Just got this set up for our retic boy, Xerxes. We were keeping him in a rack tub, but I feel those are much too small for a snake that tends to be more active.
Spent maybe $100 total on everything, including the tub, decorations, and heat. I think it works great for something temporary, and for some species could still work as a permanent enclosure.
I used a soldering iron from Walmart to poke holes in the Sterilite tub (while outside! Plastic fumes are not good to breathe in, so don’t do it in an enclosed space.) in the tub, but otherwise it’s just your typical setup with a heat mat and thermostat, with a coconut husk bedding and various decoration for him to climb on and hide under. He’s also got a nice big water bowl for him to soak in, if the need ever arises!
He will of course outgrow this, but it at least gives me time to save up for a nice big one for him!
What sort of budget-friendly/DIY setups have ya’ll made?
Oh I really like this and it looks so nice for him too! I don’t have any experience in things like this (I only have racks), but I’d love to know (and probably others) everything you’ve got going on in that. Again, I think thats super cool what you did!
I made this 4 foot wide rack system so it would have a lots of air flow around it and it’s on wheel so you can move it around when you need to. I used a wire shelving system and the Sterilite 15 qt. tub # 1754 for baby boas and the Sterilite 74 qt. tub # 1969 for sub adults and boas about 6 feet long and less than 12 to 15 lbs. The 1754 tub measures 17 inches x 11 inches x 6 - 3/8 inches and the 1969 tub measures 44 inches x 19 - 3/4 inches x 6 - 3/8 inches. I also used 4 inch flexwatt along the back of each shelf to heat the tubs.
The heat tape is mounted on 1/4 inch masonite with aluminum tape. The electrical wires are solder, silicone caulk and electrical taped in place on the flexwatt. So there is no wires or flexwatt tape touching the metal rack. This way there is no way for you or the snakes to get shocked. The masonite also helps the tubs slide out easer when you want to open them.
Set up like this picture cost me about $350 with 4 inch X 44 inch flexwatt on each shelf. I had to buy 2 wire shelving set ups to make this one. The shelving cost around $80.00 each at Sam’s club.
Here is a link to my EZ - cage prints that are on my website. These prints are for 3 foot, 4 foot, 6 foot and 8 foot cages. I also have cut sheet and a hardware list for each cage. I also tell you how to seal your wood cage and there is a print to show you how to layout the track for the sliding doors. This info is for a basic cage not my custom furniture grade cages. I do seal both cages the same way.
I wanted to do something like this for my hatchlings this season, since buying new racks might take too long and be quite a bit more expensive — so I might have to take some inspiration from your setup!
I do something similar to @tommccarthy. Except I use plastic shelving. You can usually find them for 40ish bucks at Sam’s club or Menards. I trim the tubing to size and slap some heat tape on it. I’ve considered building enclosures as well but I’m cheap and I don’t have the tools required to do all of the work lol.
I most say, I’ve only started using more display and bioactive enclosures about 2 years only, which does not come up very cheap, specially with all this fancy terrariums. But not long ago I saw a few vertical conversation kits for 10 gallons and some other bigger tanks that could potentially work for arboreal reptiles. So I decided to make one and it came out really nice, to be my first time, I have few different designs but so far my favorite(not the easiest) one I 3d printed the frame, also have a 10 gallon rack system. (Full of supplies to get it ready)
