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DIY: Two unit display viv for $100

Blue Apple Herps

Blue Apple Herps

aka Matthew, PhD
Thread: http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44019

Link to Downloadable plans: http://www.blueappleherps.com/page13/page5/page5.html

P1010046.jpg
 
I can vouch for the simplicity and beauty of this viv! If I can build it anyone can... I think I'll be making two more before long in fact.

Here's mine just after it was built.
 
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Oh wow-- I just found this by accident. My husband's going to kill me..... just one honey, I only want one, then I'll stop....

All lies! Can't have just one corn.
 
The little white things turn up, then the plexiglass opens down. It's easier to see on his picture since he has metal hinges, mine are plexiglass.
 
Hey Tom e I like the viv setup, what's up with all the hides? I just might copy you if you don't mind, looks like a lego built house hides.
 
Jimmysan00 said:
Hey Tom e I like the viv setup, what's up with all the hides? I just might copy you if you don't mind, looks like a lego built house hides.
Click to expand...

Haha! That lasted about 1 day actually. The snake loved it, but he was banging boxes around all night and I couldn't sleep. I thought it would be a great idea because heat rises and those make for a bunch of different gradients and a sort of jungle gym (that was my thinking anyway).. If I did it again I would use something a bit heavier so he can't so easily tip them over.
 
kpsammy said:
Oh wow-- I just found this by accident. My husband's going to kill me..... just one honey, I only want one, then I'll stop....

All lies! Can't have just one corn.
Click to expand...


Oh yes. I stumbled on the plans for this on blueapplepaste's website and was like, "honey, can you make this?!!?" :devil01:

One snake.... I really do think it is impossible. I recently thought I could live withone snake, but now that addiction is kicking in again and... well I'm sure many if not all of you know what I mean. :cool:

EDIT::

I just thought of a good question... how would you heat the top and bottom areas both? What would be the best way to do that, which isn't permanent?
 
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Hmm, I may have to try a modification of that. I've gotten away from using melamine because of the weight, but perhaps all pine and pegboard would work for a little more scratch. Roughly how heavy is that cage shown?
 
I'll go ahead and reiterate my question, as it may have been lost on the previous page. :)

How would you go about properly heating this unit? Is there an area for an UTH to be slipped in, do you use heating strips or something of the like, etc?
 
With the flex watt heat tape.. I use about a foot of 12 inch flex watt in each one. I had to shave down the clear portion at one of the side edges to make fit perfectly, (I think the measure of the viv is 11 3/4" or so) then I just taped it with that aluminum tape. I need to take it apart every now and then to clean it, but it really doesn't get that bad with a thick bed of aspen over it. That piece covers roughly a third of the unit, and I keep the water bowl on the opposite side.
 
tom e said:
With the flex watt heat tape.. I use about a foot of 12 inch flex watt in each one. I had to shave down the clear portion at one of the side edges to make fit perfectly, (I think the measure of the viv is 11 3/4" or so) then I just taped it with that aluminum tape. I need to take it apart every now and then to clean it, but it really doesn't get that bad with a thick bed of aspen over it. That piece covers roughly a third of the unit, and I keep the water bowl on the opposite side.
Click to expand...

I'll also add, that when I made mine, I insulated the connections with silicone so that they were water proof, just in case of a spilled water bowl.

One could also use radiant heat panels, though those would add some cost.
 
elrojo said:
Hmm, I may have to try a modification of that. I've gotten away from using melamine because of the weight, but perhaps all pine and pegboard would work for a little more scratch. Roughly how heavy is that cage shown?
Click to expand...

It's not that heavy. Two people can easily lift it. And one can easily slide it around to move it. Pine would work, you would just need to seal it or cover it in contact paper to protect the wood.
 
Right! It's about as heavy as a quality peice of furniture in it's size. It don't feel Ikea by any means, but I'm able to move it on my own dragging and sliding it..
 
The only issue I would have with this is that there is no substrate dam in the front that I can see... when you open the doors, the substrate that got pushed towards the front would all fall out. Same with water spillage. To fix this, all you'd have to do is get a 2" tall strip of wood and silicone it in. The wood would keep the substrate from falling out, and the silicone would keep any water from running down the front of the viv. You'd also have an issue with water running out the back if they spilled it, so you could seal the bottom couple of inches there too.
 
TrpnBils said:
The only issue I would have with this is that there is no substrate dam in the front that I can see... when you open the doors, the substrate that got pushed towards the front would all fall out. Same with water spillage. To fix this, all you'd have to do is get a 2" tall strip of wood and silicone it in. The wood would keep the substrate from falling out, and the silicone would keep any water from running down the front of the viv. You'd also have an issue with water running out the back if they spilled it, so you could seal the bottom couple of inches there too.
Click to expand...

If you read the full plans in the linked thread in post #1, you can see there is a substrate dam, Matthew also says to use sealant on the joints, to prevent leakages and rotting wood etc. ;)
 
Yep there's a very high substrate dam on both units. You'd have to pile it about 3 inches deep to go past it...
 
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