Thanks everybody! The snakes are doing great in the set up.
@ JellyBean - Where do you live in SC? I work in Rock Hill and my parents live in Fort Mill.
@Trailblazer - Ask away with whatever questions. I like the idea of branches for carpets. I put a few pieces of wood in and used hook and eye screws to keep them in place while allowing some give. I also agree with ToddnBecca with the sliding glass door being simple and looking good (also on keeping the rails above the substrate). I used acrylic instead of glass and aluminum C Channel for rails. Haven't had any issues with it so far.
@Dannybgoode - Depending on what type of animal you're housing, the background can be good or bad. I realize now most of the excessive decor is not very well respected by carpet pythons lol. They have destroyed much of the things I made from Styrofoam and will continue to reek havoc on anything not durable enough to withstand a python squeezing it....
I painted the inside with a latex paint and cheap 3" paintbrush. The outside was done with a matte black spray paint, though I would probably go with a gloss next time. I think I used like 5 or 6 cans... I don't remember exactly.
Now that I've had the snakes living in there for a few months, I have learned a lot about what works. If it can be slithered on, it will be. Jac has systematically destroyed half of the decor via night sprinting around his enclosure (I swear I heard footsteps in there one time). He gave himself the job of going everywhere very loudly after midnight. He moves the backgrounds and sits behind them sometimes. He slithers up into the light cords and suspends himself. I even saw him slithering upside down on the ceiling like he was in the exorcist. He found a way to knock off the gromets that cover the holes in the back in order to attempt an escape. I don't know how he figured it out without hands. He spent a month trying to shove his little head through the hole just so he could get stuck half way and force me to work some feat of engineering to get his his snake body free. Thankfully he can't fit his head through and I have since fixed the issue.... Jac is still my favorite
On the plus side, the temperatures and humidity are way easier to maintain in a wood enclosure. The snakes love using their ledges and spend most of their time on them. Clean up and snake removal is waaaaay easier from a frontal opening instead of top. There are many more positives than negatives with their set up for sure.
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