My new hand made Viv.

[rbush]

Hi,

Just finished making my new 3 foot long Viv for my Milky. It's made from 3mm perspex, 32mm x 32mm soft wood and ply. The lamp is a 60W strip light for a 12hr day and 11x11 heat mat 24hr. I've yet to run the heating system flat out for a few days, but just the lamp on it's own gives a heat range of 72/68. With the heat mat on as well, I will expect to be at about 82/72.

I've just sorted some plastic greenary, a nice big twisty branch and a background. It should be a very nice new home for my 18 month old Nelson's Milk snake

The total cost of the viv was about £40 including the mesh and lamp (I already had the perspex).









Rob.

[SeanMaguire12]

Wow, that looks great, well done.

[Patmufc]

wow - that is brilliant, what going in it?

[rbush]

My 18 month old Nelson's Milk snake, he's out grown his small tank, time to move home

[stacy]

looks good

[bothrops]

Nice craftsmanship. Looks like a really skilled, professional job.

A couple of pieces of constructive critism...

• Ventilation could be an issue. With no vents on the sides, the air in the tank will quickly become stagnant. I would advise some vents/air holes in the back wall at opposite corners
• Security for the snake. Due to the clear walls all the way a round, the milk may feel a little exposed. You may have already planned to do this, but I would recommend 'blocking' at least the back and one or both sides, possible using black paper or aquarium backing
• You talk about heat mat and 'full blast'. You may already be aware, but it is not clear inn your post. You MUST put a thermostat onto the mat. If you place the heat mat under the perspex with a thermostat you run the risk of melting the perspex and of course killing the snake (either via heat directly or via the fumes of the melting perspex)
• With those bits done it will be a very impressive bit of furniture!

Cheers

Andy

p.s. how much to make me one!

[bothrops]

p.p.s there is a sticky thread somewhere that explains how to post pics, probably in the newbie section..........

hold on a sec......

here you go...

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/newbi...otobucket.html

Cheers

Andy

[bladeblaster]

are you going to seal the pine?

[rbush]

Thanks for the tips.

I will be using the same ministat 100 I've been using with my 11X7 mat. I have just bought a 5 foot length of background paper from Ebay that has a nice forest floor type picture for the sides and back. There will also be plenty of green cover and a hot hide and cold hide, may even put one in the middle??

Putting extra vents in is a good idea for air flow, I'll get my saw out and fit some in the sides. Would you say one 2" hole with mesh at each end would be OK?

Rob.

[bothrops]

Originally Posted by bladeblaster

are you going to seal the pine?

Well spotted - I must be getting old!

• The pine will need sealing as the sap is highly irritating/toxic to snakes

Cheers

Andy