Porch Enclosure

I need to get my kitty (well actually she’s a full grown cat-3 years & 3 months) a collar and I don’t know whether I should get a sturdy metal buckle (I realize this is dog collar just showing what kind of buckle we’re dealing with http://www.gotags.com/pet_tags_by_id/35) that won’t come off no matter what she does or is it better to get a plastic snap (the snaps like this http://www.gotags.com/catcollars.php) that would be easier to get out of in the even she is stuck somewhere-keyword easier to come off I don’t know if that’s good or bad-is it better to have a collar that comes of easily? Even if she gets lost? Thank you!!
I’m definitely going to get a breakaway safe collar but they come in either plastic snaps or buckles-which to get?!

If she’s indoors you run the risk of her strangling herself when she catches herself on something. Get her MICROCHIPPED and skip the collar.

I’m building a portable wet sauna which basically has a large pot of water inside a small enclosure that boils water and produces steam. I’m using PE (polyethylene ) plastic as the cover to our enclosure and it sits as close as 12 inches above the water pot and thus is in almost direct contact with steam. Is this safe?

Wikipedia indicates the melting temperature of PE plastic as either 105 to 115 degrees celsius for low density PE and 120 to 130 degreea celsius for medium or high density PE. Water boils at 100 degrees celsius.

Does that mean the plastic won’t melt at that temp as steam is same temp as boiling water and so we’re safe from any off gassing or fumes from the plastic as ita below its melting temp? At what temp does heating PE plastic become toxic or unsafe, below, at or above its melting temp?

I’m imagining it would have to burn in order to release toxic fumes but id rather be safe than sorry…

Also this pot of water is not pressurized and I know steam has same temp as boiling water at 100 degrees celsius but it has a higher heat energy. Does this mean steam could melt the plastic, when even submerging plastic in boiling water would not?

Thx all!

I’m also open to suggestions for a non toxic heat shield or insulation that i can put on the inside of enclosure, above ateam and under the pe plastic that will protect theplastic from almost direct contact with high temp steam.

Hi, You ever seen plastic boiling vessels in the stores? Loads around.
Kettles, camp boilers, geysers to sit over the sink, all sorts of stuff. Some are nylon, some are polyethylene, some are polypropylene.
Steam gives up it’s heat easier because of the increased surface area of the steam drops compared to a solid body of water….haha, solid water…well, y’know what I mean.
If it’s not pressurised it’s exactly the same temp as boiling water when it comes off the top…cools a bit later but it won’t make things any hotter than boiling water will…just heats them quicker.
Kettle lids do OK in the steam a couple of inches above the boiling water….no problem in your set-up if it’s thick enough and doesn’t simply distort with the heat coming from one side.
You won’t get toxic gases off it at 100C. Gets toxic way above that.
You can get electric pots for French fries and battered fish etc made of polyethylene (the pot..not the fish….oops)…fry stuff at 180C in those. Best at 160C for fries.
The plastic casing gets hotter than boiling water on the inside of most of them.
For a cover you could use nylon sheeting if you can find some or acrylic sheets obtainable from DIY stores and often used for plastic greenhouses and for barn windows and skylights. Heat it to get it soft enough to bend.
Wood has it’s uses too but some knowledge is required when using it in saunas. Perfect excuse for a fact-finding mission to Finland, home of the world masters of wood and water makes glorious living and looks swell too without swelling the wood.
Iceland is closer and rather good at it and it’s a pretty cool place to visit and a bit cheaper after their currency crashed. OK at this time of year, but take a breathing mask if you’re staying south.
http://www.finnleo.com/images/11ADecoIntA.jpg . . . . .
http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/finnish-sauna-124453.jpg . . . . .
http://peacecountry0.tripod.com/sauna.htm . . . . . .

what is the Industrial name that is used to refer to the plastic that is used for housing electric components like motherboards
and what is the best type of plastic to use when making computer casing ?
Thank you in advance

The most common type of plastic used for computer cases is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). One trade name is Cycolac®.

Other plastics used for electical and electronic enclosures include PVC and polycarbonate.

Don

I have this old closet like thing, its kind of like a dresser but taller and its all open space. Its really pretty and I have nothing to use it for, so i got the idea to make a homemade snake enclosure for the boa Im getting. Could i go to home depot to get the doors removed and replaced with plastic or glass doors? Or where could I go to have that done?

You have to remember that boas need a certain amount of heat and humidity. They also need a hot side (with a lamp) and a cool side, if your dresser isn’t wide enough to accommodate that than I wouldn’t bother. The dresser itself could also become damaged from the humidity levels. It would be so much easier to just sell/donate the dresser and buy a proper tank for your snake.

Cutting down trees is practically forbidden (municipal pro-tree movement). Is there such thing as a metal enclosure with small holes to fill with dirt and the sewer line? The holes would be to let any leaks from the sewer drain into the soil.

