diy snake enclosure help, would this be enough air ventilation?

[Pilchy]

hi all im am currently building a snake enclosure and i have came up with the idea of drilling holes into the acrylic for ventilation
the drill holes will be somewhere between 9mm to 12mm i have not measured the drill bit, but if the hole is big enough for the head to fit through when i get my snake i have some fly wire that i can temporarily use to cover the holes so it wouldn't be able to escape but anyway here is the plan
please give me your opinion

cheers daniel

 

[hubzo]

is that the face of the enclosure? and is that the only side with the holes? you can get away with less ventilation than you expect, remember alot of things live down holes. although less ventilation will keep your humidity up depending on which substrates your using.. ie - bark with minimal ventilation = higher humidity.. so you have to work out what conditions your trying to replicate for which species

 

[Pilchy]

thats the front piece then the rest is solid malimine, for the substrate i have these recycled newspaper pellets,

 

[hubzo]

id say its enough but i could be wrong. its hard to know when i cant see it and get a perspective of the size. you can get vents from any hardware store for around 5 - 10 bucks if you need more air flow, or drill holes on another side through the melamine. Google the best ways to drill and cut melamine though if youv never worked with it and you want a neat job

 

[J-A-X]

You'll need Venting somewhere other than just the front, you'll achieve virtually nothing just with vents in the front you need air FLOW through the tank.
As for drilling large holes and putting fly wire over it to prevent possible stuck head/escapes, how do you plan on securing the wire without damaging the Perspex when you want to remove it down the track?

 

[WillyInBris]

What about something like peg board on the top third at the back would that give enough ventilation easy and you could double it up for strength but then one of those ready made vents would be easy as well.

 

[J-A-X]

either of the two suggestions above would work well.

 

[Pilchy]

head/escapes, how do you plan on securing the wire without damaging the Perspex when you want to remove it down the track?

i would be using some form of tape to hold it in place
so for ventilation to have a good flow i have to have vents on either side?

 

[J-A-X]

you cant tape the inside incase the snake gets stuck to it, taping it on the outside wont be strong enough to stop a determined snake, and have you ever tried getting glue (from the tape) off of perspex ? its not as easy as glass, you'll likely ruin the surface. a lot of 'goo remover' stuff will actually damage a lot of plastics.

yes vents on opposite sides is the best way to go.... I'd drill small (escapeproof) holes along the right hand side bottom edge and just put a vent - or drill more holes- in the top left at the back, provided of course its not going to be tight up against a wall, in which case i'd put the higher venting on the side.

 

[tsbjd]

Depending on what the "perspex" is - if its an acrylic -has a harder face but can break easy when drill, where as polycarbonate is softer, but doesnt break

cheers

 

[hubzo]

clamp something tight to both sides of what ever your drilling, for eg if its perspex, use 2 offcuts either side clamped tight, this will stop the bit you want the hole in from cracking and because its clear its pretty easy to drill the hole exactly where you want. use a high speed drill or a router with a clamp and drop down function and go slow. As for the vents, save your self the hassle of the fly wire and just buy pre made vents that your animal cant fit through. I agree with jax - let it breeeeeath. although i doubt your snake would suffocate with the holes you had planned. because youd be suprised how much air flow would come from those holes because of the heat inside expelling quickly out the top holes it makes the cooler outside air rapidly suck in through the bottom ones, my 2.4 meter diamond goes into a 6ft timber cage with only one vent on one end of the enclosure, every time shes been gravid and ive never had a problem apart from lots of healthy eggs. (like i said some snakes live down holes) , i only have it like that because it keeps the humidity perfect for when shes about to drop the eggs, but in your case, just get it flowing just incase

 

[Pilchy]

yes vents on opposite sides is the best way to go.... I'd drill small (escapeproof) holes along the right hand side bottom edge and just put a vent - or drill more holes- in the top left at the back, provided of course its not going to be tight up against a wall, in which case i'd put the higher venting on the side.

sorta like this?

sorry about all the questions and thankyou for the help
cheers daniel

 

[WillyInBris]

Daniel its a good thread and good for me I am thinking about exactly the same thing.

 

[J-A-X]

Exactly like that. High on your hot end, low on you cold end. They don't need to be on floor or ceiling height. The idea is to keep some warmth in there but allow for a decent exchange of fresh air.
To the 'some snakes live in hole' - yes, most snakes will use holes, caves and other 'hides' but they have the ability to leave it an get fresh air!

 

[hubzo]

Those vent holes look a much better idea dan, if you have nothing up tight to the sides you could increase the amount of holes that youv drawn in this new pic and lose the front faces vent holes alltogether.. it would look nicer not having the front ones. but if you dont care about cosmetics of your enclosure just stick with them

 

[Pilchy]

Thankyou for all the help, much appreciatedCheers Daniel