Escape-proofing my tank (with pics)

I have never had a snake and have been researching them for months now. I finally decided to get a cornsnake at a local reptile show next weekend but wanted to have everything prepared for him when I come home. I read everywhere that snakes in general are masters of escaping their cages. The best advice I could find was to get the tanks with the sliding tops. I currently have a 40 gal breeder with the sliding top for my bearded dragon so I know how good they are, but since I still have his older tanks (10 gal and a 20 gal long) and don't want to re-buy them.

Anyways, I set out to make these tanks escape-proof. After buying lid clips and seeing how poorly they attach, I decided to use my own method. The first thing I did was take weatherproofing foam tape and place that all around the edge of the tank to make the lid more tight fitting. Next, I used a combination of aluminum strips, threaded rods, and various nuts to create a device to hold the lid down on either end. I can make it very tight as well as easily remove the lid when I need.

I would appreciate the opinion of anyone here who has had any issues with their corns getting out. Let me know if I'm on to a good design or if I'll be looking for my snake around the appartment in the near future.

Foam around the edge of the tank


The lid holding device


All parts attached (snake and hides not yet included)

That's about as secure as that top can get as long as there are no gaps. It's not the prettiest, but it should be effective.
I've got a design improvement for easier access if you want. Make one hole on each bar into a slot (hacksaw, file, whatever) so you can just loosen the wingnuts a little and turn the bars to the side.
Like this...

looks SUPER annoying for opening/maintence. i much prefer the front opening, double doored exo terra enclosures

I like front opening enclosures better too, and to make sure no-one gets out (or in for that matter), i use showcase locks like this one:

Nice design; it looks like you spent some time on it. As Alan said, as long as there are no gaps, it should be very secure. His idea of notching the bar is good too.

I also like the front-opening enclosures better, but I still have two aquarium-type enclosures in use. I have the screen top strapped down tightly with long Velcro strips that wrap completely around the tank. Works the same way as what you made, but very quick and easy to open. It's not the nicest-looking contraption, but it works until I can build some more front-opening enclosures.

Congrats on your decision to get a cornsnake, and kudos for doing your husbandry homework!

Kathy

i would say thats alot of work what i do is put books or wieghts on top of my enclosure i see your dedicated to keeping your snake.

You may get tired of undoing all of that everytime you want to open the tank. But it does look VERY effective.

Clever....looks like it would be strong enough to keep AnythinG inside there. Nothing wrong with being prepared.


Josh

I know it may be a bit annoying to get open but I'm glad you guys think it will be good enough to hold. I wasn't sure just how secure the lid needed to be but I've read many stories of people who lost their snake in a tank they though would hold them. Just wanted to be safe as this is my first snake. As for notching the bar, I think that is a very good idea. I'm going to try it like this for a little while and see if it really is that bad. If it becoms a pain, I will be cutting the notches in the bar. Thank you for all the input, I feel a lot better about my design and am excited to enter the world of cornsnakes.

I like your idea, miami13. I've got an aquarium from walmart and a zilla screen lid from petsmart; they don't fit like they should. The lid is too big for the tank as you can easily slide it around some. That, and there are gaps where I have to run the probes through, and they are big enough for a baby to escape through. My question is that if I use this method with the weather-proofing foam and velcro as insomniac said, would that get rid of the gaps from the probe wires without damaging them? I was thinking about buying a whole new cage, but that would put a dent in my finances... and I wouldn't know what to do with the old stuff. It seems kind of silly to just discard what I have without trying to make it work first, right?

By the way, where did you get weather proofing foam? Could I find that at WalMart? It's the only superstore where I live, and I'd like to not make a long trip elsewhere if I can avoid it.