Expectant Bredli parent - guidance on new enclosure build

[Lemons]

Hi all,

I'm "expecting" to get a new Bredli sometime in the next two months - most likely something between a hatchling and juvenile depending on what pops up on offer online or at the upcoming Reptile Expo here in Brisbane (my 10yo is dyyying to get one). Last snake i had was ~ 30 years ago in the US (ball python), so have been out of touch with all things snake setup. However I do like a bit of DIY, so after some reading I've come up with a design that I think ticks all the boxes; HOWEVER, I would love to get some feedback on the overall design and layout in case I have overlooked something, or if there is a better way of doing it. Attached are some schematics.

The short of it is:
1) Build a timber two-tier table frame with spare wood.
2) Snake enclosure will be in bottom tier, with PVC foam board (~10-18mm thick, closed cell) as the walls. Fixing together will be with screws and PVC glue (the stuff you use on PVC pipes - does wonders for this sort of material when I used it to make some halloween costume armour!). Then fill in the corners with silicone to seal the gaps.
3) Front door will hinge down, and will be a single long sheet of acrylic (~4.5mm thick) that is recessed in a PVC board frame, with integrated aluminium frame around the inside of the PVC edging.
4) I'll either have the PCV sheets supported by the table frame, or incorporate aluminium bars in the corners and across the spans.
5) I put in an additional height on the cool side for it to stretch out vertically - but I suppose I could do without it too. It is nice though and fits well in the overall design that leaves space for the heating light on the "low" side.

So some questions that I was wondering about:
1) Ventilation - is the design of having a big vent area at the top of the high side sufficient, or do I also need some on the sides (like around the hot side). I expect the PVC foam to be very good at keeping the heat in if that is a factor.
2) Is the PVC glue and silicon gap sealer ok to use once it is fully cured and aired out?
3) LED lights - just standard white light, or is there a better option?
4) Heating setup - ok to just have the heat pad/cable connected to the thermostat? (I already have one like that). I would monitor the ambient air and basking rock temps manually.
5) Heat lamp: better to have a seperate heat and UV-B lamp, or an all-in-one like a mercury vapour one?
6) Would it be ok to have the heating cable inside the enclosure as long as it is under a rock or some substrate? I was entertaining the thought of using fine sand given it is easy to clean and works well with the natural environment look I am going for.
7) my plan for the back and sides was to use that builder's expanding foam to sculpt and paint rock "faces" and ledges (with some internal supports) while keeping the weight light. Same question as #2 - will it be safe for my future snake in terms of off-gassing?
8) Will a large tank such as this one be an issue if I get a very young snake?

Thank you for taking the time to look this over and any comments!

 

[Sdaji]

1) Probably.

2) Yep.

3) Yeah, don't use them at all.

4) What else would you do?

5) Better not to use UV

6) Inside, sure. Sand? Your choice but I don't hate myself enough to unnecessarily use something that messy if I don't need to.

7) Might need some time to cure.

8) Probably. Escape or losing the snake (inside the enclosure) being likely examples.

The last clutch of bredli I ever produced was when I lived there in Brisbane, back in 2007. Time flies. It's funny how much I hated them at the time, I had some really pretty ones and I had literally hundreds of people calling me wanting babies, but I just couldn't stand how 'generic' bredli was and got rid of them. I don't have any desire to keep them again but since 2007 I've lost the hatred and can see why they're popular.

 

[dragonlover1]

I won't answer all your questions, as Sdaji has done that.
I will advise on the foam aspect, I have built a few for my Antaresia's using EPS and expanda foam. And then covered that with tile pointing ( some people use grout) which I touched up with craft paint and then a clear seal over that because snake poop will stain otherwise. Make sure you air it out for several weeks for outgassing, even if you can't smell anything it will affect your snake. Here is 1 example

 

[Lemons]

1) Probably.

2) Yep.

3) Yeah, don't use them at all.

4) What else would you do?

5) Better not to use UV

6) Inside, sure. Sand? Your choice but I don't hate myself enough to unnecessarily use something that messy if I don't need to.

7) Might need some time to cure.

8) Probably. Escape or losing the snake (inside the enclosure) being likely examples.

The last clutch of bredli I ever produced was when I lived there in Brisbane, back in 2007. Time flies. It's funny how much I hated them at the time, I had some really pretty ones and I had literally hundreds of people calling me wanting babies, but I just couldn't stand how 'generic' bredli was and got rid of them. I don't have any desire to keep them again but since 2007 I've lost the hatred and can see why they're popular.

