Building a cage

So I got 2 corn snakes about 5 month ago. I took them over from someone who hasn’t been taking care of them at all. They had been feed in 3 weeks and I doubt she had bothered to clean the tank in about a month! I have no clue what sex they are and I don’t care to know really. It doesn’t matter to me what sex they are. Now they came with the tank and a heading pad and 2 houses for them along with a small water bowl. I read up on all sorts of things about corn snakes. I had talked to a lot of ppl who knew snakes. I got them on the right feeding schedule and got the temps in the tank right for them. Well I had never thought about reading up on snakes that live in the same tank. So I had a question about one of my snake’s tail and posted a thread… I found out that my snakes aren’t being cute cuddling together but actually being competitive! I saw horrible pictures and read some terrifying stories! I immediately went out to Lowes and bought material to build me a new snake tank. I had been planning on it for a while, but I was going to build it for them. I got an extra 2x4 piece of wood to make it a 2 story cage.
Well I have build a cage for some dessert mice I had years ago, but I think building a snake tank is a bit different! I got me 2 2x4 feet floors. I have enough wood (6 pieces of 1x2x8) to build 2 frames for the floors. Here is what I really wanted to do. I wanted to build one cage with 2 “apartments” so was thinking a 2x4x3 cage. So each apartment would be a foot and a half tall. I have 1x1centimeter mesh to close of the sides nice and tight and it is small enough is they can’t stick their head in and get suck! I got a wood stain with polyurethaneto give it a color and protect it from water spills! Next week when I get payed I have to get the smaller wood to build the doors, the latches, and the hinges for the doors, also 2 2x4 pieces of outside carpet and another heading pad (maybe 2 since the one I have is for a 20gallon tank)! Then I got to thinking I should probably make 2 separate cages, in case I wanted to make one to a different place…. So I kept thinking and I was wondering if all sides are open with the mesh if that’s ok? Can I just get some hints and tips on how to build a snake tank? I know it has to be very secure to keep them in there and also to keep my Kitty out! I plan on putting enough staples to attach the mesh so they can’t just push it open! If I am going to put all this time into building a tank I want everyone to be happy. Specially the snakes!

Sounds like you have a good plan of action on separating the 2 snakes ! Building and setting up custom cages is one of the most rewarding aspects of reptile husbandry, I've done a few - one of which I'm very proud of. You can customize them so much easier to the species and what you are looking to maintain.

Also- great idea on sealing the wood to protect from moisture, most people forget that and then wonder why the cage ends up rotting out! Good luck!

If you have a male and female snake, just by chance, once it hits breeding season the male will be slithering back and forth along that mesh rubbing his nose right raw trying to get the female. I personally would not use mesh but I know I have seen some designs on here using mesh maybe track those people down and see if they ran into any issues.

I used melamine for the sides and the back, drilled air holes in the back, and made a wood framed acrylic door.