A few annoying questions about building an enclosure.

[Kurixen]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and I have a few questions about building an enclosure. What sort of plywood would be best for the sides, top, and bottom of the cage? What kind of fixtures should I use for fluorescent and MVB lighting? Should I use plexiglass or lexan for the doors?
Also, will one six inch barrel bolt latch per door be enough?

If anyone can offer any advice on how to build the doors, I would be very grateful. I've never really done a project like this so any advice or input will be useful.

Thank you so much for the help, I know these questions probably get asked a lot, but I'm just having a hard time organizing all of the information.

I attached a rough idea of the enclosure I hope to build, hopefully it will show up .

 

[james.w]

If you don't plan on stacking anything on it, you could use 1/2" plywood. I would build a frame with 2x2s. For the fixtures, I use porcelain fixtures from Home Depot for my MVB and 4' shop fixtures for UVB and flourescents. I would recommend glass (tempered is best) for the doors, because plexi and lexan will get scratced from the claws.

 

[Kurixen]

Great! Thanks for the help!

 

[Toby_H]

Keep it simple whoever possible…

A simple 2” x 2” frame shelled in 3/8“ ~ ½” Plywood is fine. I went with 2” x 4” but my enclosure doubles as a stand for up to a 240 gal fish tank.

I chose tempered glass over Plexiglas. For large pieces they cost about the same and Plexiglas scratches way too easily. But the downside to glass is it is very heavy. If I could do it over again I would have went with sliding glass doors.

I mounted a simple 4’ Fluorescent fixture to the front above the doors to illuminate the enclosure, and a simple 4’ fluorescent fixture to the bottom of the shelf to provide UVB. Then there are two incandescent fixtures with 10” domes mounted on one end above the basking platform (bulb wattage varies pending season). Each light is on a different timer that is adjusted differently pending season.

I highly suggest sealing it with Drylok. It is a great product that I’ve used in a wide variety of applications. I’ve made a few wooden enclosures that have remained water tight for years when sealed with Drylok. You can also add paint pigments to it to make almost any color possible. It applies like a very thick pain. Either use a primer or a very thin first coat to seal the wood and give the successive coats something to grip to.

My enclosure:

 

[Maro1]

Drylock worked unbelievably well I was amazed! Dump water right in and stir!

 

[Kurixen]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Should I use latex based or oil based Drylok? I looked for some tempered glass yesterday with no luck, where do you think I could get my hands on some?

 

[Maro1]

I used Latex based Drylok. It cleans up easier and once dry is just as good a oil base.

 

[james.w]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Should I use latex based or oil based Drylok? I looked for some tempered glass yesterday with no luck, where do you think I could get my hands on some?

Look for a local glass company. They will be able to cut it to whatever size you want.

 

[Rhetoric]

My girls enclosure has plexiglass, they're doors are hinged to open upward and have the ability to be locked open. There 4 latches on each window/door, total of 4 windows/doors.
Their enclosure has 2x4s in the corners and 4-5 4x4 in the middle (the guy who built it used it as an underbed enclsoure). Plywood bottom, top and sides. The sides have giant holes cut out for the doors.

My males enclosure has 2 HEAVY sliding glass doors and a glass lock (not sure of the proper term lol), I'm not sure how thick they are or anything but the tank had been used for a savy and a retic before I had gotten it. The same guy that built it also housed cobras in one. They're escape proof lol. I think that the wood on this tank is 2x6, there is no plywood its a heavy sucker.

Lights, my girls have 2 MVB bulbs and one extra UVB bulb (coil, which isn't the best but it covers a spot the MVB won't hit). I'm probably going to end up having 2- 24" fixtures put in sometime soon. My male has 1 MVB bulb and 2- 48" reptisun 10.0 bulbs.

I think the one latch/bolt you have per door should be alright as long as its sturdy and secure around all the sides.