The enclosure im making.

[JungleManSam]

Hey guys. I am making an enclosure at school for the new year when I get 2 jungle hatchies and I thought I would share my progress. Let me know of any tips if you have some.

I have made my square rails 600x600mm to have a good size depth and height.
Both ends all glued up and all square. I decided to use dowels and glue as they are consealed in the wood but are really sturdey.
Front railing where the glass pane will sit in. Length of this peice is 1400mm. I have 2 of these aswell, one for top and bottom.
I made a groove in the railing so a pane of glass or acrylic can go in. I chose 5mm.
Glued all peices together. I also cut two more rails for the back identical to the front without the groove. I placed a silver 30cm ruler to size compare it.
Side view.
Another whole shot.
Showing along the groove
The groove

Routered the inside of the end squares so a pane of glass or wood can go in there when i feel like it.




THnaks for looking,

Sam

 

[mudgudgeon]

Looking good Sam.

couple of questions

how will you open it for access and feeding etc?

are you going to have to pieces of glass sliding past each other? if so, you will need two grooves, one for each piece or a plastic guide track
.
If you are using 5mm glass, I would suggest you make the groove 6 or 7mm wide as timber is never dead straight and can change with humidity and temperature changes, but glass should be straight and it is rigid, so if your timber has any bend in it, the glass will jam and wont slide freely

hope this helps

 

[JungleManSam]

I am going to have the back panel of the tank plywood so is secure there, I will also have a plywood floor. The top, I am also going to have plywood but have crimsafe or that mesh everyone uses for top acess. I am going to have the top of hinges too with a hook. The glass pane will be one big solid pane of glass and I will have a wood frame around it with a handle, it will slide out both ends. Will have more photos when more is completed. I miss calculated and its 7mm thick.
Thanks

 

[mudgudgeon]

cool, sounds good, sounds like you've thought about it 8)

 

[snakeynewbie]

I've used the metal(not the fibreglass) flywire mesh from Bunnings for my snake enclosure lid, it's pretty cheap and really good and solid.

 

[JungleManSam]

Will go check it out later on. yea, i want to make it good and decent as its going in my brand new house in my brand new re designed room, will be spectacular from what Ive pictured in my heead Any tips on accrssories and substrates? I was thinking a couple of handfuls of leaf litter and crap from down the back in the bush and baking it, is that a yes or no idea?

 

[BigWillieStyles]

Looks good. Is the frame screwed together or just glued?

Will go check it out later on. yea, i want to make it good and decent as its going in my brand new house in my brand new re designed room, will be spectacular from what Ive pictured in my heead Any tips on accrssories and substrates? I was thinking a couple of handfuls of leaf litter and crap from down the back in the bush and baking it, is that a yes or no idea?

I reckon that sounds like a good idea for substrate. As long as you have a good access to a lot of it as you will be constantly removing the dirty bits and replacing with new. You could also use something like those red woodchips which you can get at a hardware store for gardens.

 

[JungleManSam]

Just glued. Cheap and effective, and dont leave an ugly screw sticking out I have 10 acres, I have plenty

 

[JungleManSam]

Hey guys, I have a few update shots of the enclosure i'm making....


- Front door on, just has the protective film on it still. Lids are on top too.-
- Top view
- Closer look of sliders
-I have painted the inside black and cut out some squares out so put air vents in, I have put In some slides for a divider. I also put a raised floor which the divider will sit on with a heat cord underneath. I will have pictures explaining it later

 

[J-A-X]

Pics not working

 

[JungleManSam]

Fixed it

 

[J-A-X]

Cheers.
So the raised floor under the divider will hide a heat cord to heat both sides ? I don't think you'll generate enough heat. What wattage cord will you be using ?

 

[JungleManSam]

I will be using a 15W cord and because the floor is only 3mm thick...If there will be not enough heat I will be buying another one to up the heat....yes it will supply heat to both sides

 

[Jarden]

Hey mate looks good but i think you should use ceramic heat emmiters or globes, Jungles are aboreal snakes and would prefer to bask at a height not on the ground , i use globes in all my enclosures and the jungles get up underneath it rather then on the ground like my woma hope this helps

 

[JungleManSam]

I see where your comming from, I dont know how to set up lamps and all of that....maybe you can give me a hand in the future

 

[JungleManSam]

Hey guys I have a little update on my enclosure



As you can see I have the divider fitted in and I have just started on my background I have chosen AstroTurf for a substrate, for now.
Will have a few more pics soon

Sam.

 

[Jande]

Looking good. Keep the updates coming!

 

[J-A-X]

Put some chunkier foam under the shelves to help support them, they don't look as if they'll hold the weight of the grout / render let alone the added weight of a snake.
As for the heating I've got 5 Darwin's with floor heat, they all use it after a feed ( they have a vented hide so it doesn't get too hot) they then sprawl out over their branches like your grandfather sprawls over the couch after a Xmas lunch
You've made great progress so far, well done

 

[JungleManSam]

Hey thanks Jax and Jande I have put little supports under the platforms Starting grouting tommorow hopefully Im not sure how I am going to position my branches. Any tips Mr DIY Guru? Or any1 else? How to I fit them in to hold?

Sam

 

[Jande]

I've seen the poly caps that you screw onto the end of poly pipe to seal the end used as a kind of cup to hold branches etc. They were just basically a black cap with a section the width of the branch cut out of the side and nailed or glued (not sure which as I didn't ask) onto the wall. The branch then slots in through the cut out section from the top. Not sure how sturdy they are for snakes that like to rearrange their furniture but it looked easy enough to do and probably cheap to boot. Make sure the edges are softened where you cut the plastic as poly can be sharp when cut sometimes. Not my idea btw, I saw it on another forum ages ago.