Wood Enclosure

The following information was taken from this website :

http://redtailboa.net/forums/how-tos-tutorials/28742-how-build-4x2-enclosure-100-a.html

the original poster of this thread should take all credit for the following information

thanks to Pete J for the following information.

    the recreation of this information is in effort to preserve the original information on the above linked forum. just in case the thread gets deleted, moved, or the forum goes down, this site will still preserve the information here.

    any size enclosure can be made using this method. i have made 36x36x18, 4x2x2, 4x4x2, 20 gallon long size,  24x24x24, ect... all you have to do is do the math and subtract 1.5 inches from the top sheet and bottom sheet. please email me if you request assistance in figuring out measurements

note: my personal notes will be in red

Hey guys,

I used this guide to make my own enclosure. Worked out great! (Reference source Striking Serpents).

"Supplies

*Melamine can be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot in pre-cut sizes

i purchase my melamine 3/4 inch in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets for 36$ at lowes, lowes will cut the sheets down so you may transport them

Step One - Cut Top & Bottom

    We designed this cage to be easy to build by making as few cuts as possible. There are better ways to join the sides of the cage but they would be more difficult.

Because the sides of the cage will be screwed to the end of the top and bottom the top and bottom, we willl need 1 1/2 inches cut off of them to allow the back to be long enough to cover the side boards.

 So measure 1 1/2 inches on each of the 4ft by 2ft sheets and cut them. Here is a pic that shows the line we drew on ours...

3/4+3/4 = 1.5 inches thats why we cut off 1.5 inches to compensate for the space the top and bottom take up

Step Two Screw On Sides

    Screw the sides to the outside end of the bottom...

Step Three - Screw on Back

    Screw the back to the sides and bottom...

Step Four Screw In Top

    Place the top between the sides and screw it in place...

Flip it over and screw the back to the top...

back sits flush, if we did not cut off that 1.5 inch on each top and bottom, then the back would not be able to match up correctly.

Step Five - Litter Dam

    Cut a 2 inch by 4 ft strip from the remaining piece of 4 ft by 1ft melamine for the litter dam. Put the litter dam in place and screw it in from each end...

on my larger enclosures i use 4 and 6 inch dams

    Flip over the cage and screw in the litter dam from the bottom...

Step Six - Vents

    We prefer using a lot of ventilation because we heat our room to 80F. We put four inch vents at each end and a two inch vent in the back at each end.

There is also some ventilation between the glass. This part of the building process is up to you, your snakes needs, and your room temperature.

Keep in mind that the more ventilation you have the harder it will be to keep temperatures and humidity high. Choose your vent size wisely.

i use these vents, i use 3 of these vents on one 4x4x2 enclosure. larger the enclosure doesn't mean more vents. the exact is opposite. smaller enclosures have less air in them so need more ventilation. please read HERE to learn where the placement of vents should go

    Push the vents in from the inside out. This way the snake can't push the vents out and there are no rough edges for them to rub on.

Step Seven - Caulk

Make sure you use bathroom caulk that resists mold and mildew. The cage must be clean for the caulk to stick well and to esure that debris does not get stuck in the caulk. Clean out all of the debris from inside the cage. We use compressed air and then wipe out the cage thoroughly. Caulk all the inside edges with the squeeze tube of bathroom caulk...

Step Eight - Glass Track

    Cut 1 1/2 inches off of the glass track. Place a bead of liquid nails down the glass track and stick it in place. We have found that it stick better if you wiggle it back and forth for awhile and then clamp it. This stuff really does stick like nails!

instead of clamps, since those clamps are expensive and and to cost, i simply stretch blue pastern tape or masking tape from front to back and secure the glue that way. i leave it for about an hour or 2

Step Nine - Trim

    Using a clothes iron carefully iron on the melamine trim. The trim will adhere better if is pressed on after heating using a dowel or round screw driver...

Now at each end you can tap on the plastic screw covers...

Step Ten - Install Glass

    Push the first piece of glass into the top back h channel and drop it into the bottom back channel. Then do the same with the second piece of glass in the front channel.

 You can then stick the adhesive handles on the center of the glass at each end of the cage. These adhesive handles can be purchased at any glass cutting or cabinet supply shop.

Heating

    These cages can be heated with radiant heat panels, flewatt heat tape, or any other type of heat mat. We stack our cages and put a 1/4 inch gap between them. If a gap is not used the heat tape may get too hot or malfunction causing a fire. We use two feet of 11 inch heat tape running from front to back at the far end of the cage."

Hope this helps some people it sure helped me.

-Pete

Heating for frills,

    i use lights mounted to the inside of the enclosure. i purchase outdoor flood lamps that you can pose. i buy a 2$ extension cord, cut off the end and wire up the flood lamp to the extension cord so i may plug it into the wall. the melamine will withstand up to 100 watts of heat from lamps. if you have an exo-terra 125 watt MVB or other hot bulbs i recommend using the 3'' hole cutter and cutting a hole directly above the lamp and placing a vent there. some heat will escape but it should still stay nice and warm in the enclosure.

    please visit (THIS PAGE) for info on how i build my enclosures (coming soon)