Red Tail Boa's new digs

[Brazen17]

It's actually several months old but here it is. I am still looking for the "perfect" piece of driftwood (that doesn't cost an arm or leg) to put in it. I have a standard flourescent fixture over the middle/right side and a basking lamp on the left side. The tree trunk covers a hole that goes down into the middle drawer so the snake has somewhere to go when it wants some privacy. He usually uses it pre-shed and for a few days after eating. It has a false glass bottom with a heating pad so he stays nice and toasty. The drawer can be pulled out for cleaning or misting. The only thing I have left besides the decor is the humidy system. I plan to put a humidiy misting system over the main cage.

[Brazen17]

Mods,

Could you move this to the showcase/enclosure pics thread? I think I put it in the wrong place. Thanks.

[RandyRhoads]

Awesome set up. Love how it fits perfectly in that recessed (closet?) area.

[USMCgunner11]

Awesome enclosure. Just curious, what are the dimensions of the tank portion?

[jaleely]

wow, so cool and gothic looking! how did you do the sealing, for all the moisture that will be in there? nice.

[Strutter769]

Super-nice enclosure!

[Terranaut]

Sweet enclosure!! Well I already know you got me beat. What was your costs like to build it?

[SnakeyJay]

Looks good... Is it big enough tho? :D

[Gungirl]

Nice looking. It reminds me of a few salt water tank setups I have seen.

[Brazen17]

Awesome set up. Love how it fits perfectly in that recessed (closet?) area.

It's in the family room and the recess area is where "normal" people would put a tv or entertainment center! :)

[Brazen17]

Awesome enclosure. Just curious, what are the dimensions of the tank portion?

It is 66L x 22W x 30T. Redd (tedtail boa) is about 75 inches long. If needs be I will build a larger cage and use this one for one of our other snakes.

[Brazen17]

wow, so cool and gothic looking! how did you do the sealing, for all the moisture that will be in there? nice.

I glued the box together with Titebond III wood glue with the exception of the back which I wanted to be removeable. I built a shallow (~2 inches) liner that fits inside the main cage. It is made of tempured hardboard joined together with silicone. This way I can put in a new one if the current one ever gets overly soiled or otherwise deteriorates. I am considering replacing the hardboard liner with one made of formica (countertop material) once I figure out a suitable material to mount it on (probably thin plywood). Formica would last forever and would be easier than the hardboard to clean and sterilize. But so far the hardboard is doing its job very well!

As far as humidy levels go I soak the substrate (cypress) every 7 days or so and the humidy starts at ~60% and slowly drops to ~40% over a week or so. I am going to install a mist king humidity kit in the canopy and this should keep the humidy levels good for 3-4 weeks is what I'm thinking.

[Brazen17]

Super-nice enclosure!

Thanks!!!!

[Brazen17]

Looks good... Is it big enough tho? :D

I thinks so?...I hope so! :D

[Brazen17]

Nice looking. It reminds me of a few salt water tank setups I have seen.

Good eye! I actually did use some ideas I had from a reef tank setup I had!

[Brazen17]

Sweet enclosure!! Well I already know you got me beat. What was your costs like to build it?

I don't remember the exact cost but working from memory I would say somewhere in the ball park of $300.00 to $350.00.

[Norm66]

Very, very nice.

[Brazen17]

Here are some other views so you can see the hole used to access the privacy suite and some of suite. You can also see the plexiglass used to keep him in the drawer.

[Strutter769]

You are an enclosure genius! The suite level idea is... well... pretty sweet!

[Brazen17]

Thank you! While I was designing the cage I couldn't come up with a way to design a hide that I liked. So I got to thinking 'what if he could use the lower level for that.' I didn't want to use the whole lower half since I also wanted some storage/display areas and figured the snake didn't need a lot of room, just somewhere he could go to get away from it all if he wanted to. So I decided to put a drawer in the middle for him and still have two cabinet doors for storage.