Fail safe enclosure

[Teedub]

Looking at getting a young adult red tail (had a few about 10 years ago). I’m trying to figure out an enclosure set up that will be relatively safe and effective at keeping climate without supervision. I work two days in a row every week (literally gone for 48 hrs).

Any thoughts?

[Bel5191]

A good PVC cage would be my recommendation.

[IDvsEGO]

if you have the money for it, the APC enclosures get good reviews from all I have spoken to. Prebuilt, quality enclosures get pricey for the larger snakes. I like the Sterilite gasket storage bins but I dont think they have anything big enough for a red tail. They have multiple snap enclosures and a gasket all around that makes it a nice tight fit. You have to add air holes, but thats easy.

[Teedub]

How about keeping humidity up while I’m away?
I plan to use heat lamp on timer

[IDvsEGO]

plastic enclosures, even the sterilite tubs that arent made for snakes specifically, are great at maintaining heat and humidity. They arent as pretty but they are my easiest to deal with. If you get your humidty right the day before you are away then it should be OK for 2 days. If you are really concerned, include a humid hide. It gives the snake a localized spot that has a higher humidity. It can come and go as needed. and be sure the water bowl is big enough for the snake to soak in.

[pet_snake_78]

If you're keeping a snake as a pet, I would go with a PVC enclosure and a RHP and a tube flourescent light. It's the easiest way to keep the environment managable but you can still see them.

[TRD]

IMO the best method to maintain a higher humidity is a deep layer (~6-8") of substrate so that the bottom layers can be made wet enough to release sufficient humidity over time. Would require a separated 1.5-2" layer of clay balls to ensure it doesn't go soggy, but that's about it. If it's a heavy bodied snake, make have to mix in sufficient orchid bark so that it doesn't compact too much with the snake crawling over it.

I dislike barren tubs. They deliver nothing to the animal, only low cost/low maintenance to the keeper.

[Teedub]

I opted for getting a wooden cage built as a PVC cage was going to take 6 weeks or so to get.

Any recommendations on heat lamp type and wattage? Attached is a picture of how close the heat lamp is to the floor - keep in mind it will only be one heat lamp and no under fake heating. I will use a mesh cover for the lamp. This is a 4’x2’x18”

[TRD]

60W incandescent or 50W halogen (50 degree flood) will be good enough for that space I'd recon. But depends also a bit on your ambient temps.

[Teedub]

About 70-75 degrees (21-24 Celsius) inside the house year round.

TRD, did you have a specific substrate recommendation?

[TRD]

Depends, is it waterproofed that wood viv?

[Teedub]

Yeah, it’s waterproofed.