creating furniture for corns

hi there, i'm about to get my first corn snake (a gorgeous albino snow) and i am making plans for his/her environment. i would like to actually hand-sculpt a multilevel hidey-hole, but i would like some opinions.

firstly, i know not to have any sharp points. a no brainer. but i'm wondering if there is anyone with any idea what material to use? i'm thinking sculpey, maybe. lightweight and non-toxic. also, i am quite sure it needs to be sealed in some fashion so it's easily cleanable and unable to host microorganisms or tiny parasites. i think i remember hearing polyurethane used? i also want to paint the furniture, and am guessing i should go with a very gentle non-toxic stain or acrylics.

anyways, i'm not sure if anyone would have any experience in this field, but i'm kind of (for lack of a better word) artfaggish about this kind of stuff. i have way too much fun making things in miniature, and i really want to create a custom home for him/her. i even have a little diagram for where everything should go, and an idea for a painting on the outside back wall.

anyways, some feedback would be great. i know absolute no snake enthusiasts here.

Sculpey is great to use. I make most of my hides with it. Here is a picture of some I recently made:
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I typically do not seal mine, although I have been thinking about it...

I believe polyurathane is fine to use. You just have to let it have several days to cure before putting it in with your snake.

Those hides look great. What is Sculpey? Is it affordable and easy to use? How do you get those uniform shapes?

Sculpey is a type of oven bake clay. It is available at most craft stores. It costs about $1.50 for 2 ounces of clay. As for how I make the uniform shapes, I use foil frames (i.e. - pot pie tins, etc). You can also fashion frames out of wire mesh.