# The enclosure im making.



## JungleManSam (Nov 1, 2011)

Hey guys. I am making an enclosure at school for the new year when I get 2 jungle hatchies and I thought I would share my progress. Let me know of any tips if you have some.


I have made my square rails 600x600mm to have a good size depth and height.

Both ends all glued up and all square. I decided to use dowels and glue as they are consealed in the wood but are really sturdey.

Front railing where the glass pane will sit in. Length of this peice is 1400mm. I have 2 of these aswell, one for top and bottom. 

I made a groove in the railing so a pane of glass or acrylic can go in. I chose 5mm.

Glued all peices together. I also cut two more rails for the back identical to the front without the groove. I placed a silver 30cm ruler to size compare it.

Side view.

Another whole shot.

Showing along the groove 

The groove



Routered the inside of the end squares so a pane of glass or wood can go in there when i feel like it.




THnaks for looking,

Sam


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## mudgudgeon (Nov 1, 2011)

Looking good Sam.

couple of questions

how will you open it for access and feeding etc?

are you going to have to pieces of glass sliding past each other? if so, you will need two grooves, one for each piece or a plastic guide track
.
If you are using 5mm glass, I would suggest you make the groove 6 or 7mm wide as timber is never dead straight and can change with humidity and temperature changes, but glass should be straight and it is rigid, so if your timber has any bend in it, the glass will jam and wont slide freely

hope this helps


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## JungleManSam (Nov 1, 2011)

I am going to have the back panel of the tank plywood so is secure there, I will also have a plywood floor. The top, I am also going to have plywood but have crimsafe or that mesh everyone uses for top acess. I am going to have the top of hinges too with a hook. The glass pane will be one big solid pane of glass and I will have a wood frame around it with a handle, it will slide out both ends. Will have more photos when more is completed. I miss calculated and its 7mm thick. 
Thanks


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## mudgudgeon (Nov 1, 2011)

cool, sounds good, sounds like you've thought about it 8)


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## snakeynewbie (Nov 1, 2011)

I've used the metal(not the fibreglass) flywire mesh from Bunnings for my snake enclosure lid, it's pretty cheap and really good and solid.


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## JungleManSam (Nov 1, 2011)

Will go check it out later on. yea, i want to make it good and decent as its going in my brand new house in my brand new re designed room, will be spectacular from what Ive pictured in my heead  Any tips on accrssories and substrates? I was thinking a couple of handfuls of leaf litter and crap from down the back in the bush and baking it, is that a yes or no idea?


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## BigWillieStyles (Nov 1, 2011)

Looks good. Is the frame screwed together or just glued?



McSnakeSpooner said:


> Will go check it out later on. yea, i want to make it good and decent as its going in my brand new house in my brand new re designed room, will be spectacular from what Ive pictured in my heead  Any tips on accrssories and substrates? I was thinking a couple of handfuls of leaf litter and crap from down the back in the bush and baking it, is that a yes or no idea?



I reckon that sounds like a good idea for substrate. As long as you have a good access to a lot of it as you will be constantly removing the dirty bits and replacing with new. You could also use something like those red woodchips which you can get at a hardware store for gardens.


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## JungleManSam (Nov 1, 2011)

Just glued. Cheap and effective, and dont leave an ugly screw sticking out  I have 10 acres, I have plenty


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## JungleManSam (Feb 12, 2012)

Hey guys, I have a few update shots of the enclosure i'm making....



- Front door on, just has the protective film on it still. Lids are on top too.- 

- Top view 

- Closer look of sliders

-I have painted the inside black and cut out some squares out so put air vents in, I have put In some slides for a divider. I also put a raised floor which the divider will sit on with a heat cord underneath. I will have pictures explaining it later


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## J-A-X (Feb 12, 2012)

Pics not working


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## JungleManSam (Feb 12, 2012)

Fixed it


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## J-A-X (Feb 12, 2012)

Cheers. 
So the raised floor under the divider will hide a heat cord to heat both sides ? I don't think you'll generate enough heat. What wattage cord will you be using ?


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## JungleManSam (Feb 12, 2012)

I will be using a 15W cord and because the floor is only 3mm thick...If there will be not enough heat I will be buying another one to up the heat....yes it will supply heat to both sides


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## Jarden (Feb 12, 2012)

Hey mate looks good but i think you should use ceramic heat emmiters or globes, Jungles are aboreal snakes and would prefer to bask at a height not on the ground , i use globes in all my enclosures and the jungles get up underneath it rather then on the ground like my woma hope this helps


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## JungleManSam (Feb 12, 2012)

I see where your comming from, I dont know how to set up lamps and all of that....maybe you can give me a hand in the future


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## JungleManSam (Mar 11, 2012)

Hey guys  I have a little update on my enclosure 




As you can see I have the divider fitted in and I have just started on my background  I have chosen AstroTurf for a substrate, for now.

Will have a few more pics soon 

Sam.


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## Jande (Mar 13, 2012)

Looking good. Keep the updates coming!


