Making a Snake-Proof Lid for an Aquarium?

[Minkness]

Cool. The only thing I would add, would maybe be some weather stripping on the plywood. It will make a better seal and harder for any snake to get through. It will also help protect yhe top of your tank.

Felt strips will also work.

=)

[prairiepanda]

You can get industrial strength velcro from hardware stores, which is designed for mounting heavy tools on walls and stuff like that. The glue tends to be more reliable on the industrial stuff than on the craft-grade velcro. I have used it several times to secure lids on both plastic and glass enclosures. You can use it to make a sort of hinge like Mink did with the duct tape too, by putting pieces of "rough" velcro on the lid and tank and connecting them with strips of "soft" velcro. I did that a couple times too and never had to readjust the velcro hinge part.


If you go with the duct tape, make sure to get the heat-resistant variety! Regular duct tape is sturdy, but the glue melts when exposed to heat, which isn't a concern with cresties but certainly would be with Antaresia species.

[Minkness]

Good points Panda!

I may try the velcro for the hinge next time. Never thought of that! Would make it easier to remove the screen for cleaning too. =)

[Tiny Boidae]

That's a good idea. I hadn't even thought that far concerning the seal. Weather stripping's not that expensive, so I'll use it definitely. Thank you Minkness for your help


I was thinking that the humidity and moisture would be the duct tape's Achilles heel- but it makes sense. I'll probably just avoid duct tape all together then and just have a removable lid with the industrial velcro. That would probably be the easier of my two options there. Thank you.

[toddnbecka]

I found 1" wide velcro at Wal-Mart, along with 1" wide nylon strapping. I put 2 small pieces of the velcro hook tape on the plastic rim of a 75 gallon tank, and Becka sewed some of the velco loop fabric onto the ends of the 1" nylon strap I cut to length to fit across the top. The top of the tank is covered with a piece of pegboard cut to fit inside the plastic rim. The pegboard provides plenty of ventilation, and though it's not the greatest for humidity retention, it's better than a commercial screen top for that.
Given that you'll need to keep a little python warm, a RHP would be a good option. I use them, mounted to the pegboard lids on a couple tanks. The Reptile Basics 80w model for the 75, and a 40w in the 40 breeder that currently houses my larger young carpet python.

[Tiny Boidae]

I'll have to look into heat panels, which were an option that hadn't even crossed my mind until you brought it up. As far as the pegboard goes, I understand that you said that these don't hold humidity well, which is fine as these don't require high humidity environments, but how does it do with moisture? I'm just wondering if I need to seal it to prevent it from rotting and getting moldy, or if it isn't prone to that in the first place.

[prairiepanda]

You can get pegboard that is already sealed and painted to resist moisture damage. After cutting it, it would be best to seal the cut edges to prevent any binding agents from seeping out. The amount of moisture you'd expect in an Antaresia enclosure won't be an issue for the paint or wood, though. Alternatively, you can also get PVC pegboard, but it's much harder to find. There's also metal pegboard, but I'm not sure whether that might get too hot with the RHP mounted on it.

[Tiny Boidae]

Thank you. The metal one just doesn't sound like a good idea to me- I'll stick to the wooden one or the PVC if by some miracle I find one by chance. I won't go looking for it though when the wooden pegboard won't pose any problems.

[toddnbecka]

You can always use minwax polycrylic to seal/waterproof the pegboard if humidity becomes an issue. Regular pegboard is cheap though, and you can actually cut it with a utility knife if you don't have a table saw. I also use styro foamboard (available for $1/sheet at the dollar store) (and peel off the paper) under the pegboard to help retain humidity in several of my tanks. Just don't block off ALL the holes in the pegboard, you do need some air circulation, but about 80% coverage of the top with the styro sheets will retain a good bit of the humidity.
Cypress mulch for the substrate is also good for that, I dump water on mine 1-2x week to keep it moist in the tanks, hardly ever in the plastic totes with ventilation holes in the sides instead of the tops.

[Tiny Boidae]

It shouldn't be an issue- not for the species I'm planning- but I wanted to play it safe even then. If by some chance I do struggle to keep it at a moderate humidity (or even heat if too much manages to escape from the holes), I'll remember that. Thank you.