Cupboard Converted to Arboreal Snake Cage
Questions and Answers
I thought I would publish this as it reflects some of the questions I often get and also the sort of issues that people making cages often have.
Hi Mark,
First off I'd like to say the plans are great and very
detailed. Even though I haven't built my cage from scratch
(I've converted an old cupboard instead-see attached photos) I
have found them to be invaluable. I do, however, have some
questions which I hope to hell you can answer for me.
Firstly, I'll give you the background info and I'll go from
there. I acquired a diamond python (my first snake) about 2
years ago (goes by the name of Roger btw) who was already 1.5
years old at the time. I've had him in a 4' glass tank (see
photo) which has proved very adequate but now that he's getting
bigger (about 6.5' long) he needs a bigger home - hence the
plans. I purchased a heat pad which has been positioned under
the glass (on the right hand side of tank in photo). Above that
I positioned a normal everyday reading lamp with a 60w bulb (see
photo). This provided a heat gradient no problem. I've used a
baby bathwater heat temperature cardboard thingy to judge the
heat. (Not very accurtae I know). Now, here's my quandary. After
reading all your attached material with the plans and other
material on the net, I am thoroughly confused as to what I
should do in regards to heating/lighting the new cage.
The dimensions of the new cage are 880mm W x 1790mm H x 550 D
made of 3 ply. (On your advice from the plans I am installing 2
sliding 6mm thick glass doors, top and bottom on metal sliding
tracks. As you can see in the photos I have put in two shelfs
with 2 vents, top and bottom. The top shelf is 500mm from the
roof. Now, what I WAS going to do was this:
I was going to put a slit in the back wall (using the jigsaw)
just above the top shelf and slide the heat pad in on top of a
styrfoam pad and put his warm hide box over the top. I am going
to purchase a thermostat and place it on top of the heat pad. I
also intend to get a thermometer. I was then going to cut a
hole(radius of the lamp) in the roof above the tree fork you see
in the photo (which is 300mm below the roof) cover the hole with
wire and attach the lamp outside the enclosure to the edge of
the cage (as I've done with he current enclosure see photo of
black lamp). His water bowel would go at the bottom of cage with
a cool hide (fake rock) on the second shelf and an additional
hide at the bottom. (Even though the cage is a light green at
the moment, a friend of mine is going to paint a jungle scene on
the back and side walls - should look good when its done).That
was the plan. OK. Questions.
Q1 - What do you think of that arrangement? Is this cage too
big for a diamond python?
A1 - No, great cage. Well done. He's a big snake now so a large
cage
holds no fear. :)
Q2 - Is that the correct place to put the heat pad/light? ie
will it provide the cage with a sufficient heat gradient or is
the heat source too high in the cage?
A2 - You have a lamp up high as well, so I think that might be
sufficient. You can put the mat anywhere - even at the bottom
but they obviously need a place to hibernate
Q3 - Should it be lower? ie on the 2nd shelf?
A3 - Maybe - you could probably experiment. Diamonds can tolerate
low temps as they live as far down as the top of Victoria so you
could have the high temps at the top under the lights and middle
temps under the second shelf and then have the base quite cool
so he can make some choices.
Q4 - Do I need to put in a UVB/UVA flouresecent light on the
roof positioned at the front? ( I take him out at least every
2nd day and place in him in sun for approx 20-30 mins every
week. My apartment in Bondi, Sydney gets a lot of sun. In winter
time the sun hits the present enclosure late in the arvo for
about an hour but never directly in summertime). I can build
whatever you suggest and install it no worries.
A4 - Most snake don't really need UV like lizards so what you
do is fine. Reptisun 5.0 is a good choice if you want one.
Q5 - Can you PLEASE recommend a thermostat and thermometer that
would suit my needs and, if I need one, a UVB/UVA light? And
suggest where I could get them? I've had a look at a few
websites (especially Ultimate Reptile Supplies) and there is so
many choices out there I've got no idea. I'm trying to keep the
cost down as much as possible obviously.
A5 - It depends on what you want. For an arboreal cage a thermostat that sits in the middle of the cage is probably sufficient and you probably don't need to get a probe one.
Try
www.herpshop.com.au - he ships anywhere and is good to deal with. You could try the I.M.I.T TA.3 Wall Thermostat on the
thermostats page. Good value at $32 and you put it into the
centre of the back wall. Brian can also be called and will
answer questions. They also have thermometers at $6 each and you
could put two in the cage - near the top and bottom to get an
idea of the gradient. You might want to have one connected to
the mat and one to the lights or connect a central one to both
but that is expensive as the probe thermostats run to $70 and
are probably better suited to terrestrial cages. Either way,
it's about providing a range of temperatures.
If you are using a heat mat, then a proble thermostat is definitely better and provides an accurate measurement of the mat and prevents overheating. It can be on a separate circuit.
Q6 - When I measure for the glass, you say in the plans to"measure the distance from the wood at the top to the top of
the bottom slider.
You will need to subtract about an extra 1/6" of an inch to
account for the thickness of the base of the top slider".
Is this still the case when I have ball bearings in place on
the bottom slider? How wide should each glass door be? I've
purchased the locks you recommend. And how much is 1/6" btw?
Sorry for being obtuse on this last question but I really dont
want to stuff up the measurements on this glass for obvious
reasons. So, for the dummies out there ie me, can you make this
really clear?
A6 - Should be 1/16" or about 2mm - I'll have to make sure that is correct in the plans.
Measure the distance from where the glass should start to the top and add about 2-3mm. Basically you push the glass up into the top of the slide and let it drop into the bottom slider and it needs to be still sit in the top slide so it doesn't fall out. I usually make the cage and then measure the glass so I get it right. As you have done this you should be OK. It's not too tricky but you need to be sure so try it with a bit of thin ply or something, so that you know it will work before you go and order it.
Clearly with ball bearing sliders the distance is different so
I would try is with something like the ply to make sure.
Essentially you measure the distance from the top the bottom
slider to the top of the top slider and subtract 2mm (say) for
the thickness of the base of the top slider. It's a bit hard to
explain so that's why I think that trialing it with some ply is
a good idea. You can call me about this.
Well thats about it. I know its a bit of a big ask but I dont
know where else to turn too. I really want this enclosure to
last him the rest of his life and, if everything goes well, its
gunna be the ClubMed of snake enclosures. I've got stained
timbers trims for the sides and top, middle and bottom pieces to
hide the metal tracks.(I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I want to
build this thing really well in the first place and not have to
make adjustments to it later on) So, Mark, if you can help out a
fellow snake enthusiast, I would be very much appreciative. Any
and all info would be greatly received.
The photos below are of the current diamond python enclosure and the new one at various stages. It is nearly completed.
Current enclosure |
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Mark Chapple is the Author of "How to build enclosures
for reptiles"
Find out how to build these terrestrial and arboreal cages for snakes and lizards.
Full color pictures, detailed diagrams and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.
http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com
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