondcrete' is a sealer and bonding agent in one,

 

[shane14]

Hey mate also in the southwest, SW carpets are good begineer snakes. Awesome pets, if u do manage to make a decent enclosure,you should think of going into making them, been needing to get my male carpet a bigger cage, he's over 1.3m now and in a 3ft cage. want to go for the big display cage.

Ive seen good "replica's" on the Sw Eucalyptus forrest, Naturalist Reptile Park has it down to the dot IMO. A cage, with thick barky branches and wood chips. with naturally found plants would be an ideal enclosure. Even fake plants that look natural.

 

[yourasnake]

I like your enthusiasm and the fact that nothing is to much, but like what was said by Kenshin,real plants probably arent a great idea as they will get broken but more importantly they can harbour and incubate parasites in the moist soil so id recommend sticking to silk/fake plants.
Another thing id be weary of is the water fall because if the snake lays across the flow of water it will flood the enclosure with water which could lead to all sorts of issues.
Sorry to have put a dampener on your ideas but better to build it right once and enjoy it for ever rather than to have to rebuild it later due to a few small issues that could have been modified in the planning stage.

thanks good point there

 

[silatman]

Alright guys heres an update.


The wife found a corner cabinet online that would suit the bill perfectly and so heaps of the hard word work was done.
It was a three piece unit that had two of the three pieces already glassed top to bottom.
Ive just spent all day cutting out a hole between the center and the one side that we are going to open up for her at the moment and then making it look pretty. The other side will eventually get the same treatment but at the moment she is only a hatchie.

Will get pictures online as soon as the wife can do it, she is the computer whizz while I struggle to log on!
By the way the snake is hers and if sometimes my posts seem to have a split personallity its because its Mrs Silatman not me doing the posting. I on the other hand have a complete fear of snakes but an uncontrollable fascination at the same time, I would rather glass between me and them thats all, I'm not a big girl at all!

 

[driftoz]

I on the other hand have a complete fear of snakes but an uncontrollable fascination at the same time, I would rather glass between me and them thats all, I'm not a big girl at all!

my brother says the same but at least im slowly getting him to handle the coastal hatchie so he can get used to it before it reaches 10ft lol

 

[J-A-X]

'mismatched' partners seem to be fairly common, :lol: mine is fascinated with mine, but wont touch them, he will get within 2ft of my 6mth old darwin but will only look at my 2yo coastal through the glass, but on the plus side he's quite happy to assist with anything snake related just not touch them, so i can't complain, but the little darwin is slowly winning his heart i think,