Thank you for the feedback - my 10yo saw a Bredli and got her heart set on one - to be honest, it's not a bad looking snake and I do like the classic chonky phython head I really like the BHPs, although I sort of wish they had that nice classic python head too! Alas, I was overruled by a 10yo.

Re: sand - the other option I though of that would still look natural-y is the shredded hemp bedding material (we used it for some pet mice ages ago, and it worked really well and had (supposed) bacterial inhibition qualities. Not sure what sort of substrate would be "bad" for a Bredli in terms of irritation or respiratory issues though (my last python 30 years ago lived in a tupperware container with newspaper...)

 

[Diprotodon01]

With ventilation and heat source placement heat travels up so in my opinion best to keep the heat mat heat cord heat source up in the highest point you can make a heat pad with two tiles and cord between or heat Matt with a tile over the top main thing is no ensure you have enough coverage over foam to stop any melting mishaps a vent near heat source and one lower in the bottom cold end would create natural convection which provides fresh air transfere inside enclosure your building plan looks good just ensure it’s strong air everything out once painted finished there’s heaps of reptile folk doing these naturalistic builds on YouTube bredli love to climb semi arboreal plus back in the day they were regarded as one of the most interesting and rare and beautiful snakes you could own I believe in sourcing a natural type not into morphs myself especially not in Morelia the big consideration is if you need such an enclosure right at this time a hatchling neonate does not require anything like that size to begin with better with a 12 litre tupperware with a small five watt heat pad using about half down one end some cleverly placed vent holes with a soldering iron placed for convection small ramekin water dish big enough for animal to bathe in paper towel for substrate and some kitchen towels for a hide and you good for a year from hatchling make sure the animal is feeding and has two sheds google bredli for sale in aus and it should pull up a very good Australia wide seller Site where you can get a hold of an animal for a decent price they can be nippy when young but handling later on will calm most down just supervise the kid and make sure to keep away from your face at the beginning if considering a larger animal yearling and up the you enclosure would be ok just don’t over crowd the tank so as to still see your animal and check its health with Handeling keep it to small sessions at a time no more than 15 minutes and initially when you Aquire animal give it plenty of time to settle into new surroundings before handling wait a couple of weeks make sure he feeds before starting to handle on that note don’t try feeding straight away give the animal a good week to settle into new enclosure I also recommend a temperature gun and either a thermostat or a dimming switch for heat source so you can tune the hot spot I kept hatchlings at 30 min 35 max hot spot adults can take up to 40 but do not require it any hotter just make sure the heated area is large enough for the size of the animal covers %80 of body when curled up sorry for no punctuation I have had a traumatic brain injury and it takes me ages to type please ask any specific questions you have and I’m sure some one on here will assist last time I was logged in years back this site had a great sellers marketplace but seems people aren’t advertising here much anymore I was a bit disappointed about that but life goes on good luck make sure you have the proper permit to keep Australian flora and fauna

Thank you for the feedback - my 10yo saw a Bredli and got her heart set on one - to be honest, it's not a bad looking snake and I do like the classic chonky phython head I really like the BHPs, although I sort of wish they had that nice classic python head too! Alas, I was overruled by a 10yo.

Re: sand - the other option I though of that would still look natural-y is the shredded hemp bedding material (we used it for some pet mice ages ago, and it worked really well and had (supposed) bacterial inhibition qualities. Not sure what sort of substrate would be "bad" for a Bredli in terms of irritation or respiratory issues though (my last python 30 years ago lived in a tupperware container with newspaper...)

Stay away from pine shavings supposedly too much sap and can cause irritation also kitty litter that compressed paper stuff I also would keep away from as could suck out humidity but I’m sure someone on hear uses that stuff
It really depends what type of setup your looking at you certainly seem to want a naturalistic looking enclosure so why not source a organic mulch mix of Pete moss organic mulch and play sand as an idea I haven’t used solely sand in any enclosures before always gone with a mix
You should also incorporating a litter dam for you natural substrate as you may want plants later and it gives depth for roots ect please ensure to remove fecal matter promptly in a naturalistic style enclosure or look at bioactive cleanup crew to remove waste as snake mites in those sort of setups would be a nightmare I world think I have used Morio worms for this purpose and they do well just need to top up and ensure adults can’t escape
I’m a little more old fashioned and still primarily use un printed news paper as the main substrate at least 10 sheets per box thick enough to hide under but I do have lots of climbing perches hollow timber natural hides large water bowl heated shelf I just like the cleanliness and convenience of paper might not look natural but I don’t hear the snakes complain much