RTB enclosure building materials & hide size
I have a male RTB, named Apohis, that I got about a year ago. He is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches thick at his largest part. I think he is about 5 feet long. I don't know how old he is because he has been passed from home to home many times. I felt sorry for him and adopted him, and the person I got him from didn't know much about him. He hasn't grown very much in the time I've had him.
So I want to know how much bigger he might get, or if he is about as big as he will get. I've been hearing that he will get almost double the size he is now. Is that true? My dad & I are planning a new enclosure for him. The planned cage size is 4 1/2 ft long, 5 ft high, and 2ft wide. (He loves to climb!)But I need to know how big of a hide he will need at his biggest size. Right now when he curls up he takes up about 1ft by 1ft of space.
We were planning a fairly elaborate set up with two shelves, a ramp, and a tree with branches. We were going to make the walls & shelves look like a rock formation. So we were thinking about making the shelves out of wood with a thin layer of concrete smoothed over them to make them look like rock.
For the tree we were thinking pvc pipe coated with dyed concrete or paper mache and a coating of sealant. But I'm worried about these ideas because I don't know what sort of things are toxic to snakes. I'm worried that any concrete dye would be bad, as well as any type of sealant we might use. I figured that the plain concrete would be fairly safe, but if I'm wrong I need to know. What types of materials can I use to make the faux stone & tree, but not be toxic to the snake?
If these things won't work, then that probably means that paint would also be toxic, right? If I cannot make the faux rock & tree, then what sort of wood should the floor of the tank be make of? Obviously it has to withstand moisture. And if the tree is not possible, what other sorts of things should I use instead, and do you have any ideas where to get them? Fake vines at the pet store are ridiculously priced, so I'd rather go cheaper if possible.
Sorry this post is so long, and thank you for your help. I don't want to hurt my snake.
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