Portrait Style Enclosure

[moosenoose]

Hi Folks

I've probably gone a little over the top with the size on this one (1220 high x 800 wide x 610 deep). Considering the snake rarely leaves the confines of her terracotta pot most of the time, I'm hoping the size of this new one will spark some more roaming around - during the night at least :lol:

The shell so far, has been made from 2 full sheets of 16mm MDF. It has been put together using a fixing gun with 35mm staples and PVA wood glue. The edges have been routed, sanded and then primed with a solvent based MDF sealer (I'll be airing it for awhile :lol. You can brush or roll these types of sealant generally, but luckily I had the use of a spray booth handy :wink: I will more than likely use a low sheen enamal finish as a top coat, which you can get from some of the specialty paint stores like Haynes etc.

The top of the enclosure has two inner levels (photo2). On the very top I have allowed approximately 60mm to run wiring into the light fittings which will be mounted to the underside of the platform under the lid. This should make it easy to remove & alter lighting when and if required. I thought it would also help with flexibilty in what types of lighting I'd wish to use as I have also left about a 180mm gap for spots/ heat globes and fluorescent batten. Should I ever wish to change what heating and lighting I am using it's as simple as lifting out & replacing the mounting board. Here's a quick diagram anyway - I hope this helps someone contemplating the same thing :roll: :wink: I'll keep posting updates till it's complete.

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[Linus]

Wow that look great moose.

You just going to have the front piece of glass on hinges like a door or sliding?

The nice thing about not having so many snakes is that the one you do have gets spoiled rotten!

 

[foxdingo]

Looks great! I have just build my coastal an enclosure, and it is very rewarding when you finsh and get your snake in and it doesn't get out (Ha Ha the first enclosure I had my snake got out of, and was never seen again) :cry:

Good work, keep us posted!

 

[moosenoose]

Wow that look great moose.

You just going to have the front piece of glass on hinges like a door or sliding?

I have thought of just going with a sliding glass front. Initially I wanted to fit a door but thought it might create too many hassels :roll: Sliding glass :wink:

The nice thing about not having so many snakes is that the one you do have gets spoiled rotten!

:lol: Thats what I've been thinking! :lol: I'd hate to do this sort of thing 10 times over - or more :lol:

 

[Samma3l]

that looks awesome!!!

 

[africancichlidau]

Hey Moosey, you wanna come build my kitchen cupboards? Looks great mate, bit big for a hatchy though

 

[moosenoose]

Hey Moosey, you wanna come build my kitchen cupboards? Looks great mate, bit big for a hatchy though

Please, NO!.... not kitchen cupboards! :shock: :lol:

I thought my first 2 x 1ft tank was going to be okay for ages with my little Darwin - It's probably still not too bad size wise. Although she has nearly hit the 4ft mark now, and it does look a little congested in there when she wants to drape herself over a branch :lol:

I'm wondering how 2 snakes would go with the size of my new one?? Any ideas?

 

[swampie]

2 snakes would live happily in an enclosure that size.
And by the way good job moose.

 

[BROWNS]

Looking good mooseman,can't wait to see the fished product.What i'm thinking may be your only problem is the fine aviary wire which might cause nose rub.Also putting your hide as far away from the heat source should encourage your snake to move around.

Are you going to deck the enclosure out with some greenery and nice logs/perches etc?2snakes would love it in there!

 

[moosenoose]

Looking good mooseman,can't wait to see the fished product.What i'm thinking may be your only problem is the fine aviary wire which might cause nose rub.Also putting your hide as far away from the heat source should encourage your snake to move around.

Are you going to deck the enclosure out with some greenery and nice logs/perches etc?2snakes would love it in there!

Thanks Brownie I am a little cautious about the wire, I've heard about it also. I've had it in my other enclosure and she hasn't been too interested in it, so I'm hoping it will be okay. I guess it'd be a lot kinder than a burn though - gives me the creeps seeing em curl up, figure 8 style, around a bank of globes :lol: :wink:

As far as your Q on the greenery - HELL YEAH! I'm going nuts on this one!! :twisted: :lol: I'll have a look at my fav reserve park this weekend for a nice big feature limb for it, and I'll probably use the fake silk stems and leaves I used in my other tank as they are pretty hard to pick from the real thing, and also they seem to soak up pretty well when sprayed, helping in keeping the humidy up when she's close to sloughing

 

[Ricko]

good stuff moose. good luck with the second snake when it comes :twisted:

 

[dobermanmick]

Yeah it looks great ! I wonder if ricko is right !

 

[angelrose]

can i live there?

 

[farmdog]

hey just to a question when you collect a bit of timber are you concerned about mites and parasites and would you do anything to the log to eradicate the possibilites of any parasites or disease that may effect the reptile??????

 

[farmdog]

maybe thats was out of context but just regarding your part in one of the posts

 

[craig]

insted of bird wire try and get some perforated sheet,

 

[africancichlidau]

Perforated sheet is good but in my experience it doesn't let the heat radiate as well as av wire. It absorbs the heat, and, while this absorbed heat still radiates, it can mean you need higher wattage heat emitters to obtain the same temperatures achievable with av wire mesh.
JMO

 

[diamond_python]

Nice one Moose. Final product pics with snake inside will be expected by all. Cheers

 

[swampie]

You could also use metal fly screen in place of birdwire.

 

[moosenoose]

hey just to a question when you collect a bit of timber are you concerned about mites and parasites and would you do anything to the log to eradicate the possibilites of any parasites or disease that may effect the reptile??????

With my last one I soaked it in boiling water. This one I'll probably stuff in a bag and hit it with a good blast of TOD :lol: then let it sit there for a day. I'll then have to air it for awhile I guess.

The metal flyscreen sounds like a good idea Swampie :wink: I'll look into it a bit further