Hey guys,
I used this guide to make my own enclosure. Worked out great! (Reference source Striking Serpents).
"Supplies
To build this cage you will need the following tools and supplies:
2 sheets of 2ft by 4ft 3/4 inch melamine*
2 sheets of 1 ft by 4ft 3/4...

is there any way i could incorporate my under tank heat pads to this enclosure if i chose to build it?

where did you buy the vents need to know asap please and are they 3in vents

you can get vents like that at Lowes or Home Depot. I have in the past used 2" and 3" drain plugs / screens for vents. Works like a charm.

I bought a bag of white plastic vents from Home Depot. They are extremely cheap. They will have the size of the needed hole saw on the package.

SSooooo??? i mean not be to be rude but ill ask again can i incorporate uth to this enclosure somehow????

It would be hard b/c of the material being so thick. Some heat would get in if you used heat tape, how much is unknown to me.

i could build it cheaper

the wood on mine costs 2 times that amount but mines 4 cages in one rack

Your best bet like I posted a couple pages ago is to use a Radiant Heat Panel. They cost a little more, but they are worth the extra $$. I will continue using these cages over plastic cages along with RHPs because I feel I have better control over the hot spot and ambients.

Yea would sticking the uth sticky side down in the enclosure and covering it with a layer of duct tape and newspaper on a thermostat too though so he definitely wont get burned. hes a 8 year old corn that can pretty much live through anything lol. My rtb is gonna have a che on the top of a screen and all the goods for his enclosure.

The person I asked at Lowes had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned Melamine. What section should I be in when asking so the person has at least some knowledge?

UPDATE:
Nevermind my previous. I found the stuff in the shelving section. In hindsight, that makes a whole lot of sense. But the store near me doesn't have any more than 16" wide or any that isn't white. Guess I'll have to keep looking.

Holy Crap. Building these myself was the best idea ever! I went to home depot and got most the sheets except the 2x4 ft. So they grabbed me a 4x8 ft sheet and cut it into 4 2x4's and saved me like 20 bucks since i am making two anyways. I constructed both enclosures minus the doors in like 15 minutes at most. And they look awesome too. Only bummer is the glass costs alot but not a big deal.

Great cage, quick question, if you can recall how much did each sheet of melamine wood cost?

I dont remember how much each sheet was but the bigger the piece the more expensive. Dont know if this helps but if you are building 2 cages and live by a home depot, have them cut up a big 4'x8' into four 2'x4's. Just a helpful hint cause it will save you almsot 15 bucks.

awesome design, I am going to steal this concept to make my own cages. Only difference is that I am adding lights for display purposes.

Thanks, and they look awesome!

Great Plans! I'm modifying a little. Making them 6' as I feel 4' is too small for an adult boa that has the potential of getting 8-10'. I'm also going to use 1/4" inch melamine on the back as opposed to the 3/4". The way this is designed, the back is not really a load bearing so 1/4 will suffice to keep in your animals, cut down on cost AND weight. I bought 2 3/4" 4x8 sheets and 1 1/4" sheet. This is enough for 2 cages plus scrap going six feet long. 3/4" sheets are about $34 each at the home depot and the 1/4" is $17. I plan on using the 2' of 11" heat tape on a Ranco for heat. My question for all you great people out there, is Melamine is a very thick, very dense material and I don't think that using heat tape underneath is going to get us the ambient temps that we require. we're talking Ambient air temperatures of 87* on the hot side. I'm wondering, for you people that have built these, or variants, what are your experience with heating these cages?

I use 2 large zoomed UTH underneath 3/4'' melamine for my corn snake and the temp stays mid 80's on that side. sometimes warmer depending on room temp. I dont know anything bout heat tape, but im assuming its more effective then UTH. Congrats on the custom build.

I'll give it a shot. Heat tape is supposed to be more efficient in both heating capacity and power consumption. 11" heat tape uses only 20 watts per foot and hour. So for a 2 foot piece that's forty watts an hour opposed to the 250 watt bulbs I'm currently using for heat. I'll give it a shot with the tape underneath. Put my probe about mid height on the hot side, hopefully get my ambient temps right, then check to make sure my belly heat isn't too hot. I suppose if it doesn't work that way I'll put the tape on the inside and seal it down with aluminum foil tape and probe the belly heat in the low 90's. That should work as well. I'd prefer to go under but we'll see how it works.

personally i thing that height blows.i built the same thing but 22 inches tall so my snake can have more room then a foot. built if for 65 bucks including 1/4 inch glass and aluminum track

were do you find the glass slides!!!!