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Help building a vivarium

Shade

Attack Iguana
I'm going to be constructing a vivarium out of acrylic very soon. My dad builds acrylic aquarium supplies (tanks, filters, reactors, etc.) for a living and is teaching me how.

I need your help though. Imagine you could create a perfect vivarium. Cost isn't and issue, and neither is material. The only limits are size. (Preferably no more than two feet x four feet x two feet (h x l x w) Also, this vivarium will only be housing one snake, who's only a hatchling right now (about 13 inches long)

What would it look like? What are the necessities when building a viv? What are some practical solutions for ventilation? Etc.

Respond with any and all ideas, please.

Thankee,

Jake
 
Sorry about the double post - But if anyone would like to contact me via email or IM, please do. My handles are listed in my profile for MSN and AIM, which are the services I use.
 
Tough part here is that you still have a very small snake. I personally am hesitant to put such a small animal into a tank suitable for an adult - you just don't know how it will react. My old 12" long corn HATED a 10g tank, and was always nervous. I put him into a 5g sized tank and he was happy as could be...


Since you'll be building your own, it really comes down to how you want it to be. I'm personally a fan of swing open doors. This is easily done with acrylic, especially since they make acrylic hinges and locks that do not distract from the appearance of the cage. Sliding doors are also very common, but not something you would really want to do with acrylic since it scratches so easily.

Ventilation can be done a variety of ways. Most simply you can just drill holes. I know some people that have actually drilled paterns into acrylic for ventilation. The patterns serve their purpose and even look good. Another great solution I've seen is by cutting slots into the side. Slots probably offer slightly better ventilation. However method you choose, remember that cross-ventilation is the key, so you'll need high and low areas (just above the substrate, and towards the top of the enclosure).
 
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