Enclosure from what lay in a garage

[kazz]

Hi, guys.
Do you make enclosures from trash ?
I have made my first enclosure for my carpet python.

Above you can see her previous home. It's a tank 9.5 liters.
Her new enclosure has 106.4 liters.
Does it enough for adult carpet ?

[craigafrechette]

I am a huge fan of repurposing "trash". I would be careful with what I used to house my snakes in though. I would first off, make sure it's SUPER clean.
And with an enclosure like yours, woukd make sure the wood has been treated, sealed and left to air out for a while before putting an animal inside. Untreated wood will harbor mold, as well as rot and warp due to the humidity required to house most species of snakes.

[kazz]

Originally Posted by craigafrechette

make sure the wood has been treated, sealed and left to air out for a while before putting an animal inside.

I have cover bottom of enclosure with silicone sealant as well as about 10cm of walls above bottom.

Is there necessary to treat/seal all the walls ? I have wiped walls with alcohol )

[TRD]

Neither enclosure is good for a living reptile. No light, no space, no heating, not sanitary like this, no substrates. Don’t keep animals that you can’t properly keep. Didn’t you also create heating elements from CDs, running electricity through it? Why keep an animal that you are passionate about in way below sub standard environment.

[kazz]

Originally Posted by TRD

No light

which light if carpets go out only at night and only if there is NO LIGHT ?

no space

How about 106.4 liters ?

no heating

she have heat 32.5-33.2 Celsius in her hide.

not sanitary like this, no substrates.

papers is ok.
there is no necessary to use substrate.

Don’t keep animals that you can’t properly keep.

O_O

Didn’t you also create heating elements from CDs, running electricity through it?

Yep I have made heater myself. But there is no CDs elements in it.

Why keep an animal that you are passionate about in way below sub standard environment.

I think you are wrong.

[TRD]

which light if carpets go out only at night and only if there is NO LIGHT ?

Not true, they bask during day time

How about 106.4 liters ?

That is tiny for a carpet. Try 450 liter instead for a juvenile.

she have heat 32.5-33.2 Celsius in her hide.

And that's the only place you think she'll need temperature? How about snakes hide in hides to escape heat, yet you do opposite.

papers is ok.
there is no necessary to use substrate.

I'm not going to argue with someone of such opinion, too much of that going around. Not only does it help with providing the right environmental conditions, it also stimulates the snake itself. If you believe snakes are stupid creatures without any cognitive abilities and poor senses, you are wrong unfortunately. They benefit hugely from enriched environments with proper elemental conditions. Snakes that have been deprived of any stimulus, and snakes which have been provided an enriched environment show that those who have been living in the enriched environment have a stronger response to food, better problem solving abilities, better adaptability to change.

Enrichment (or controlled deprivation, which is the more correct term) can be given in forms of light, heat, substrates, furniture, plants. A barren place with nothing to stimulate the snake will only result in a depressed snake that will hide all day every day and will never show you anything of its natural behaviors.

O_O

There's nothing to misunderstand here.

Yep I have made heater myself. But there is no CDs elements in it.

"I have made a heat pad myself from nichrome wire, CD disk, glue and glass. I placed it in a hide box and buy Chinese thermostat . So my carpet python have hide box and it's warm one ) 1/2 of hide box..."

I think you are wrong.

I think you need to invest some time in learning about the animals you actually keep, where they come from, how they behave. You seem to base your opinion on what you have seen so far from a wonderful animal kept in bad conditions and believe this is how it should behave.

[IDvsEGO]

I would treat all of the surfaces. humidity can soak in anywhere and warp your wood. also, wood has other chemicals in it. Waterproofing it also seals them out of the snakes habitat.

Light...it may only come out at night but they like a light cycle just like any other living creature. they are cave dwelling bats. If your room has a light cycle that might be fine for you.

many people use paper substrate. it usually isnt newsprint because of the ink but unprinted paper, paper towels, etc are all common as substrate.

[craigafrechette]

Yes, you definitely need to seal the entire inside of the enclosure. Floor, walls, ceiling. Get the corners and joints really well. This is a case where overkill may be a good thing. I would do several coats.

[kazz]

IDvsEGO, craigafrechette, Ok thanks for advises and what about dimensions of this enclosure for carpet ?

[IDvsEGO]

Originally Posted by kazz

IDvsEGO, craigafrechette, Ok thanks for advises and what about dimensions of this enclosure for carpet ?

I have to put the disclaimer here that I dont own a carpet, I am just posting based on the research I have done while trying to figure out what carpet is right for me. I am sure there are many more experienced keepers that can offer first hand experience.

