Building a 5 star enclosure (hopefully)

[silatman]

I am in the process of setting up an enclosure for a single SW carpet python. She will be with us for life and so I am wanting to go all out for her and build the Rolls Royce of homes.

My question then is obvious, what should I build for her?

I am a tradesman who is competent in using any material and any powertool so go for it, give me your ideas as to what I should do.

I am thinking something about 1.8 x 1.2 x 0.8m with maybe an octagonal section that widens out to about 1.2 in the area where I will build her basking point....maybe. Timber on three sides with the front and (maybe) octagonal section being glass for a nice view into the full cage.
I was going to build a pond with a miniture waterfall and use real plants but am unsure whether this is just going to be trouble and maybe I should stick with plastic plants but I think the water fall will be ok as I have built lots before and by using real rock I think it will add to the display.

I have looked around at pics I can find of other peoples set ups and frankly they seem to be very sp****, is there a reason for this that I am missing? or is it just about ease of cleaning.

Any ideas that people have will be very much appreciated.
Any pics would be awesome too!

 

[Kenshin]

imbricata dont like humidity so the pond and plants are definatly not a good idea, also pythons like to sit in plants and crush them a better idea get lots of nice thick braches and attatch silk plants all over them

most imbricata would be fine in a 3x2x2ft till they breach 6ft long then they go into a 4x2x2 and they rarely get bigger then 8ft so thats where they tend to stay for me, a good display mansion for her dosent have to be that long but you can make it high say 3ft long 6ft high 2ft wide lots of branches some aboreal hides water bowl on the floor along with a cool hide lots of branches with the silk plants and if you feel handy a rockwall even

an enclosure that size would be perfect to house two imbricata together and the height would give a fantastic thermal gradiant, my 4 imbricata have a high propencity to be aboreal thats why id go for height and nice thick branches that are comfortable for them to rest on

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day silatman,

Unfortunately, the "Rolls Royce" enclosures are usually the most plain, boring and basic ones! Extra unnecessary features that are incorporated into an enclosure to try and enrich the lives of captive reptiles often become the exact same things that endanger their lives.

As mentioned, waterfalls will lead to increased humidity and related dermal and respiratory infections. Live plants will also quickly become destroyed unless they can sustain several kilograms of snake sliding over them.

Cheers

 

[J-A-X]

good for you, for wanting to build 5 star, being a tradie is a huge advantage, at least it shouldn't take you 4 months (after work) like it did me, first ever attempt at building anything, almost the same size as you are planning (1.8h x 1.3w x .75d :shock: spooky)

i think the only reason you don't see a lot of HUGE display enclosures is because of the HUGE component... not everyone has the room for something so large, not to mention the cost and skill factor,

mine is only fairly basic compared to some i have seen, i had planned a fake rock background but time became of the essence when my coastal rapidly outgrew her borrowed enclosure, so the 'all out' treatment will have to wait for the next one, and yes, fake plants.

 

[Troyster]

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.

 

[silatman]

I'm crushed!!!

All I've ever wanted was the full rain forrest display, ahh well guess its plain and boring ( but safe) for our girl.

Thanks for the info about the waterfall, that was a definate addition that the entire internal was going to be structured around so that was a huge heads up.

At the moment she is in a click clack that always reads between 48 - 52% humidity, is this too high for her then? The temps are 32 - 22 across the tub.

I look forward to more ideas, cheers people :lol:

 

[Kenshin]

Jaxrtfm - that enclosure looks shmick, are those windows you used as doors? and does that have a shelf in the middle that has a hole to get through the bottem? how much did that set you back if you dont mind me asking?

unfortunatly the reason i cant go all out on enclosures is two main reasons, 1: i dont own my own house so smaller is better to move and i also cant do what i want to them because it would be perminant! 2: i keep a pretty healthy volume of snakes that will only increase as time goes on so obviously practicality comes into it for me

i would however build an enclosure like that to house a group of frillys or varanids or a scrubby..... would have to be bigger again though!

 

[Kenshin]

silatman if you want to keep a rainforrest display the most important thing is to get a species that inhabits rainforrest which imbricata certainly do not....... however you can mimick a nice dry eucalyptus forrest of southwest australia, even throw in fresh fully leaved branches in all the eucalyptus leaves last quiet awhile, the rockwall will still work you just have to make it sturdy and silicone the edges into the back of the vivarium

 

[silatman]

Thanks for your help Kenshin but I live in the southwest of WA and the laws about species are pretty strict over here, not like you lucky buggers.

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.

I am also a first time keeper, had my license for about a month, but I'm a lover of reptiles since I was knee high to a grasshopper, so I need a species that is good for a beginner to start with.

