Cabinet minister

[Sputnik]

I thought I'd try my hand at some handy work and transform a glass fronted cabinet into a new home for our snakeys. I managed to find a lovely secondhand cabinet for £20 and would love to share my progress with you...


11.00 a.m.:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/Snakes-%20not%20on%20a%20plane/STA60055.jpg

[Sputnik]

Originally I wanted to use the top shelves as the base for one viv and keep the bottom two as two smaller seperate enclosures, but then decided otherwise.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/Snakes-%20not%20on%20a%20plane/STA60057.jpg

After removing the sliding shelf at the top and the two smaller shelves, I cut two holes into the back and fitted two airvents.

Midday:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/Snakes-%20not%20on%20a%20plane/STA60059.jpg

[Sputnik]

I took out the shelves, sealed the outside of the airvents with silicone and started squeezing silicone along the edges of the inside of the cabinet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/Snakes-%20not%20on%20a%20plane/STA60062.jpg

I had a bit of a fiddely task trying to close the gap above the middle pillar.

Afternoon:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/Snakes-%20not%20on%20a%20plane/STA60064.jpg

By this evening I had all the rest of the edges sealed, added a removable step at the front to contain the substrate and will just have to find a way of closing the gap at the back after I've added the heatmats in a few days time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/Snakes-%20not%20on%20a%20plane/STA60067.jpg

[adamanteus]

Looking good so far, Esther. Will you be lighting it too? Your airvents are very similar the the type I use.

[Sputnik]

It was looking after looking at your pictures that I decided to get those vents. :) I will probably add lighting (full spectrum, energy saving bulb), but maybe not straight away. I'd like to keep the vivs in the living room, near the window so will have a lot of natural light, but obviously no direct sunlight.

[adamanteus]

I think it will look lovely in your living room. I'm looking forward to seeing photos of it all finished and occupied. The drawer in in the bottom will be a useful place to keep your snakey bits and pieces close to hand. What size is the cabinet, Esther?

[Snaky]

Looks very neat!

[adamanteus]

Just a thought, Esther...Are those front doors close-fitting enough to be escape-proof? If not, do you have a plan?

[Sid]

Esther,

Very nice looking to this point. Hope to see more photos (with Garters in their new home):) .

Sid

[Stefan-A]

Looks very, very promising. :)

With all my projects ending up more expensive than I had expected, I've always wonder if I might have gotten away cheaper or at least easier by using cabinets and such. Ikea has a lot of really cheap stuff that could probably be easily converted into terrariums.

Anyway, looks good. :)

[Sputnik]

Funnily enough, Stefan, I wanted to buy a cabinet from IKEA, but my lift let me down, so I popped into a secondhand shop. After I had picked that particular piece, I spotted a sticker on the back... it WAS an IKEA item anyway, lol! I think it might have been damaged in the store and donated as there's a small bit of damage in the paintwork and the doors are a little crooked, but other than that it looks unused.

I will measure it and let you know, James. The partition in the middle closes the small gap between the doors and I'm going to get a couple of bolts for the front.

I would have preferred a long viv to two tall ones, but if as the snakes grow I decided to use it as one big viv in the future, I could easily remove the partition.

[Sputnik]

How long do I have to leave it before moving the snakes in? The silicone is dry, but I don't know if there is any risk from the fumes. There isn't a strong obvious smell.

I will decide today if I'll seal a slate floor in or if I'll simply weigh the pieces down on top of the heat mats. Sealing them in would mean having to break the whole floor up if the mats should malfunction.

[Stefan-A]

I'd wait until it's completely dry, which should be around 24 hours (what does it say on the tube?), because the smell isn't strong. It's preferable to wait a couple of days just in case.

If it was, you might want to let it dry for a few days. By strong, I mean you smell it when you enter the room. The snakes are going to be a lot closer to the source, so it's best to let it dry until you have to make an effort to smell it.

The aquarium silicone I use has a smell that's just barely noticable, and I've always waited at least a day before moving anything in after applying it. Sometimes longer, if the ventilation isn't that great. The kind of ordinary silicone I've used smells a lot more and I've waited up to a week after using that.

[Sputnik]

The smell has totally gone so I managed to finish today. :)

I stuck the heatmats down with insulation tape, with a couple of layers of kitchen foil underneath to reflect the heat upwards.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/STA60068.jpg

The slate is only placed onto the base, not sealed in.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/STA60071.jpg

Zuki and Zulu were very excited about their new home and are busily exploring every corner. (Probably checking if I have closed all holes or if there's a chance of escape, lol )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/STA60073.jpg

[Sputnik]

Wow, climbing trees? That's new! :D ( Excuse the fuzziness, but you get the idea...)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/STA60079.jpg

Finished!
(My sons corns are in the left viv for now)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/MrsSputnik/STA60085.jpg

[Stefan-A]

Looks very nice. :)

[adamanteus]

Esther, if you don't seal the slate your snakes will get underneath. Once there, they will poo! You'll have to constantly remove it in order to clean up.

I know there is always the risk of the heater failing, and then the floor must be removed in order to replace the heater. It's a risk I take, and so far I've never had a heater fail.

[drache]

It looks lovely, Esther