It is important that your reptiles are not able to come in direct contact with electrical fittings within the enclosure. This is especially important with snakes, who can curl around light bulbs and burn themselves quite severely. In order to stop this occuring, it is best to use a shield which stops the animal coming in contact with the lights and electrical components. These can be purchased already made, but for those people who like to build and outfit their enclosures from scratch, they can also be made.

The light guard shown above was made from 6.5 x 6.5mm "Mouse and Snake mesh" which is available from most hardware stores (I get mine from HardwareHouse). The first thing you need to decide is the height, width and length of the light guard you need to make. You can see the general shape to cut for a 'box' style guard on the right. When you go to buy the mesh, make sure you get enough! The general formula for calculating the size of the mesh you need for a 'box' light guard is:
Length of Mesh needed = Length of guard + height of guard + height of guard
Width of mesh needed = Width of guard + height of guard + height of guard
Once you have the piece of mesh, you need to cut out the corner squares (height of guard x height of guard) so that you can fold all the sides up to make the 'box'. If you are unsure about any of this, practice on a sheet of paper to make a trial guard.

Once cut to shape, the wire mesh is bent into the 'box'shape. This is easiest if you lay the sheet of wire mesh on the floor, place a piece of straight wood along the edge you want to bend along, and then fold the mesh up until it reaches a right angle. If the bend isn't clean, you can use a small hammer to mould the edge into shape along the piece of wood you used as a guide for the bend. Don't worry about getting it perfect, when you wire the corners together, it will gain a lot of stability.

After the sides have been bent up, you will need to wire together each of the corners to make the entire 'box'. Use an easy to bend soft wire, as you will be able to thread it through the corners of the guard more easily. I use copper wire, which I get from the inside of multi-core electrical cabling, which is often left over from wiring the enclosure. To get the copper wire out of the insulating casing, just make a small slit in the PVC, grab one strand of the copper wire core with a pair of pliers, and holding all the other strands with your hand, pull the wire at a 90 degree angle all the way back down the casing. This cuts the casing, and lets you just 'pop' the other wires out.Now you have your wire, just thread the wire in between each mesh squares that line up on the corners of the guard, until the entire corner is held together. Repeat for the other three corners that need to be wired.

To mount the guard to the enclosure, a frame needs to be built which attaches to the guard, and which can then be used to attach the guard to the enclosure. Measure the final length and width of the wire guard (it may be different from the planned length and width!), and build a frame that will fit around the outside of the base.The frame is best built from square pine, either 18 x 18mm or 25 x 25mm. Once the frame is built, the wire guard needs to be attached to the frame. Use large flat head screws, which have a head larger than the mesh size. Attach the mesh guard to the frame, with screws every 20 - 35mm.

Holes need to be made in the base of the frame, so that any electrical cables can pass underneath. This is best done by drilling a hole in the appropriate place, and enlarging it with a file and sandpaper, until the electrical cable can easily fit underneath. The last thing to do before attaching the guard to the enclosure, is to protect your animal (and yourself!) from the sharp edges of the wire, and ensure that the wire mesh can't press on any electrical cables as they pass under the frame. Cut away any mesh directly around the holes for the electrical cables, and make sure that the mesh is pressed down well. Using a tube of clear silicon, cover the wire mesh around the holes, to ensure there are no sharp wires near the electrical cables. The corners of the wire mesh 'box' that have been wired together will also have sharp edges - cover these with a bead of silicon also. Finally, run a bead of silicon all the way around the join between the wooden frame and the wire mesh.

After the silicon has dried (12 - 24 hours) you can attach the guard to
the enclosure, using a screw through each corner of the frame.

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