questions about my newely built enclosure

[katera94]

Ok heres what I already have planned for tomorrow:

-Substrate (cypress mulch)
-Supports on the lid, corners, and sides
-Install the light source which I have
-Putting a window on the lid.



A couple questions I have are:

-How deep should the substrate be? Is about an inch thick enough?
-How much of a window do I need to have? I was going to use about a 4x4 piece of glass on one side of the lid and put the light on that, does it matter of half the lid is glass and half is solid? Is glass on the sides necessary?
-125w or 250w for the heat lamp?
-size recommendations for a water source?
-What's an easy way to tell if theres enough ventilation?



And other info you might think is useful is also appreciated.

[KORBIN5895]

Honestly you are going to need to replace that enclosure in a few months. OSB is notorious for swelling and falling apart. Couple that with the constant humidity and heat and I really don't think that it will last long. Also I think you will be very hard pressed to seal that well.

As for heat source I would buy a proportional thermostat and use the 250w bulb.

The glass on the side isn't necessary and you can use it on just one side of the lid.

For q snake that size I recommend 3-4 inches of substrate.

[KORBIN5895]

Do you own any other snakes?

[katera94]

No this is the only snake I currently have. I figured Osb would be pretty good for this, I've used it for floors and different things on boats and it's held up pretty well. I know plywood doesn't have any waterproofing material on it but osb does. Maybe a coat of poly on the whole enclosure???

[KORBIN5895]

The biggest issue is you drilled through the OSB. It is now exposed all the way through. The inside of that enclosure needs to be 50%-70% humidity and that is an awful lot.

Is there a particular reason you got a burm as your first snake?

[katera94]

It's the first time i built my own enclosure, but I never said it was my first snake. Ur right about drilling through though, like I mentioned before I'm probably going to put some coating on.

[KORBIN5895]

It's the first time i built my own enclosure, but I never said it was my first snake. Ur right about drilling through though, like I mentioned before I'm probably going to put some coating on.

I just assumed from your questions that you were fairly new to snakes.

[katera94]

Ive had a ball python and a couple red tail Boas. but they were pretty small and I didn't like them as much. I like them but I just wished they were bigger. I really enjoy handling big snakes and this is not actually my first one but I don't think that I am anywhere even almost close to a expert on them.

[Pirarucu]

Yes, I would slap a coat of epoxy on that fast, before it rots. I would not advise making extensive modifications to that cage however, I would just make sure it lasts long enough for you to build the final cage. Depending on how long that takes, you may not need to bother sealing this one.

Both of those wattages would be much too high. I would advise a bank of 50-60W halogen flood bulbs from your local home improvement store. They give a much better basking area and won't overheat the rest of the cage. Not to mention they cost a lot less. The water source ought to be large enough that the snake can fully submerge.