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## J-A-X (Mar 13, 2012)

Put some chunkier foam under the shelves to help support them, they don't look as if they'll hold the weight of the grout / render let alone the added weight of a snake. 
As for the heating I've got 5 Darwin's with floor heat, they all use it after a feed ( they have a vented hide so it doesn't get too hot) they then sprawl out over their branches like your grandfather sprawls over the couch after a Xmas lunch  
You've made great progress so far, well done


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## JungleManSam (Mar 13, 2012)

Hey thanks Jax and Jande  I have put little supports under the platforms  Starting grouting tommorow hopefully  Im not sure how I am going to position my branches. Any tips Mr DIY Guru? Or any1 else? How to I fit them in to hold?

Sam


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## Jande (Mar 13, 2012)

I've seen the poly caps that you screw onto the end of poly pipe to seal the end used as a kind of cup to hold branches etc. They were just basically a black cap with a section the width of the branch cut out of the side and nailed or glued (not sure which as I didn't ask) onto the wall. The branch then slots in through the cut out section from the top. Not sure how sturdy they are for snakes that like to rearrange their furniture but it looked easy enough to do and probably cheap to boot. Make sure the edges are softened where you cut the plastic as poly can be sharp when cut sometimes. Not my idea btw, I saw it on another forum ages ago.


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## J-A-X (Mar 13, 2012)

Chain from the roof, . Use small links so the snake can get its head caught, or strong wire. Most screw through the enclosure into the branch, some use "v" shaped brackets on the wall and use the weight of the branch to hold it there, that way if your snake coils around the branch you can just lift the branch and snake out in one go.....


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## JungleManSam (Mar 14, 2012)

Well it has given me something to think about, thanks guys. I also saw A guy got little chips of wood and placed them into a little 'U' shape and the U would just sit the branch in the gap. Might give that ago as I have heaps of little bits of wood lying around, if it fails I can always do what you guys recommended.


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## JungleManSam (Mar 29, 2012)

The Finished Product! It is finally done.


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## Shotta (Mar 29, 2012)

damn good job!
looks wonderful


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## JungleManSam (Mar 29, 2012)

Thanks Sanosuke


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## Shotta (Mar 29, 2012)

ur welcome i love those temple things theyre awesome


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## J-A-X (Mar 29, 2012)

I'm confused! Weren't you doing a rock wall in there or am I going blind in my old age.?


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## JungleManSam (Mar 29, 2012)

Yea there was Jax, I just decided to leave it this time, i can still put it in, just have to paint and seal. I havnt got round to doing it


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## J-A-X (Mar 29, 2012)

LOL so it's only half finished still looks good


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## dragonlover1 (Mar 29, 2012)

you're still at school learn to spell


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## reptalica (Mar 29, 2012)

> Any tips Mr DIY Guru?



Mr.??????? :shock:


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## J-A-X (Mar 29, 2012)

reptalica said:


> Mr.??????? :shock:



If that was in my defense, thank you but I've been called worse


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## CaptainRatbag (Mar 30, 2012)

Looks very good

The trouble with using leaf litter and real leaves as substrate, is you dont know what you bring in with it. Bugs, parasites, mould, sap etc. It can up the humidity while it is still moist and falls all over the floor as it deteriorates. I personally prefer artificial stuff for all round stability of the enclosures environment. Just imo


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## rvcasa (May 6, 2012)

...I just bought screen-in ceramic battens on eBay for $10 each (plus $5 for delivery). Then an infrared bulb is approx. $12 from pet barn.
I use it all day an night as my only heat source.

I also added an 18W fluoro batten with tube incl. for inspection/display purposes only that costs $30 from Bunnings. (+$40 for a qualified electrician to wire it up) or you can buy a 12W already wired and ready to mount w/ tube incl. for the same price, also at Bunnings!



CaptainRatbag said:


> Looks very good
> 
> The trouble with using leaf litter and real leaves as substrate, is you dont know what you bring in with it. Bugs, parasites, mould, sap etc. It can up the humidity while it is still moist and falls all over the floor as it deteriorates. I personally prefer artificial stuff for all round stability of the enclosures environment. Just imo




The best natural stuff is Kriters Crumbles - $6 for huge bag.



JungleManSam said:


> Hey guys  I have a little update on my enclosure
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Why are the vents up side down? (or is it the photo?)



junglemansam said:


> the finished product! It is finally done.




top job!


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## JungleManSam (May 10, 2012)

The vents are not upside down, the vents face down on the outside so the inside looks as if they are upside down, I was confused at first. I havnt found any kritters crumble so I have some artificial grass down atm. I need a good substrate  I have another enclosure in the building block atm so I will have a piccy up when it is done. If I was going to grab the leaf litter off the ground I would bake it in the oven at 5000000* for 1/2 hour or something. Give it a mist and make it a little moist when it goes in there


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## Brodie (May 10, 2012)

When I was at twp, we put fresh leaf litter and live plants in all the display cages every couple of days, so it can't be that bad.. Just pick up the leaf litter that is in sun most of the day.. Spread it out on a sheet of black plastic, and leave in full sun for a while...

Don't ruin your mums oven, haha!

Cool cage, wish I could build something like that! I tried once and gave up pretty quickly!


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## thomasssss (May 10, 2012)

leaf litter in an oven hmmmm probably best to stick with direct sunlight, things could get a little smokey in the oven


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## JungleManSam (May 10, 2012)

I didnt think of it smoking haha. Might stick to the tarp and some direct sun light. I wanna get some good quality dirt, sow some grass seeds in there, grow them under quarentine conditions and put the real grass in there. Might look into it


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