# Vent Placement advice for converted tv unit



## Snapped (Oct 6, 2015)

Me again,

I'm converting an entertainment unit into two enclosures, the bigger one for my MD, the smaller one for my RSP.

Both will have a heat tile in the glass door about 10" from the top of the 4 foot high enclosure, similar to this pic of pythonmums








I'll add my own two pics as I have no idea where to place the vents, if someone could help me out here please.




This is 4ft high, 20" wide and 22" deep, yet to put the back on (wooden panels) , and the other piece of wood (drawer front). As I mentioned, the heat tile will be around 10" from the top, towards the back, it will be half as big as the main one due to the size of my RSP.





This is the bigger enclosure, same deal with the heat tile but bigger.


I'm stumped with the smaller long enclosure, because I can really only use the back and side for vents, unless I cut out part of the small door down the bottom.


Where should vents go for both?


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## ronhalling (Oct 6, 2015)

[MENTION=34451]Snapped[/MENTION], you could try putting them where i have marked in red, if you are putting a backing on like PythonMum's you can put it over the vents and cut out around the outside and the slots of the vents to make it fit in looks wise  ......................Ron


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## Snapped (Oct 6, 2015)

Thanks [MENTION=36030]ronhalling[/MENTION], would both vents need to be the same size, and what about the smaller enclosure, that's the one I'm a bit stumped on to be honest.


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## Newhere (Oct 6, 2015)

If it was me I'd put a large one on the rhs wall and then two of those little circular ones up on the back wall between the heat tile and the roof. On the md enclosure I'd do them like Ron but probably make the one on the back wall bigger considering its going to be up against a wall and won't be getting much fresh air.


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## Snapped (Oct 6, 2015)

Thanks for the reply [MENTION=38452]Newhere[/MENTION], down low, medium or high on the Right hand side of the smaller one?


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## Newhere (Oct 6, 2015)

Down low on the wall just above the drawer. Are you keeping the drawer as a cool hide? If not I'd just put it down the bottom about 100mm above the floor.

I'm not an expert I'm just saying how I'd go about it. 

Hope it turns out sweet


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## Wokka (Oct 6, 2015)

If you have gaps around your doors as in the photos i doubt you'll need vents. What are you aiming to achieve with the vents?


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## Newhere (Oct 6, 2015)

I dare say removing excess heat in summer. I wouldn't fancy putting my snake in there on a hot day with just the door gaps for ventilation, be like a hot box.


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## Snapped (Oct 6, 2015)

Thanks guys, [MENTION=41835]Wokka[/MENTION], the door gaps are just because I haven't tightened the hinges properly as yet, they will be a snug fit once that is done.

Hoping to achieve a decent air flow, have a warm/cool end, in summer it can get quite hot, even though the heat tiles will be on thermostats, I want to be able to let hot hair escape and let in some fresh air. But in winter, keep the hot end warmish, though they will mostly rely on belly heat from the tile.

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Newhere said:


> Down low on the wall just above the drawer. Are you keeping the drawer as a cool hide? If not I'd just put it down the bottom about 100mm above the floor.
> 
> I'm not an expert I'm just saying how I'd go about it.
> 
> Hope it turns out sweet



Thanks @Newhere, I've removed the drawer, just putting the front face of the drawer back on to enclose the bottom part, as he will have a hide down the cool (bottom) end, water, and a big branch in there leading up to the heat tile.


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## ronhalling (Oct 7, 2015)

Snapped said:


> Thanks @ronhalling, would both vents need to be the same size, and what about the smaller enclosure, that's the one I'm a bit stumped on to be honest.



As Newhere said would also be good, that's why you start threads like this si you get other input so you have a choice which way to go, for the small enclosure i would just be going with the small square aluminium vents or the small round cupboard vents, on 1 of my enclosures i used twice as many small round vents as i thought i would need so i could adjust air flow with the use of gaffer tape on all of or part of 1 of the extra vents, positioning would be entirely up to you but using the theory of thermodynamics 2 top right and 2 bottom left would suffice.  .......................Ron


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## Wokka (Oct 7, 2015)

Newhere said:


> I dare say removing excess heat in summer. I wouldn't fancy putting my snake in there on a hot day with just the door gaps for ventilation, be like a hot box.


A lot of keepers think that is the case.
You cant remove excess heat on a hot day if the hot day is hotter than the excess heat you are trying to remove. Prevention is better than cure so the aim is not to produce the excess heat in the first place or at least provide a cool area for the animal to retreat. At least the small cage has the heat source up high so the bottom of the cage should be cooler. Glass is a poor insulator so heat moves through glass to disipate. provided the outside temperatures are lower. If you look at where reptiles retreat to in the wild to escape heat you will notice that ventilation is not a high priority but temperature is! Obviously if you have excessive air movement (ventilation) it is impossible to maintain a different (lower) air temperature to the ambient air mass.


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## Snapped (Oct 7, 2015)

God, this is all so confusing. :shock:

I think I'll still put some small vents in for air flow, like Newhere suggested for the small enclosure. Besides, every time my rsp poops it absolutely reeks. hahaha

Both sides will have cool ends, right down the bottom of each enclosure, the heat tile is only going to be a 15W heat cord and up high on both sides. No other heat, and LED strip lights.

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ronhalling said:


> As Newhere said would also be good, that's why you start threads like this si you get other input so you have a choice which way to go, for the small enclosure i would just be going with the small square aluminium vents or the small round cupboard vents, on 1 of my enclosures i used twice as many small round vents as i thought i would need so i could adjust air flow with the use of gaffer tape on all of or part of 1 of the extra vents, positioning would be entirely up to you but using the theory of thermodynamics 2 top right and 2 bottom left would suffice.  .......................Ron



Thanks Ron, mucy apppreciated, I like the idea of the smaller round vents, and they are easier to put in otherwise I have to use the dreaded jigsaw.


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