Enclosure Upgrade! Part 3

Now that the background is ready to put in, it is time to assemble the new enclosure. I used a terrarium-safe cleaner to wipe down the enclosure. Its previous inhabitant was a turtle, so cleaning before assembly was an absolute must to make sure Marbles stays healthy and happy.

Next I added the substrate. I had previously had Marbles on coconut fiber when she was in the 20 gallon enclosure, so I decided to keep her on the same type of substrate. I added around 3 inches spread around evenly.

 After adding in her hides and plants, Marbles ended up loving her new enclosure! I am super happy with how it turned out! It looks beautiful, it is functional, Marbles is happy, she can stretch out and explore now.










Marbles also is a total drama queen and her new favorite place to hang out is at the top of the rock background.

Enclosure Upgrade! Part 2

Time for the next step! I let the caulk dry overnight to make sure none of the rocks would fall off.


Next step was more messy than I anticipated. I bought some non-sanded grout and followed the instructions on the box and painted it on the Styrofoam rocks.

I applied two coats front and back. This grout ensures than none of the Styrofoam will break off and fall into the enclosure. It took about two days for the grout to dry.

Onto painting! I mixed black and pale gray in a bowl and painted the background. I used Anita's All Purpose paint as it is non-toxic.

Painting took forever because of all the little cracks and crevices. Then I used Mod Podge to seal the paint and grout as a final touch!

Tomorrow I get to add everything and move the enclosure to my apartment!

Ball Python Background #2

 Onto carving! So this was by far the most tedious and time consuming part of the entire process. I had a mini angled hand saw, a carpet cutter, a utility knife, and a scraper.

Cut off the top layer of the foam. Basically any shiny part of the foam needs to be cut off because the silicone won't stick to it.














*Four hours later*

 So, I picked up some caulk and rubber gloves (this stuff will get everywhere I promise) from the hardware store and loaded that in a caulk gun.

Squeeze some caulk in generous amounts and then rub it in every crack and crevice. I'd start at the back because those spots are harder to reach.

Afterwards take a cup full of Zoo Med Eco Earth Coconut Substrate and pour more than you think you will need onto the silicone and let it sit.

In the end, you should end up with something that looks like this!

Make sure you get every part of the foam covered with silicone! I had to go back and redo a couple spots because I missed them.

Ball Python Enclosure Background Part #1

Today I started the make the background for my snake's enclosure. I have seen a couple of methods for this but I decided to go with the expanding foam method.

*Please keep in mind this is just a journal of how I am doing things not a how-to*

1.  I put my 20 gallon long on its side after taking off the lid and locking clips. The face its resting on will be the back wall.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. I got my two pieces of cork bark and cut them down to sizes that would fit my tank and my design.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. I then arranged the pieces to make a background. I figured that the large round piece wouldn't fit so I decided it'd serve better as a hide.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. 
   I cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol. I put my rubber gloves on and got to work with Great Stuff expanding foam that I got from the local hardware store.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. About 10 minutes later, I was done. I foamed all the areas around the cork bark and all the glass. I have to wait 8 hours for it to cure before I can continue.

Next steps:

• Carving the foam
• Painting the foam with silicone
• Added Zoo Med Eco Earth substrate to the silicone.

Petco Cork Flat Story

I am getting my snake in less than a month! I am almost done collecting the things I need for her enclosure.

Supplies Left

• Thermometer (temperature)
• Hydrometer (humidity)
• Food
• Bioactive kit
• Microorganisms

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Petco Cork Flat Story

All of the local pet supplies stores near me did not have any cork flats- only cork rounds. I need the cork flats for a specific project coming up soon so I decided I'd have to order them. I ordered two large flats from Petco Online. I paid extra for two day shipping so they'd be here within a few days. The next day when I tried to track them online, I saw that one was going to arrive until the original day and the other would arrive a few days later (even though I had ordered them at the same time).

To figure out why, I decided I'd call Petco. Well the number they have posted on their website doesn't work. So after jumping through some more hoops, I managed to reach Petco HQ. After being on the phone for twenty minutes, I explained my situation to a representative. Apparently, one warehouse ran out of the cork flats and it had to be shipped in from a different location. The representative was extremely nice and refunded me half of my shipping cost since one item was arriving late.

Overall it was a tedious experience but I was very happy with the representative that helped me!