Next build

[Unforgiven]

Hi guys

Just some general questions I have for my next build which I am hoping to finish by Thursday

I am going to be taking a cabinet/ wall unit and converting it into a snake show piece kind of thing

My questions.

I want to heat it from the rear with a heat cable of 20w. Will I need a thermostat for that?

I saw a member using plastic to cover his wood to help protect it from humidity. How do you get the plastic to stay? I heard someone say using a hairdryer to "melt" it onto the wood to get it to stick, wood this work?

Then I also saw another member using pot plant bowls and fake grass and using a glue gun to attach it all. would this be okay?

Then the last question for now. I want to use e mulch. If I remember correctly, the accepted practise of sterilising it is to rinse and let bake in the sun?

I will post pics of the progress as I go along. At the moment I have just take the doors up and divided everything up.

[@ndy]

Hi Unforgiven

with all heat cable I suggest use a thermostat, without it the cable can get hot enough to burn your snake.

A better way to seal the wood is to use Marine sealer or Resin its more work but it looks better at the end of the day and seeing that this will be a display unit i would go that route.

Glue gun glue don't stick to wood and it will come loose very fast! As long as you don,t try to glue it to the wood it should be fine, the fake plants on the plastic pots work fine.

sorry I cant help with the e mulch, I use reptibark , I normally freeze the Reptibark and then let it dry out in the sun, that way i know everything and anything that might have been in there is dead.

[Unforgiven]

Thanks for the quick replies

I will have a look into marine sealer

My other question I have.

My initial plan was to use an LED strip to light the cages, that worked out too expensive and I am now opting for 50w halogen bulbs. This will be purely for show. Do these get hot enough to burn a snake if the snake touches it?

[gekosin]

If the bulb is just for light I would rather opt for a LED Bulb they are a bit more pricy but they emit no heat and are more power efficient.

The halogen bulbs could potentially get very hot.

[Unforgiven]

Exactly how much more pricey are LED bulbs? The ones I saw were R120 each compared to the R20 halogen bulbs I saw

I considered a touch light LED thing I saw but unless I get rechargeable batteries, I don't want to replace 15 batteries every week..

If the halogen bulbs do get too hot I will get covers for them instead as that would still work out cheaper than the R120 a bulb..

[dobby7]

I use a heat cable to heat all my units. Just use a 10W or 15W cable then a thermostat is not neccessary. The hairdryer does not work, I know this because I was the one to suggest it but I was advised otherwise... The plastic was only really used on the bottom but it is not neccessary with emulch, I also use it. Maybe try using waxol or clear laquer to seal the wood, I'm not sure about the toxicity but I'm sure it will be okay if it dries properly. I hope all this helped.

[dobby7]

I also use a 90W halogen light in my boa tank and it is merely warm to the touch when it is on so don't worry.

[Unforgiven]

Thanks for the replies. I got the Halogen bulbs and then about 10 minutes later my friend contacted me saying he had a bunch of spare LED bulbs I could use

Haha, so I got those as well.

Currently all that needs to be done is to put the glass in and set up the lighting. Then its just gluing the plants to the pots and other various decorations

So I may just finish tonight or tomorrow

[Unforgiven]

One more question, I got the repti bark. Then I went to a nursery today and saw something called "eco mulch pine bark nuggets" for 20 bux and its easily 5kg + which is dirt cheap. Its not treated, but its pine.

As far as I know that's not good for snakes. Can I still use it?

[@ndy]

I would not use it, Pine bark have oils and stuff that is not good for your snakes, Smell the reptibark and smell the pine bark you will know the difference

[Unforgiven]

That's the problem they smell similar. The pine bark nuggets are also a very dark brown similar to the repti bark which is different to the pine shavings and pine bedding I normally see, either way if its not good for the snakes it will just end up in the garden as I was first intending to do

[@ndy]

That's the problem they smell similar. The pine bark nuggets are also a very dark brown similar to the repti bark which is different to the pine shavings and pine bedding I normally see, either way if its not good for the snakes it will just end up in the garden as I was first intending to do

Sorry i have my barks mixed up, reptibark is made from Fir trees

"Fir is a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen coniferous tree in the family Pinaceae. It is found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range"

Pine bark is the same thing !

Apparently Cedar bark is not to be used but then again, here is an interesting article regarding both barks

http://www.anapsid.org/cedar.html

[Unforgiven]

Sweet, I will stick the bag in the freezer along with the repti bark. Is a week enough time to be frozen? And can they be oven baked? I want to be 110% sure that anything and everything is dead in the bedding

I got the tracks and the glass installed last night using contact adhesive. I think next time I will use no more nails instead and spend a bit extra. The adhesive works fine, I just don't like it. I also got all the light fittings in. So tonight I just have to connect everything up. I am still waiting for my heat cable and thermostat however so I won't be putting anything in yet.

Tonight I also glue all the plants to the pots and sort out any other small bits

[Unforgiven]

On a whim I went and bought backgrounds for each tank. It is the ones that are stuck onto fish tanks. Whats the best way to stick it to wood? I am not keen on any cellotape becuase of the danger it poses to a snake, also not keen on prestik. Should I try double sided tape or what glue can I use? Would contact adhesive do the job?

[Bushviper]

Wood glue is the best and safest.