Thanks for your help again mate

 

[J-A-X]

Jaxrtfm - that enclosure looks shmick, are those windows you used as doors? and does that have a shelf in the middle that has a hole to get through the bottem? how much did that set you back if you dont mind me asking?

Thanks for the compliment,all the glass is 6mm laminated, the black frame is commercial double sliding windows, couldn't find any domestic double slides that would hold the weight of glass, laminated because i have young children visit and we all know what kids are like.... nope, no shelf in the middle, just one very spoilt 2yo coastal that has the run of the enclosure, but chooses to lay on the window ledge (can be seen in 2nd pic) cost ? everything was full retail unfortunately, and i didn't get a lot of change out of $1800... but it also has perforated steel half sides and full roof, and it weighs a ton.....

Fake plants all get changed around, the branch is real but coated in sealer for easy cleaning, i plan to get some more vines to put in there to give a tree top feel without the hassle of real plants, marine carpet over melamine floor for easy clean, only takes me half an hour to clean each week, even the 'rock pool' is a removable kitty litter tray, so its out with the old, in with the new,

and to Silatman, it is still possible to get a rainforest/ tree canopy feel without the hassle of real plants, look for threads on fake backgrounds / fake rocks, take a piece of foam, a hacksaw blade and a blow torch and your half way there, some acrylic render and paints finishes it off,

 

[Kenshin]

Thanks for your help Kenshin but I live in the southwest of WA and the laws about species are pretty strict over here, not like you lucky buggers.

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.

I am also a first time keeper, had my license for about a month, but I'm a lover of reptiles since I was knee high to a grasshopper, so I need a species that is good for a beginner to start with.

Thanks for your help again mate

lol i know mate up until the begginning of this month i was living in maddington, there are no rainforrest species on the schedul for WA, imbricata are perfect starters they just as stated dont like humidity

still alot of other options in regards to decorating you could very well make your enclosure look like a rainforrest if you have alook at how alot of europeans setup display enclosures they look like a rainforrest and are fantastic but with not a single plant in them all silk

 

[silatman]

Is the fake backgrounds that people make made out of foam?

Do the animals ever bite or even rub sections of the foam off?

I love the idea of using such an easy medium to work with but it just doesn't sound too safe.

 

[Kenshin]

you get the general shape you want with the foam then you put a few coats of a sort of mortar over it then you can even put sealer over the top if you like, they never damage it and it has the texture of real rock

 

[silatman]

you get the general shape you want with the foam then you put a few coats of a sort of mortar over it then you can even put sealer over the top if you like, they never damage it and it has the texture of real rock

That sounds cool!!
Time to keep my eyes open on site for BIG bits of foam then.

 

[J-A-X]

the 'faux rock bath' in the post above and her 'hot hide' below are made with foam and tile grout, with 'pondtite', designed for fish ponds, so its waterproof (easy clean) and non toxic. If the cement / render is done properly it will survive monitors, so i'd class it as durable,

 

[J-A-X]

That sounds cool!!
Time to keep my eyes open on site for BIG bits of foam then.

Hit your local electronics store ask if they have any foam packing they are throwing out, the 'hot hide' in the previous post was from a printer, the shape was already half way there,

 

[J-A-X]

If you really want to see what is possible with a piece of humble foam......

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...ofessional-artist-enclosure-background-133744

and be warned that this was done by a professional, but we can all aspire to such creative genius....

 

[driftoz]

or if u have the money just buy a nice rock wall lol

 

[J-A-X]

the cost of getting enough rock wall backing for an enclosure the size that silatman is talking would cost you a small fortune, it would probably be cheaper to get slate and glue it up.....

 

[Dipcdame]

Thanks for the compliment,all the glass is 6mm laminated, the black frame is commercial double sliding windows, couldn't find any domestic double slides that would hold the weight of glass, laminated because i have young children visit and we all know what kids are like.... nope, no shelf in the middle, just one very spoilt 2yo coastal that has the run of the enclosure, but chooses to lay on the window ledge (can be seen in 2nd pic) cost ? everything was full retail unfortunately, and i didn't get a lot of change out of $1800... but it also has perforated steel half sides and full roof, and it weighs a ton.....

Fake plants all get changed around, the branch is real but coated in sealer for easy cleaning, i plan to get some more vines to put in there to give a tree top feel without the hassle of real plants, marine carpet over melamine floor for easy clean, only takes me half an hour to clean each week, even the 'rock pool' is a removable kitty litter tray, so its out with the old, in with the new,

and to Silatman, it is still possible to get a rainforest/ tree canopy feel without the hassle of real plants, look for threads on fake backgrounds / fake rocks, take a piece of foam, a hacksaw blade and a blow torch and your half way there, some acrylic render and paints finishes it off,

...... And I can't WAIT to see what you come up with for the five "kids", Jax!!!!!!!!!