Help with Building a Great Enclosure (Pics of enclosures are welcomed)

[ksteven813]

Great news, I found someone to build a custom cage for me in FL. They only live about an hour away so no money on shipping I have seen some examples of reptile cages they have built before and they look very well made. He quoted me between $500-$600.

He said I can use any type of wood of my choice. But he recommended 15/32 3-Ply plywood sheeting with either 2x2 or 2x4 frame. Is there a better choice? I am not really sure what kind of wood that is lol. Now i want this to be as light as possible but also support a 4x2x2 bearded dragon cage on top. He also said he would use sheet of laminated bathroom/shower wall for the flooring and lower side wall for easier cleaning.

My other question. If you were to have a cage built. What would you have done to it to make it even better?

I was also thinking about have the cage come apart in two to bring it through door ways and just to make it easier in handling. Do yall have a good recommendation on how to do that?

I encourage you to post pics of your enclosure as well for recommendations for me. I want this cage to be awesome and last a very long time.

I will be adding more to this thread as I come up with more questions

 

[Sirhc401]

This video shows the wall unit I have for my reptiles. it is made of melamine and you can clearly see how they are made. easily stack-able. water sealed.
[video=youtube]http://youtu.be/D4xyGaNzzE0[/video]

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how big is the cage you are trying to build?

 

[ksteven813]

Very nice cages. I was going to try to stay away from melamine though due to the weight of it. The cage is going to be 6x3x3 or 7x3x3.

 

[ksteven813]

Can I see some pics of the inside of enclosures of the light fixtures? I would like to see how everyone has them set up? Also, would you recommend a mvb bulb for uv and heat in one or two seperate bulbs?

 

[ksteven813]

I actually found a good cage on craiglist for $100. It is a 6x2x2 and will be able to hold my tegu until I can get something bigger built. Here are pics of it:

The water area is completely removable and since I live in FL, humidity should not be an issue. I will cover all the open sides except for the one on the cool side. The owner recommends I seal it all up myself real good again.

Do yall think this is a good idea? Any recommendations you think I should do to it?

 

[Skeetzy]

Definitely seal the inside with drylok, caulk every seam, and like you said, cover most, if not all, of those big holes. But for $100 it looks nice. Definitely worth it for a longer lasting start out cage.

And I honestly wouldn't use that heat lamp. It's hanging by the cord, which is a HUGE no no. Fire hazard waiting to happen. Install a ceramic light fixture, they're cheap and very easy to wire up.

 

[james.w]

Looks like a great start up enclosure. Like said, seal the inside, and you may or may not have to cover all the vents depending on how high the humidity is in your home.

Here is an enclosure I modified after buying it to make it hold plenty of substrate and still fit through a doorway. I removed the bottom and added about 18" to it.

Here it is prior to modification

This the enclosure I built for my All American Tegu, it is 8 x 3.5 x 3.5

This is one way to do lights

 

[ksteven813]

Well, Unfortunately it has been sold now. Back to square one lol. Great looking enclosure james! Thanks for the replies so far everyone

I still do have a builder that can build me a custom cage.
Now I can not decide if I want sliding or hinged doors.
And should I get just a MVB powersun bulb?

 

[james.w]

Sliding doors are much more convenient in my opinion. Hinged doors get in the way unless they can sit flat against the enclosure when open. Sliding doors give you the option of only opening the doors a very small amount if needed (aggressive feeder).

 

[Renske]

You could build it your self. It will cost not that much of money. And you can build much nicer ebclosures. We always build it our selfs.
Here some pictures:

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Old enclosure

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[chriswizz]

heres a brief look around mine it may give you some ideas to put into your build, there made from 18mm mdf. the older one at the beginning is made from pine.
[video=youtube]http://youtu.be/Sy5fwoXfNec[/video]

 

[bombadierboom]

This is my juvie cage. It's 4x2x2 with a tub on top for my baby Brazilian Rainbow. And the gray bin is my roach colony. Now this cage sits on the floor with a 4x6 pen attached to the front for my tegu to roam out during the day. Soon it will become the primary enclosure for my brb and my tegu will free roam a spare bedroom with a 8x3 cage for a den. I plan on making it very similar to this one. All melamine sealed with silicone, and a 12 inch deep base below the glass for substrate for burrowing. Because I don't plan on moving it for years to come I've gotten 1 1/2" thick melamine. And two pieces of glass 4x18" and 1/2 thick. It will open from the top.

 

[ksteven813]

I would build my own cage if I could...but I have no skill with building anything lol.
Hey Chris, I have been subscribed to you on youtube. I watch all your videos. Awesome tegus and enclosures!
Nice cage Bomb, thanks for the tips!

 

[Renske]

You don't have to have skills. Everyone in the netherlands build enclosures them self. Also not that creative people. You could build a solid enclosure of ytong blocks and put flagstones, lavastones or other nature stones on the wall. Sometimes we use a window of a house in te enclosure as a door. But i dont know if building stuff is the same as in the netherlands.
Most people build enclosures of mdf wood. In the netherlands you can go to a building market and buy the wood and let them saw it in the good sizes. After that you put the it together and put nails in it. In one day you could build a empty enclosure:

 

[tommylee22]

Here is my build I just did for Biggin. Cost was around 400.00 doing it myself. See link below.

http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=12984

 

[chitodadon]

How deeo is the cypress mulch and how much of it did u need

from Samsung Galaxy S3

 

[tommylee22]

In my 8ft cage I got 5 bags of it

 

[ksteven813]

This is how I found the person to make a custom cage, they have a craigslist post: http://lakeland.craigslist.org/pet/3497782909.html

What would you say to them if you were having a cage made?