Help me design my enclosure please

[Norm66]

OK, thanks for the input everybody. Believe me, I will take all your advice to heart.

On vents, high on the cool side and vice versa makes sense to me. It would let the heat build up rather than escape out the vents while pulling fresh air in from the cool side. On the other hand, I notice Kat's vents are all along the rear and down fairly low while Jimi only has the one 1" vent. Hmmm.... I'll have to think about it and maybe consult an HVAC guy here at work.

For sealing, I like Kat's idea of two-part epoxy on the floor since that'll obviously receive the worst of the water. I'm not familiar with the whey based clear coat she mentioned, but I can research it.

Doors, I've never heard of a snake strike breaking glass but I see how it could happen I suppose. Plus plexi or Lexan would be a lot lighter, but I worry about scratches. Also I notice that Kat switched her 2nd cage to a 2-door design. What are the thoughts there Kat?

Red Ink, how big is the carpet in that picture? I've read cage sizes for carpets anywhere from 36" x 18" x 18" up to 6'x2'x3'. I've also read that as they get older they use the perches less and less. I can only go by mine but he spends upwards of 98% of the time on his perch. I might be able to go 2' high, but any taller and it'll be to big to get three cages high.

Now let's talk heating. I was thinking radiant heat panels, but I see that Kat uses Flexwatt on one side w/ RHPs in the middle. What is the general thought on heating cages this big? I can see where a 2' high cage might need belly heat in addition to a belly heat source or at least the bottom one might because I assume the heat from the RHP will heat the floor somewhat in the cage above it.

And finally (for now) what about lighting? I love the LED light ropes in Kat's 2nd cage in her linked thread. I actually have some already I'd just have to get end kits & cords etc. I assume they're rated for outdoor use so would probably do better than just putting an under-counter fluorescent fixture in.

Again, I appreciate everybody taking the time to help me work this out. I want to get as much right the first time through this exercise as possible both for the snakes' sake and so I don't have to re-do a bunch of stuff to get it right.