Baby proofing and ventilation

[Blackice]

Hi all, I'm brand spanking new here, excited to write my first post.

I've wanted to raise snakes since I remember myself. A couple of weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not all coulbrids are illegal in NYC, only the semi-venomous ones. Plans quickly ensued, and I spent most of the last couple of weeks reading forums, books, books etc. My husband and I plan to go to a reptile show this weekend and look for corn that would catch our attention.

In preparation, I started working on a suitable cage (I'm preparing for a baby corn, if we find a bigger one I'll just get a bigger tub on the way home). I've read babies are notorious escapees, and after browsing the local home depot came up with this idea that secures the lid extremely tight-

(the clamps are $1.30 apiece, so I had no qualms about bending them that way. They're quick to clamp and remove but pack quite a force)
I'd appreciate some feedback from you experienced folks.. what do you think?

Also, I'm worried about ventilation; I used a very small nail (heated on the stove) to puncture air holes, they're about 1-1.5 mm wide and I feel like they won't supply much airflow. But I also don't want a baby corn to hurt itself trying to squeeze its snout into the vents.. What size hole would be best?

Thank you all!

 

[hypnoctopus]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but you might want to make the holes a little bigger. For making holes in plastic, I use one of those craft soldering guns. They work really well.

Looks like those clips will keep the lid very secure!

Now the fun part of picking out decorations, and of course, a baby snake!

 

[sanke57]

I don't know how to describe this. I'm not good at English but I want to share some ideas

I recommend that the net should be outside the box
I use the heated nail to make a hold and sew the net and the lid together with knitting yarn.
You can use the fishing line or the wire instead because when I wash the box, the knitting yarn wets and I feel it unsanitary
I hope this will help and sorry for my clumsy English ><

 

[hikisquid]

Ooh, very nice baby cage!

I have similar clamps on my big tub, they are the plastic ones with the hinged grippy bits so they seem to be doing well.

When I drilled holes in my tub, I used a 1/4 inch drill bit and then cleaned them up with a nail file. I suppose if you are worried about the baby trying to escape a layer of mesh (fabric or metal) would be okay to cover the holes with, like sanke57 did but on a smaller scale.

 

[DragonsDenSerpents]

Sanke57, that's actually really neat. I haven't seen a baby tub like that before. I use the sterilite tubs with holes drilled on the two long sides of the tub with a soldering iron. Two rows of air holes, no larger than a pencil eraser. It may be overkill on the ventilation, but I've had no humidity issues so far. Those clamps should do the trick. The reason I put air holes on the sides of the tub is so I can stack big heavy phonebooks on top if needed.

 

[Blackice]

hypnoctopus, thank you for that idea. I used a simple soldering iron and it worked out great, and so much easier than using a heated nail.

Snake 57, this is a really cool setup! I almost went for making this kind of setup and changed my mind at the last moment at the register line of home depot- reckoning that this adds complexity to the enclosure and more possible weak points, and that I don't trust my handiwork to keep tight and escape proof. I think you got it right- I just need to think of a way to keep the seam line as sound as possible.


So today I went to the New York Reptile Expo and got my first snake ever! A really cute 10 months old Hypo. His demeanor was so sweet that I bought him right there on the spot. I'm counting the days till next weekend when I'll get to handle him again...
Now, because I'm dealing with a yearling and not a baby, I set up a bigger tub (35qt Sterilite, cluttered it with tons of hides). The locking mechanism was quite flimsy so I removed it and used clamps instead (Also blocked the hinge holes- I'm not sure my neonate will fit in there but better safe than sorry). This is the result-

To keep cleaning simple, I attached the heat mat to a ceramic tile that's placed beneath the tub (I read about this idea in this forum and I liked it!). There is a 1/2"-1/4" gap between the heat mat and the bottom of the tub, would that be a problem?

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

Binder clips would also work and be less cumbersome and cheaper than those clips.

Nice job though!

 

[Blackice]

I know people use those binder clips, but I feel like they might be more suited for the kind of boxes used for food- where the lip of the lid is horizontal from below and above. In this lid I needed the clamps to come horizontally above and vertically below, and I can't think of a way to use binder clips to do that.. correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

The lid looks like it curls around the tub, the binder clips should easily attach to the curled part and provide sufficient holding power, especially with the larger binder clips.

But if what you have works, then by all means go for that!