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Building your own cage?

darkbloodwyvern

darkbloodwyvern

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Hello,
I am thinking of building my own cage, i really like making things and have seen some really gorgeous handmade cages from enthusiasts. Does anyone have tips on materials to use that will be non-toxic and efficient with heat and humidity? I will be housing balls and possibly some desert species eventually, so i would love any ideas on keeping both high and low humidity in a high tmeperature 90-100 degree range. Anyways, any links, pictures or information is helpful, i've already done some searches so if you have an obscure site somewhere, feel free to post it. thanks!
 
well for me i been using tile board and it seems to be working fine so far just as long as you chalk it good and it seems to heat well to i m actually making a 5 footer right now and soon to start acouple of 6 footers and 8 footers I'm also going to be making some 12 footers but i will be go with plywood there if you have any questions feel free to ask i have some where here i think pictures of a couple of 3 footers i made two were tile board and one made out of melamine if you like i can post them to give you a idea of what they will look like it actually easy to make good luck
 
There was a nice article in Reptiles Magazine this month for a few different quick easy cages, and a few were quite nice!
 
Building cages is a lot of fun, especially if you have some specific plan or goal that you can't accomplish with a commercially made unit.

One word of warning is that many people assume they can build a cage that is both attractive and light yet that still saves a lot of money. Combining all three of those traits is not always so easy.

Regardless, what look are you going for exactly? Do you want a stained wood with a clear coat, a clear acrylic display cage or something else?

What is most important to you? An attractive cage, a lightweight cage, or a cage that saves you some money over commercial units?

Since this will be for Ball Pythons and Desert species you won't have a hard time with sealing the cages. Many of the modern water-based paints and clear coats will be more than durable enough for what you want to do.
 
thanks, more info..

hello,
I am looking to build something with a nice looking finish, so stained with a clear coat would be ideal. I would prefer something light, but i'm not too worried about that. As for cost, I don't mind if it costs as much as a cage i could buy off the internet, I would just like to be able to make something as close to what i want, and the plastic moldeds are just a little plain for me.
I was hoping to be able to make the cage look semi natural with a fake rock wall or some kind of texturing they can climb on and a few permenent branches in various places.
I am hoping to make something pretty that is not difficult to clean, and i think i'd need it to be light enough to carry with two people, but that doesn't concern me too much. It would need to be something i could handle on my own if i need to, but cost and all that is not a big deal. I was wondering if anyone knew about building fake rocks with nontoxic materials, or material that wouldn't emit toxins after it dries, and what kinds of stains and finishes would be best.
My friend made a beautiful corn snake cage out of an oak entertainment center, so if i find something that i can alter, i may do that if i find something with good wood that looks nice. She added locks and vents and lamps, and it looks really nice decorated.
hers is about 100 gallons, and i think i will make mine smaller around 40-45 if i make it all myslef. If i get a large piece of furniture that is reasonable to fix up, it will probably be big, but i can always make a few smaller cages eventually. This will be a long term project in a couple years, so i wanted to gather ideas now. thanks!
 
to make a fake rock wall is rather easy all you need is some styrafoam and depending on the size you are making a can of that fill foam stuff also you will need some grout it comes in a few colors and finally some grout sealer thats it what i did was cut the styrefoam into a few diffrent shapes and just used a hot glue gun to stick it to the wall then when you have what you like take the stuff in a can and fill in all the holes around i let it set for a day or so then i used a knife and a soldering gun to cut away at the stuff in to the design you are tring to make after that i let sit cause i was tired then next i applied the grout this will take some time you want it kinda like oatmean but not to thick where it will dry to fast you will have to put many coats on just apply alittle at a time let the first coat dry tottally then do it again and again this is where i got bored and rushed it so dont do like me take your time ,after all coats are applied and dried then you use the grout sealer which just follow the dirctions and all will be fine you can also use some diffrent color paint if you wish but apply it before the sealer also to make a more real look you can add small pebbles to the grout ,looks good .well thats about it and you will be set
Heres some pictures not to good ones of the wall i made for my T.Blondi
IMG_0117.jpg

IMG_0116.jpg
 
How do you stop your styrofoam from becoming a bacterial breeding ground?
 
well once you put all the layers of grout and then the grout sealer its water tight which then i would think nothing else could get in ..I also do clean it but the spider really doesn't make much of a mess
 
thanks

ok, so what kind of cage do you have the rock stuff in? I can't tell from the pics. I was wondering if you knew if the foam stuff or the grout would stick to wood? or is there perhaps another way to basically glue the rock into a wood cage? I just found another site that shows how to do this, but they don't say if the rock is just loose or stuck in the cage. I would rather have it glued in so the snakes don't wobble it around.
anyways, thank you so much all, it's been very inspiring. :)
 
this rock wall is built in a 10 gallom fish tank all glass so im sure you would have no problem getting it to stick to wood
 
darkbloodwyvern said:
hello,
I am looking to build something with a nice looking finish, so stained with a clear coat would be ideal.

I was hoping to be able to make the cage look semi natural with a fake rock wall or some kind of texturing they can climb on and a few permenent branches in various places.

i think i will make mine smaller around 40-45 (gallons) if i make it all myslef. If i get a large piece of furniture that is reasonable to fix up
Click to expand...

I have several comments.

Modifying furniture can be very cool and will lend itself well to the species you plan to keep.

40-45 gallon size sounds fine, but just make sure you leave enough height to allow for the amount of decoration you want. Pick the approximate floor area first and then build it tall enough to accomodate the decoration you want.

If your cages will all be stacked together and the sides/tops will be more or less hidden it might not be worth it to build these cages from a nice looking laminated plywood. If the interior will be covered with faux rockwork and the outsides will be more or less covered there really is no reason to use an expensive cabinet grade material for the carcass of the cage.

There is a way to build cages in the 50 gallon range that are both cheap, light, and attractive. I'll see if I can post some pictures to show you what I mean.
 
thanks

that sounds cool, i would love to see pictures or designs, whatever you can post at your leisure. :) thank you
 
darkbloodwyvern said:
that sounds cool, i would love to see pictures or designs, whatever you can post at your leisure. :) thank you
Click to expand...

It might just be easier if you email me. Just take my fauna user-name and add it to At Yahoo Dot Com
 
I built these units about a couple years ago. They are 5' wide, 2' deep and 18" high. Each unit has two enclosures, however the center panel opens so one large enclosure is an option. The floor is raised and heat tape is run underneath. Both units are stained and have many coats of poly on them.
 

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nice cages art gives me more ideas ,just what i need i think i have it down and then you had to show me this now i have to see how it turns out if i make one ...lol,it looks heavy is it?.and how thick of plywood did you use?
 
nice cages art gives me more ideas ,just what i need i think i have it down and then you had to show me this now i have to see how it turns out if i make one ...lol,it looks heavy is it?.and how thick of plywood did you use?
Click to expand...
I used 1/2" ply and used 1/2" MDF for the framing. Yes, They are pigs. They work well for me though. Just hard to move by myself.
 
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