Or maybe line a trench with lumber or plastic sheets so that the sewer is within this trench structure?

Roebic makes FRK-12, a foaming root killer. You put it into your system by pouring it into your toilet as you flush it, and it begins to foam on contact with water.
The advantage to this product is that the foam fills the pipe and gets hung up on the roots and kills those invading your sewer - not just the roots which are in the bottom of the pipe. I put some in our sewer over a year ago and have had no trouble since. Good luck!

the whole enclosure is screen except the bottom which is plastic. its 3 feet tall and 1 1/2 feet wide. or should i use an aquarium? (this is for a baby and hopefully will be kept there until adulthood). the door locks but it seems somewhat weak.

i dont own snakes but i know when it comes to ball pythons especially babies they need to be in small aquariums so they feel safe if its to big it will get stressed and screen is not a good idea since they need humidity plus screen cages are normally for animals that require fresh flowing air like chameleons and depending on how small your ball pythons is i would put it in a 20 gallon tank and see how it does and then move up to a larger ones as it matures.

I recently own 5 snakes and i keep them in plastic storage bins due to the fact that they are much more convenient than aquariums in that they are light weight, easily cleaned, stackable, contain heat well and are over all a better environment for the snake, the bins i use have semi clear "fogged" walls, which makes a snake feel more secure seeing as how most snakes are easily stressed with all clear walls such as what an aquarium has, my question is whether or not a hide is needed in this type of enclosure, i have seen many snake breeders that keep their snakes in snake racks which are basically bins in racks and many times if not most of the time, the snakes are not given a hide, i dont know if this is because to give so many snakes their own hide would be inconvenient or if it is really not all that needed? So it it completely necessary to provide each one of my snakes with a hide?

I wouldn’t say that its necessary to have a hide for every snake. We have over 100 snakes and not all of ours have hides, but majority do. I’ll tell ya something I use that my snakes love, (mainly for the baby colubrids, juve corns, hogs, and garters) is empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls! I’ve even put in empty spaghetti boxes lol. They like anything like that. So you don’t have to get all fancy and buy them expensive hides, especially since you don’t have yours out on display. All of mine are in racks except our dusky pygmy rattler. He is set up in our living room and his tank is a little more decorated. Hope this helps!

I currently have my ball python and dumerils boa in plastic sweater bins, they work great, very easy to clean, light weight for moving, retains heat and humidity very well, they are both growing and i need to upgrade to a permanent enclosure, i want to use the same type of enclosure but i cannot find a plastic bin big enough, im looking for one about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide mine are currently 3 feet long and 18 inches wide, i went to walmart and target and couldnt find one any bigger, any idea where i could get one? a store or online? This is a pic of what a plastic bin looks like

http://www.rubbermaid.com/Assets/images/Product/3q32-clmcb-xlarge.jpg

mine are not as tall and height isnt really a factor.
thanks

Yeah V175. I picked a few fro $25 each this last Christmas from Walmart. These are the Christmas tree storage. ReptileTubs.com carries then year round, but at a higher price plus shipping. My juvenile boas are in Sterilite 34-Qt ( lime green latches), many would say this is fine for a BP. Your 3ft x 18in will be good for the BP. Sterlite 105-QT(lime green latches) would be good to. Neodesha Plastics makes great cages. These are the only commercial cages I have used, since my parents used to work there, and my wife and some of my family does now. I will recommend Boaphile Plastics too. Though I haven’t bought cages from there I have gotten boas from Jeff, any that have done business with him will tell that customer service is above none.

and if you own one can you post pics of it and i’s enclosure?

Mines a female, around 6-7inches long. I have her in a tote right now (wasn’t planning on getting it, neighbor was going to chuck her outside). I want to get a bigger tote to put her in but I’m not sure how big I should get. Do they get much larger?
I’m going to get a tote big enough for her, many people house them safely in totes…

The usual bare minimum is 10 gallons per inch of shell. However, you can "cheat" a bit if you have a very low, broad tank, like a wading pool. They’re cheap, too. Anything over 4′ diameter should do for now but get the largest one you have room for to avoid having to replace it.

i am planning on having about 3 of them and they need to be inside for the most part i found some good 20 dollar plastic containers but nobody sells them anymore because they are "seasonal items"does anybody have some of those or any other good sizes plastic containers

Hello. Russian Tortoises are very interesting to keep and breed, but plastic containers are not suitable and will cause a variety of health problems in time. Please see this excellent Tortoise Trust article on constructing a Table Top Tortoise Habitat for details on an easy-to-build enclosure: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Tortoisetable.htm. For more on keeping Russian Tortoises, please see my article at http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatreptileblog/2009/06/26/the-russian-or-horsefield%e2%80%99s-tortoise-an-ideal-%e2%80%9cfirst-tortoise%e2%80%9d/.
Good luck and enjoy!