Diamond Aviary help

[pinkmus]

As you might know I own a pair of juvenile diamond pythons and I need to start planning my enclosure for when they get older (around a year old). i've decided to house them outside in an aviary which I will build myself, well the carpentry teacher from school lives next door and has offered to build it for me and i'll do my best to learn something. I looked at sweetangels enclosure (thx for the inspiration)and I think something like that enclosure would be good considering I have little free north facing space in my backyard. I was thinking of an aviary L1500mmx B1000mm x H1800mm. It will have a wire front as well as a 20cm section on the front of the roof and a 30cm section on the top left hand side to be able to catch that early morning sun. I will get a piece of shade cloth to cover up these areas and part of the front with during summer.

The remaining parts of the enclosure will most probably be covered with marine grade plywood if I can find it in Australia. I will also be providing basking platforms just below the top of the enclosure and a bit farther down. Will it be big enough to house a pair of adult diamond pythons? What improvements can I make on the basic design? What kind of mesh should I use-gauge,size (1cm?) (It has to be small enough to keep an average yearling diamond inside. I know sizes vary tremendously just a rough idea) The frame will be made out of wood (not what wood but miost probably pine) would it be better to paint in a solid colour like white for better heat reflection or should I varnish it? What material should I use for the bottom of the aviary? Should I go with ply and tilt it slightly to provide a slope and a small gap?

Here is a rough sketch (to scale) to show the overall shape of the enclosure:



Sorry about all the questions :shock:, many thanks,

-Will

 

[pinkmus]

View attachment 98689

Pic

-will

 

[Walker]

Mate sounds great the only couple of things ive learnt from building my own is never make them to hi as it makes it very hard to retrieve them when they are in those tricky positions you know.Also i recon use small stones as substrate as leaf like substrate can be a problem when you walk in you cant be sure if they are under it or what and finaly the mesh that you select you should be unable to stick ur pinky finger through as sme snakes may rub their nose on the wire and the thiner it is the less damage it wil do but other than that sounds awsome.

 

[pinkmus]

thx for the advice walker! the aviary wont be a walk in, as I will need to be bale to move so probably it will be slightly off the ground. i was thinking about using marine carpet on the floor and all the platforms stuck on with velcro? Would this be a good idea?

-Will