Plans from a complete beginner

I am thinking about getting a corn snake and keeping it in my room. I want to know if they are ok and I have got some questions as well.

In my bedroom I have this desk and shelves
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/S19861339/
I am planning on taking the divider from the top shelf and turning it into a tank sort thing for the snake. The dimensions of that shelf would be about 29' long by 15' deep by 12' high. Is this big enough for an adult corn snake?

I would cover the front with plexiglass and cut out a door in it for maintenance. For the back (against a wall) I was thinking about using wire (5mm gaps) but I am worried that a corn snake would be able to escape from that. Is there another alternative that would provide ventilation and it would be secure or is the wire ok.

I am planning on getting a heat pad from amazon and using newspaper and shredded paper as a substrate. Would that suit the set up? Is wood (or whatever kind of wood mixture it is made of) safe for snakes.

Any other advice on setting it up would be great. Thanks

A lot of IKEA furniture is particle board covered in paper. It doesn't hold up well with moisture or liquids present.
If you're okay with modifying the shelf anyway, could you take the top off and put a tank in it's place?

the main reason I am not getting a tank is that they are incredibly expensive. A tank roughly the same size as the shelf is around €160 in the pet shops and you would still have to buy a heater mat, decorations and thermometers etc. I could put down some sort of liner on the wood to protect it.

As alan said, there's no telling how well the finished product will hold up to moisture. That being said, if you're gonna go for it then a few bits of advice.

With the front, instead of cutting out a "door" for maintenance, just make the whole plexiglass sheet a hinged or sliding door. This will make getting the snake in and out much easier, and will make accessing the inside for cleaning much easier.

With the back, you're going to want to get your hands on another piece of wood or melamine, drill some small holes for ventilation, or just cut a section of it and install a proper vent. Screen will let out too much heat and humidity, and will *ALWAYS* provide some form of escape.

On the insides, you're going to want to seal all the corners/connections/edges with some form of waterproof sealant. This will help prevent moisture from getting deep into the "wood" as soon.

As far as heat goes, you are gonna need something other than a standard UTH as the wood won't be heat conductive so most UTH will be useless. You could cut a piece of flexwatt to size and use it inside. There are many ways to go about this, from routing the "floor" a little bit then covering with foil or something, all the way to laying ceramic tile or plexiglass on top of it then sealing with the same sealant you used in the rest of the enclosure. If space permits, you would probably be best served trying to get a small radiant heat panel and just mounting it.

Many of these suggestions are borderline necessity, and will more than likely throw your project into a larger cost than just getting a separate enclosure.

Here in Holland tanks al often free or veeeery cheap secondhand!

I was thinking about this a little today. If someone could recommend a sealant or paint to do the inside it would work better. I have a large tank made out of plywood that is painted with some kind of marine paint, it was originally a fish tank. I have no idea what the paint is but it doesn't leak.
Just me, but I think I would prefer a solid back with either a screen top or some vents.

What about just making your own? Here's a plan that I did several years ago: http://www.blueappleherps.com/page13/page14/page14.html

You could copy it or use it to piggy back off of. I think converting the Ikea furniture you selected is going to be more trouble than its worth, and as others have said, who knows about the durability of it. I think it'd be better to do it from the ground up and do it right.

alan said:

plywood that is painted with some kind of marine paint, it was originally a fish tank. I have no idea what the paint is but it doesn't leak.

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I think it was common boat paint, which is used (as name says) to paint boats.
It practically makes wood completely waterproof (but it needs to be repainted once in a while). And its available in every bigger paint shop (at least here in CZE)

Like I said, no idea. Just make sure you research it well if you use it for a live animal cage.

alan said:

Like I said, no idea. Just make sure you research it well if you use it for a live animal cage.

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I think boat paints is inert, but if they arent (or just for sure) he can simply paint it with boat paint in colour of his choice to make it waterproof, and then cover the boat paint with one or two layers of transparent paint that is suitable for humans and animals.

Few my friends did it that way, and no problems. (I didnt tried for myself, because I have only glass terrariums)