my future garter vivarium

[Barak666]

Hi everyone, it's make about a month since I start looking to build my first garter enclosure and I finally decided which model I would make. Here is a drawing I made with Google SketchUp. (the only difference will be the aquarium part will be a triangle)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1598/terrasnake2.jpg

The overall dimension will be 40" long x 24" depth and more or less 58" high.

The aquarium will be triangle with 16" long (front) x 24" (side) x 8" high (so about 7" of water).
The water will have an overflow who will go into an other tank under (where the little door is draw) and will be filter by a Fluval U2 and bring back to the aquarium via a Quiet one pump 1200. I intend to planted the aquarium part.

For the dry place it will have glasses on 3 faces and wood in the back and will be 24" high. The floor is going to have a small angle so if water goes in the dry place it will flow back to the aquarium. the fronts glasses will be sliding doors.

The top will be mostly cover by a glass where the neons lightning will be and part mesh where I will put the heating lamp for the hot spot and for aeration.

I intend to buy the wood need to start building it tomorrow so I will start the building of it this weekend (I can hardly wait).

Well for now that is it, if you have any comments or ideas to ameliorate it feel free to tell me ;)

I will try to make pictures of the construction process (if I don't forget to do it as with the building of my water dragon enclosure :D)

Mathieu

[Odie]

I like it :)

[ConcinusMan]

I'm a little confused. There will be an exposed water surface accessible to the snakes? What are the dimensions of the water area. ? How much area does that leave for dry substrate for the snakes to live on? A slope will not keep substrate from going into the water. A small water feature and even a waterfall is possible without so much elaborate design but the top should be all screen, well ventilated, and at the very smallest, it should be 48 inches X 12 inches X12. For example, you can use a small pump and build a very small water area into a 55 gallon long tank. I would not attempt it in anything smaller.

You said the top would be mostly glass. That is not a good idea for snakes, especially with a water feature like that. The entire top should be non-corrosive, heat resistant, strong metal. For garter snakes and any ground dwelling snake, it should be no higher than 18 inches if you plan to use heat bulbs and florescent lights. Do not use wood for the sides of the living quarters if you have a water feature. Use glass on all sides.

If you were using this design for tropical amphibians I would say it looks great. I think this design would be a problem for snakes. Extremely high humidity, poor ventilation, damp substrate, all of these things will make snakes very ill and they can die from skin and lung infections.

Let me try to use google sketchup to draw what I am talking about and get back to you.

[ConcinusMan]

Oh forget it. I don't have the patience or time to learn that program. The help doesn't help. This is what I am suggesting:

Make your enclosure at least 48 X 12 X 12. No taller than 16 inches from bottom to top. It can be longer or wider but keep it 12-16 inches from the screen top. No more. Keep your water area no more than 8 X 12. Do not use glass on the top. Use all screen. Screen must be strong, non-corrosive, heat resistant and tightly secured. Do not use wood for the interior walls. Use glass or plexiglass. You will need to create a raised lip or edge so you can put 2 inches of substrate in there without it falling into the water. Sliding glass doors must also be raised off of the floor so substrate will not get out or into the slide path of the glass.

Do that much, and your substrate will stay dry and humidity will be acceptable.

Simply heating the end that does not have water will cause air to rise. That will make The rest of the screen top bring fresh air in.

keep the water area below 10% of the total area and keep it dry. A water feature is fine but snakes live on land. The air must be fairly dry and so must the substrate.

[MasSalvaje]

I think it is a good idea! I don't see a problen in how tall it is or the floor area (depending on how many you plan on keeping in there), I don't see it a problem for a pair.

I am with ConcinnusMan on the all screen top however, the extra ventilation will help clear things out and make it easier to provide proper temps.

Good luck and keep us updated!

-Thomas

[drache]

I was trying to find the thread, but that permalink is no longer working, so I'll briefly reiterate what I remember
a few years ago one of our members lost their snakes due to bacteria proliferating in a water feature
I really don't recall the details, but I do recall that a permanent, non-removable water feature was strongly discouraged
perhaps someone else here remembers more of the specifics

[ConcinusMan]

The tall thing has to do with the heat emitters and florescent lighting. No more than 12 inches from the bottom is how they were intended to be used. A tall aquarium would require higher wattage and wasted energy. And yes, it's difficult to keep garters from pooping in the water and breeding illness causing bacteria. Water must be changed frequently.

[MasSalvaje]

I was trying to find the thread, but that permalink is no longer working, so I'll briefly reiterate what I remember
a few years ago one of our members lost their snakes due to bacteria proliferating in a water feature
I really don't recall the details, but I do recall that a permanent, non-removable water feature was strongly discouraged
perhaps someone else here remembers more of the specifics

Unless you get a UV filter/purifier in addition to the fluval you could run into problems with bacteria build up. The greater the rate of exchange of water and the larger the resovoir seperate from the main aquarium, the smaller your chances of having problems.
As has been mentioned you can certainly run into problems and the more variables you have the chances you run into problems increase. It takes quite a bit more work to maintain an enclosure like this one but I don't think that means you shouldn't go for it.
-Thomas