First Wooden Vivarium Build

[Alexa02]

So I'll be making my first wooden Vivarium soon, I have plans drawn out. It'll be like a shelving unit almost, two separate cages for my two male corn snakes. Storage under and it'll reach about 5 and a half feet talk, I want it eye level not touching the ceiling. I have a few questions I'd like to ask anyone who can help me.

Like heating, it'll be wood, and I see some people still use heatpad and it seems to penetrate through the wood and not cause any problems, with corn snakes, I feel like I could use light fixtures and heating bulbs, but being as this is my first Vivarium build I'm not completely sure on what's best. Best to heat the ground for belly heat and safety for my snakes. This is probably my biggest concern for my build. My snakes do like to burrow so I'm just torn between the two.

I live in Chicago, recently it has been storming, humidity goes way high, 70 to 80 and higher. Even in my house, it still stays around 60 maybe 50 if it's a good day. Any help with lowering the humidity? I will be getting a dehumidifier for my room, but With a wood Vivarium I'm a little curious on the ventilation. I see cup size holes and they seem to think it's enough, I see others with house hold vents screwed in the side. Having cornsnakes I hear it's best around 30 humidity. Up to 50 but shouldn't go higher cause they couldget sick. I even had a little scare where I see dry or damaged scale, maybe 3 on one of my snakes. But no darkening on his underbelly, so I don't think it's scale rot. I still am bathing him in diluted iodine and washing him off and drying him. Just to be sure till his nexr shed. So humidity is a problem for me and any suggestions would be great.

I think those are my main worries at this time, building the actual shelving and glass windows aren't a big deal. I have the help of my uncle who is a construction worker. All the tools and such are ready. He even suggested melamine, it's already fairly water proof, he thinks it'll work great.

[krakerlip]

First off even with humidity being high in ur house I would bet money if you keep them on cypress mulch and use a heat bulb for heat it will keep the humidity where it needs to be. It will drop it for sure especially on a dry bedding. Stay with me on this. If you get a regular 3 dollar light socket from Home Depot (ceramic preferably mine are plastic and even though I haven't had problems yet I still plan to change them out with ceramic) attach the socket to the shelf on the left or right side which ever you prefer. Now ur heat from the bulb will heat up that enclosure and also the heat will travel through the shelf and act as a under tank heater for the enclosure on top. With my ply wood enclosures I can use a regular house light (43 wats) on a 3' long by 16" tall by 16" wide for a bull snake and it keeps the hot and cool side exactly where it needs to be because ply wood holds the heat and humidity way better than a glass tank. That being said you would want to check the temp on the top enclosure that the bottom light is transferring through the wood so I don't burn ur sneaky snake. I used regular ply wood painted sealed the seams and it's plenty of good. melimine won't do good if water does get in between the plastic and the particle board they make it out of. So make sure you silicone all the seams. I used the dimmers from the old heat lamps as the connection to the light socket so that is also a way I can cantrol the temp.