Your Ideas Wanted on Terrarium for large Ratsnake!

Hi All,

I am in the process of designing a huge terrarium to house a currently 8' Asian ratsnake and any "friends" I get him in the future. The terrarium is going to be at least 6' long by 33" wide by 6.5' high and made from acrylic. I am thinking sliding doors in front and making a faux cave wall to put in the back, screen on the top with heat lamps resting on it, vent holes cut into the sides and wheels on the bottom for moving.

I am planning on decorating with plants, soil, and some kind of water feature to run down the "cave" wall into something my snake can swim or soak in. Pretend you're talking to someone who knows absolutely nothing about terrariums and please suggest any ideas you have on how to make this terrarium more functional for me and the snake, and beautiful too.

Thanks,
Dawn

A couple of things come to mind.
First take some measurements of the pathway through the house that the cage might be taken. That's a huge cage, and with the 33" width you'll want to know ahead of time that it'll fit through all doors and have the necessary full 6 feet on either side of the door to enter the room before having to be turned.
Would really suck to have it built then not be able to get it where you wanted it because of a tight turn.

For the doors, you may want to reconsider sliding doors and opt for double hinged doors that open to the sides. If I'm thinking of the cage correctly, sliding doors would be two pieces a little over three feet wide and 6 feet or so tall. That much height would cause binding.
There is an option of using roller track though, which should solve the problem since each door would actually ride on four wheels. I've used roller track, but not for doors of those dimensions.

Heat lamps alone may not heat a cage of that height adequately. a couple of small fans to circulate the air may help with more even heat distribution.
Myself I'd add a radiant heat panel too above a basking site.

A cage like that will be a big undertaking no matter how you do it. But I love big display type cages, and I look forward to seeing the final product.

Thanks Clay!

The width of the front doorway is 35", minus the door. Once through the doorway the entryway is completely open so I would be able to push/pull the cage sideways to the left until I can just move it forward. I do not have a full 6' on either side of the door length-wise. On the inside there is about 5' and 7", minus the closet door knob. So, I will need to make the length 5.5'... is that right or should I make it shorter?

I was thinking that by having the heat lamps across the top for warming that it would create a temperature gradient from top to bottom instead of from left to right. Can that work or is that not a good idea? I am assuming that I would need lamps for during the day, and ceramic heat "bulbs" for night time, yes? What kind of fans are you talking about and where would I put them? I have never used a radiant heat panel... is there a good link online that I could read up on them and how they are placed/used? Also, what is the best way to choose a basking site?

The guy who will be constructing the cage is from my church and has been making terrariums and aquariums for years using acrylic. Naturally, I have to give him all the specs. I will be making the cave wall myself using the method presented on one of the links you posted on your sticky. I will probably have to come up with something other than plywood as a base, though, as I think it would start to rot.

Sorry for all the questions... your advice reminded me of more details and questions about how things will work or not work, and I really want to make sure this "blue print" is on the money before it gets started. As you put it, this is a big undertaking. Challenging, but exciting too.

Thanks,
Dawn

The width of the front doorway is 35", minus the door. Once through the doorway the entryway is completely open so I would be able to push/pull the cage sideways to the left until I can just move it forward. I do not have a full 6' on either side of the door length-wise. On the inside there is about 5' and 7", minus the closet door knob. So, I will need to make the length 5.5'... is that right or should I make it shorter?

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Its difficult for me to visualize the situation. What you can do is take a piece of cardboard, or something rigid and cut it to the same size as the footprint of the cage. You can use that to determine if the cage can be moved into position. Either slide it along the floor or have someone help you carry it, just be sure it remains level and you don't tilt it a little to get it through.

I was thinking that by having the heat lamps across the top for warming that it would create a temperature gradient from top to bottom instead of from left to right. Can that work or is that not a good idea? I am assuming that I would need lamps for during the day, and ceramic heat "bulbs" for night time, yes? What kind of fans are you talking about and where would I put them? I have never used a radiant heat panel... is there a good link online that I could read up on them and how they are placed/used? Also, what is the best way to choose a basking site?

Click to expand...

In a cage that tall, the heat gradient would taper off to just room temperature probably about half way down. However, since the cage is for asian ratsnakes, that would probably be fine, I forgot about that part in my other post. From my experience with the beauty snakes, they rarely used the heat aside from just a day or so after eating. The rest of the time they stayed in the cooler parts of the cages.
By fans I just meant something like computer fans. My thinking was with a cage of that volume the temperature will stratify with the warm air remaining at the top of the cage and the floor potentially being quite cool during the winter.
Radiant heat panels are easy to use and are an excellent form of heat. Much more efficient than lamps and not as prone to drying everything out.
Reptile Basics has a FAQ about theirs here http://www.reptilebasics.com/radiant-heat_panel-faq.html
I also did some tests with these panels and wrote about it here
http://www.arbreptiles.com/products/rbi_heatpanels.shtml

Dawn,

This is my terrarium, in it you will find several useful links that may help you in designing the tank. Good luck!

Clay,

I was reading online that most indoor rooms are assumed to be about 75 degrees, but as I am in WI this is not the case. In winter and cooler months it is 68 F - 70 F. In the warmer months it is 70 F - 72 F. Is a radiant heat panel and heat lamps (for plants and snake) going to get the job done well enough without fans? I would hate to have my snake feeling like he couldn't ever use the ground area or water feature because the bottom was just too dang cold! His present owner has him in a 3' by 2' by 3' with a horizontal heat gradient from 72 F - 88 F where the snake spends most of his time in the 76 F - 82 F area. What do you think?

Thanks,
Dawn

Hey Koshy,

I checked out your faux rock wall, looks amazing! I like the way you set up the branches too. The links you posted there were also cool. I will definitely be looking at that more as it gets closer to the time for me to start building my cave wall. I am planning on having water running down the wall in one area into a pool at the bottom. Do you or your friends have any ideas what kind of base I would use to glue my Styrofoam onto that wouldn't rot from getting wet or too humid? Would covering everything with concrete work?

Thanks,
Dawn

Dawn Zimmerman said:

Hey Koshy,

I checked out your faux rock wall, looks amazing! I like the way you set up the branches too. The links you posted there were also cool. I will definitely be looking at that more as it gets closer to the time for me to start building my cave wall. I am planning on having water running down the wall in one area into a pool at the bottom. Do you or your friends have any ideas what kind of base I would use to glue my Styrofoam onto that wouldn't rot from getting wet or too humid? Would covering everything with concrete work?

Thanks,
Dawn

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If you want to add a water feature check out dart frog forums, they have the best ideas and techniques to add water features. I personally don't have hands on experience so am reluctant to tell you my ideas ( I don't know if they will be successful ). I glued my foam directly into the tank. Another option is to glue styrofoam to MDF boards (never used this, I don't recommend it a wet environment) or if you have a lil bit more funds cheap acrylic is another and better option (best option). Concrete is great and safe option. I have used Quickcrete Mortar Mix, Quickwall, and Water-Stop Instant Plug Cement all work great for this type of project.

Couple of things I wish I did:
Plan ahead and draw out your plans before you even start. It's going to save a lot of time, money, and less stressful. Also run 2 to 2.5" PVC pipe in one of the back corners under your background to hide all the wires. I would do some research on activated substrates, that way you can keep cleaning to a minimum.

Here are some links that might help you:
Large Terrarium
False Bottom
Vivarium Maintenance
Tropical Terrarium
Waterfalls
Substrate Mixtures

Anyways wish you the best of luck. You should definitely start a thread showing your progression and steps you took to create the background. Can't wait to see the final product!