Hi All,
Just thought I'd share the Snake Enclosure I built. Having a few mates with Herps I sort of took the best ideas out of their cages and built my own. Gotta say it was a huge learning curve for me and while it was designed in a pub and built in a shed, a lot was done on the run as I soon worked out not everything I thought would work did.
It measures 1800H X 1200W X 600D. Only wanting to buy Hatchies and yearlings and growing them to monsters myself is my plan so:
I wanted to build something modular, something I could change the internals around in to make room as needed as the critters grow. What I finished up with an enclosure that is divided into 6 sections of 600 X 600 X 600. Each floor and centre divider piece is removable so I can adjust the size to suit the size of the critter. So the inside could be, 2 enclosures at 1200H X 600W X 600D and one at 600H X 1200W x 600D, basically fitting two Aboreals and a Terrestial. 2 Carpets and a Woma for example. At the moment my girls are about 12 months and about 6 months so no worries until I get the urge to get more (feed the addiction), then I'll build another one. I learnt quite a lot building this one, so the small mistakes I made will be fixed.
Things I learnt:
1. While construction grade Ply and Pine seem like a cheaper option at the time, the amount of prep work for the desired finish is not worth the saving. I think I would spent what I saved on sandpaper, that and my poor makita sander makes some wild noises now.
2. Never use oil based Stains and Sealers, they take too long to dry (in the Darwin Wet season they do) and leave a toxic smell for weeks. Hence the work lights doing some extra drying time for about a month. Water based next time.
3. Don't build a wooden enclosure in the Wet season with pouring rain outside and 100% humidity. If I wasn't in a rush initially I wouldn't have.
And I learnt a bit about improving the aesthetics as well. I reckon it's pretty good and the critters agree.
Now I just need to follow some of the hide ideas for some beautification, not that they use them now. The Jungle spends her time up on her shelf and the Albino Darwin spends her time coiled up on her fake vine.
Cheers,
Ned.
Just thought I'd share the Snake Enclosure I built. Having a few mates with Herps I sort of took the best ideas out of their cages and built my own. Gotta say it was a huge learning curve for me and while it was designed in a pub and built in a shed, a lot was done on the run as I soon worked out not everything I thought would work did.
It measures 1800H X 1200W X 600D. Only wanting to buy Hatchies and yearlings and growing them to monsters myself is my plan so:
I wanted to build something modular, something I could change the internals around in to make room as needed as the critters grow. What I finished up with an enclosure that is divided into 6 sections of 600 X 600 X 600. Each floor and centre divider piece is removable so I can adjust the size to suit the size of the critter. So the inside could be, 2 enclosures at 1200H X 600W X 600D and one at 600H X 1200W x 600D, basically fitting two Aboreals and a Terrestial. 2 Carpets and a Woma for example. At the moment my girls are about 12 months and about 6 months so no worries until I get the urge to get more (feed the addiction), then I'll build another one. I learnt quite a lot building this one, so the small mistakes I made will be fixed.
Things I learnt:
1. While construction grade Ply and Pine seem like a cheaper option at the time, the amount of prep work for the desired finish is not worth the saving. I think I would spent what I saved on sandpaper, that and my poor makita sander makes some wild noises now.
2. Never use oil based Stains and Sealers, they take too long to dry (in the Darwin Wet season they do) and leave a toxic smell for weeks. Hence the work lights doing some extra drying time for about a month. Water based next time.
3. Don't build a wooden enclosure in the Wet season with pouring rain outside and 100% humidity. If I wasn't in a rush initially I wouldn't have.
And I learnt a bit about improving the aesthetics as well. I reckon it's pretty good and the critters agree.
Now I just need to follow some of the hide ideas for some beautification, not that they use them now. The Jungle spends her time up on her shelf and the Albino Darwin spends her time coiled up on her fake vine.
Cheers,
Ned.
