Building an enclosure

[Mellik's mamma]

I am looking to buy a new enclosure for my ball python who is about 5 feet long and growing. I don't want to spend the money that people are asking for. I have decided I should build it on my own. Are there any threads that already have this information? Or does anyone know where I can look for step by step instruction? I need to know what materials to use and what is the safest to use, etc. I wonder if there is a website that has enclosures of all sizes that are ready for building. Kind of like getting a futon. They just mail you the parts, and you put it together. Thanks for your input.

[IW17]

What's your budget? I'm buying cages from Evolution Reptile. 48x24x15 shipped to my door with Rbi heat panels installed for $300. It would be $220 without the panel. Or you can look into critter condos. Just type that into Google and a bunch of sites will pop up. They're Melamine so they're cheaper than Pvc cages, but won't last quite as long either. Or you can make your own cages from Melamine or wood. I'll give you a good link with a step by step in building a Melamine enclosure. It's not from this site but it's very informative. How to build 4x2 enclosure for $100 - Redtailboa.net

[Mellik's mamma]

well, i can afford around $300, but would rather go cheaper. I want a pretty big enclosure, b/c she is pretty big and I know they don't like a lot of space, but she does seem to need more room to stretch out. 60 to 75 gallon would be good I think.

[sharthun]

Originally Posted by Mellik's mamma

well, i can afford around $300, but would rather go cheaper. I want a pretty big enclosure, b/c she is pretty big and I know they don't like a lot of space, but she does seem to need more room to stretch out. 60 to 75 gallon would be good I think.

I just received 2 animal plastics t10's 48" wide 24" deep 15" tall,for 480 shipped. Or 240 shipped for one t10. Well worth the money and easy to assemble. Awesome enclosures!

Animal Plastics

Only issue is they have about a 6 to 10 week manufacture/delivery time. I received mine in 6 weeks.

[Mellik's mamma]

So how do you manage belly heat? I see where that can be an added feature, but how do they do it as well?

[Mellik's mamma]

also how do you manage humidity? I have a humidifier that works well with my partial screen top. I guess they maintain humidity pretty well??

[sharthun]

Originally Posted by Mellik's mamma

also how do you manage humidity? I have a humidifier that works well with my partial screen top. I guess they maintain humidity pretty well??

I use 40 watt RBI radiant heat panels. Yes these enclosures hold humidity and heat quite well. Radiant heat panels are mounted to ceiling and mount with just 2 screws. I don't use belly heat anymore. The Rhp's heat the ambient air and anything below it with infrared heat. I switched from heat tape.

RBI Radiant Heat Panels

[sharthun]

Originally Posted by Mellik's mamma

also how do you manage humidity? I have a humidifier that works well with my partial screen top. I guess they maintain humidity pretty well??

I don't have high humidity requirements. My four snakes do well in 40 to 60% range. Plastic enclosures just hold heat and humidity much better than glass or wooden enclosures especially for snakes that require higher humidity.

[Mikoh4792]

Originally Posted by Mellik's mamma

So how do you manage belly heat? I see where that can be an added feature, but how do they do it as well?

Originally Posted by Mellik's mamma

also how do you manage humidity? I have a humidifier that works well with my partial screen top. I guess they maintain humidity pretty well??

as already noted most plastic enclosures(from most brands) are very good at keeping in heat and humidity. I'd be more worried about having to keep the heat and humidity lower.

Depends on your location. Does it get cold in the winter? If so I'd use a heat pad(ultratherm) as the hotspot and a radiant heat panel to heat the air. If you live in a relatively warm area you can use one or the either on their own.

Just do what you need to do to maintain the right temps, and it won't matter what heat source you use.

[Mellik's mamma]

okay, thanks. so how would i get the humidity "started"? i live in IL, so not always the warmest environment. my apt is also bone dry, so i do worry about the humidity. hmmmm, what to do....what to do...

i mean, would UTHs work with one of these? it looks like the bottom of the enclosure would be too thick for heat to transfer to the other side. i just don't want to HAVE to buy even more equipment, though I would if I had to.

oh, but our summers can get pretty hot, so how do you control heat and humidity from getting to high? sorry for all the questions. i just don't want to invest if i won't end up liking it.

[Mikoh4792]

Which enclosure have you settled on? Most plastic enclosure companies make their cage panels about 1/4 - 1/2" thick, and that should be fine for creating a hotspot with heat pads. I have pvccages enclosures that are 1/2" thick and I use ultratherm heatpads(which don't get that hot) to create hotspots of 90F.

For humidity, once you get your enclosure built and ready to run, try filling it with substrate(aspen,cypress, newspaper...etc), leave a waterbowl inside and see where the humidity goes from there. Might take a few days for things to even out.

[Mikoh4792]

Best way to figure it out is to experiment. As mentioned before, I'd just buy the enclosure and equipment and see what you need to do in order to create the necessary conditions for your snake. Although according to what you just said, I'd guess you might need both a heatpad and radiant heat panel for your ball python enclosure, unless you are able to heat your house most of the time during the winter.

[poomwah]

Originally Posted by sharthun

I just received 2 animal plastics t10's 48" wide 24" deep 15" tall,for 480 shipped. Or 240 shipped for one t10. Well worth the money and easy to assemble. Awesome enclosures!

Animal Plastics

Only issue is they have about a 6 to 10 week manufacture/delivery time. I received mine in 6 weeks.

nice score Steve,
don't let Ziggy find out :P

[EL Ziggy]

Originally Posted by poomwah

nice score Steve,
don't let Ziggy find out :P

Steve gave me the idea to upgrade

[sharthun]

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Steve gave me the idea to upgrade

Not me! hehe