I dont see where you specified the size of your carpet or the subspecies. A Coastal is much bigger than an IJ. I also dont see the dimensions. Volume isnt everything. The ability for the snake to extend and move is important. Carpets are not fully arboreal, only semi, so floor space is still important.

[kazz]

IDvsEGO, dimension: a floor - 54x39cm, hight - 47cm. She is IJ carpet 7 months old.
And is it ok to cover walls with antibacterial silicone sealant and can I use acrylic one ?
Thanks.

[kazz]

TRD,

Not true, they bask during day time

According my topic and answers there it's true

And that's the only place you think she'll need temperature? How about snakes hide in hides to escape heat, yet you do opposite.

Hide box has both cold and warm place. So snake can choose. I was opening hide box a lot of times and she always was on warm part. Yet warm help snake to digest.
Do you think is better give a snake cold hide where snake digest and warm under lamp implementing a sun and no thermal pads ?

Enrichment (or controlled deprivation, which is the more correct term) can be given in forms of light, heat, substrates, furniture, plants. A barren place with nothing to stimulate the snake will only result in a depressed snake that will hide all day every day and will never show you anything of its natural behaviors.

So why ppl use artificial plans only ? Does snake can differ they from real plants ?

"I have made a heat pad myself from nichrome wire, CD disk, glue and glass. I placed it in a hide box and buy Chinese thermostat . So my carpet python have hide box and it's warm one ) 1/2 of hide box..."

CD disk it's just a reflector for IR waves.

I think you need to invest some time in learning about the animals you actually keep, where they come from, how they behave. You seem to base your opinion on what you have seen so far from a wonderful animal kept in bad conditions and believe this is how it should behave.

That what I am doing. And you right about creating most close enclosure to a nature and I will do it a bit later. For now I gave her all necessary. She eats, grow and looks great.

[TRD]

Providing good thermal gradient throughout the enclosure is what should be created.

A snake always on hot part, or always on cold part, indicates that thermal gradient is not correct.

You say that temperature on the warm half of the hide box is 33C, but what is temperature everywhere else? If all else is cold, a snake from Australia will definitely not like it.

You should be providing about 27-28C ambient temperature, with a heated side where temperatures reach 33C. A hide where it's cooler (about 24C) and a hide where it's warm. Give the animal options. Just making 1 area 33C and not care about the rest is not sufficient. If you provide top heating you can quite easily make a thermal gradient in there, f.e. I would guess a 50W incandescent light would be enough in that size space (but please see comment on ventilation below)

You could hang some fake plants (if real is not an option) around all those branches. At the very least it will make the animal feel more secure to go about exploring, or bask under a heat element when provided.

Humidity should be around 40-50% inside, newspaper tends to be too dry, hence a normal substrate could help there. It's also much easier to clean poop from a substrate.

I'm not sure how that place is ventilated. Stagnant air is a real concern and you should put in 2 or so 8cm ventilation holes at the back or side top which are escape proof so that air can circulate.

[IDvsEGO]

people use fake plants because it is easier. there are plenty of people that have bioactive habitats. Its more owkr. I really want to do one though. I will probably start with one for my crested gecko. Seems easier to maintain there.

having a warm hide and a cool hide is probably a better approach. At least it is the most common. That way the snake can move from warm side to cool side and not have to choose between comfort and concealment. I plan on building enclosures large enough to actually offer more than 2 hides. They have to live in a tiny box (when compared tot he natural world) so I dont mind giving them a little extra room to roam and more than one place to hang out if I can. For a arboreal or semi arboreal I would try and do an elevated hide also. No idea if it would use it because each snake is different, but it doesn't hurt to provide it. You have talked before about your snake never coming out. If you provided multiple hides you might actually see it moving from hide to hide occasionally. My Ball python stays in the hide a lot but at sometimes at night I see him roaming from one to the other and even on top of them.

I will also offer one general bit of personal advice in regards to internet forums/groups. If you aren't open to ideas, suggestions, and criticisms, don't post asking for feedback. It wont go well. If you are 100% happy with your enclosure then just use it. If you are 100% happy and confident, the only purpose of posting a thread like this is to brag.

[trailblazer295]

I had my carpet as a baby in a 24x18x24 exo terra, planted withe a CHE. I aim for a 90f hotspot. With several hides, my carpet when young spent all it's time in the air. She had ground hides and arboreal ones and only used arboreal ones. She would move to different ones. She is now in 4x2x2 cage and will spend most of her time in the upper hides but will occasionally use one on the ground.

Your cage needs more cover, can use fake plants. Young snakes are nervous because everything wants to eat them. Having cover will make it feel more secure and likely to explore it's space. What is the ambient temperature in the cage? Room? It needs more than simply a warm place on the floor, carpets are semi arboreal by nature with young ones being mostly arboreal.