Bed/Tegu Cage...is it possible?

[PinkPunisher]

Hey everyone, I'm planning building my little girl Alice a permanent home over the summer, It's going be a 8'x4'x4' but i may change height later on we'll see.

I plan on building it the same as RehabRalphy did in his tutorial but I'm not sure if it will be able to hold me, another cage, and if my girlfriend comes over for us to lay on the bed together to watch TV so i want a cage that will be able to hold at least 400lbs on top of it without any bowing or even worse breaking. What could i do to make sure the cage is strong enough to hold the weight? Do you think it can hold it fine already?

Should i just add a few more supports? Also i don't plan on using the caster wheeling.

Also heres a link for the tutorial - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=102">http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=102</a><!-- m -->

Thanks,
Spencer

 

[RehabRalphy]

I answered it inside the post.

It is possible if done correctly. The casters will bow your cage and I doubt after all the supports you need to add, that it'll be able to move around.

 

[DaveDragon]

I used (2) pieces of 1" square steel tubing on the bottom of mine just in case. The enclosures weigh 170 lbs empty and about 500-600 lbs full. two of them are stacked (1000 lbs) on $5 3" Home Depot casters. As an afterthought I should have used some bigger casters but I rarely move them around so they're fine.

http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=345

 

[PinkPunisher]

Dave could you go into a little more detail about the steel tubing? I'm not following.

I think I'm just going to make the frame 4x4s, on the top and bottom reinforce it with a support beam every 1' , at the back center i was thinking of putting a 2x6 there because it would be stronger then a 4x4 right? I could be wrong though, I've never built anything like this to test it out.

Would it be easier for me to build a fish tank stand but to size i need?I think it might be because they made to support a lot weight from the top. Look at this link and tell me what you think.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.garf.org/">http://www.garf.org/</a><!-- m -->

Go into the left hand column and choose How To - pages....then choose Aquarium Construction & Tips...then choose DIY Stand building page. Design a stand to hold your tank. Then put in 48 for the width, 48 for the height and 96 for the length.

Spencer

 

[DaveDragon]

I used 2x4's for the base frame to support the substrate (75% of the weight). The steel tubing was added across the bottom to just to support the bottom of the 3/8" plywood (at my wife's request) as a "just in case". I used 2x2's for the rest of the frame because all it does is hold the 1/4" plywood skin on. The construction is fine even for stacking (2). The vertical 2x2' are screwed into the 2x4 bottom frame and go all the way up to the top "skin". The weight of the second enclosure is transferred directly to vertical supports for the bottom enclosure which sit directly over the casters. The 1/4" skin keeps everything square and solid.

As Rehab said, if you don't use casters you won't need as much structure. I think 4x4's would be way over kill. If you want the extra support, screw (2) 2x4's together, laminated wood is stronger than a single piece.

 

[PinkPunisher]

I think i'll just make the 4 posts into 4x4's and put a 2x4 every foot on the top to support it better. The back will get either 1 2x6 or 3 2x4s


Spencer

 

[RehabRalphy]

Google different types of frame supports. Such as the "A" frame. Theres tons of different designs of supporting structures that will help with weight.

 

[PinkPunisher]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=186b9bc1a546309f416487d8a32da5ea&prevstart=0">http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ ... revstart=0</a><!-- m -->

Heres something you guys might find much easier to see how i plan on making it look.

Spencer

 

[Toby_H]

For a free standing cage... 4' seems to be an ideal height in my opinion...

But as a bed frame cage it may prove awkward climbing into / out of a bed so high...

I've never owned an adult Tegu, so I'm guessing here... but it seems like 2.5' tall, w/ a foot or a little less of substrate and a foot and a half or a little more for air space, would be sufficient for the lizard and much more appropriate for a bed frame...

Just thinking out loud...

 

[RehabRalphy]

Do they make a mattress that'll fit that? hahaha

EDIT: It'll suck in the summer to sleep on a hot bed. The lighting is going to fry your butt.

 

[PinkPunisher]

I'm only using a twin/single mattress which is roughly 6'x3' so theres some room at the end for me to put my Bearded Dragons cage which is 4'x2' and then i still have a 1' of room to my right on the top of the cage.

I've since made a better 3D model for the frame and is much more detailed.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=186b9bc1a546309f416487d8a32da5ea">http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ ... d8a32da5ea</a><!-- m -->

The red-orange planks are 2"x6"s
The black planks are 4"x4"s
The white planks are 2"x4"s

For getting on top of the cage with my bed i plan on using a handy-dandy stepping stool or a library stool! :mrgreen:

Spencer

 

[DaveDragon]

Here is the plans to my enclosures. Pardon the low quality of the picture, I had to save the CAD file as a PDF, convert to JPG and shrink to 800 pixels. Either right click and Save As, or PM me with your email and I'll send you the PDF.

I use 8"-9" of mulch, 16" of living space & 9" for the lights (separated by 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth).

I'm going to redesign the doors to be made from 3/4" plywood (with the center cut out). They have 1/2" vinyl coated hardware cloth on the outside, but I later added .08 thick Plexiglas to the inside to hold in the humidity.

 

[PinkPunisher]

I picked up the wood today and I'm hoping to be able to start it today but most likely tommorrow if the weather brightens up a little. Rain rain go away come again another day...

Spencer

 

[PinkPunisher]

OK so quick update, we ran into some problems. I forgot that a 2x4 isn't actually 2"x4" its actually 1.5"x3.5" which pissed me off a lot when i realized it because it messed up all my measurements. We are now back on track with the design after figuring out where we were confusing ourselves and plan to have the cage built by the weekend and painting/sealing hopefully done by after the weekend. It will most deffinatly be done in a week, gotta love summer break without a job!

Spencer

 

[DaveDragon]

Don't rush it, do a good job. She'll be in it for a long time.

I have to build a 4th enclosure this summer. It takes about 3 weeks, at night, to build one. I'm not going to rush it. This one will probably take 4-6 weeks.

 

[PinkPunisher]

I don't have a job and schools done though so i would think i have more time then you. I mean know offense in that in anyway just flapping my gums. We've finished the base and thats it for the night. Tomorrow after exams my brother and I hope to have the top down. Saturday finish cutting the supports, take my bed out of the room and maybe have the frame put together. Sunday hopefully we'll be able to plywood it and maybe pick up the prime and paint.

Should i worry about the wood rotting with all the mulch on it? How many coats would you recommend 2-3?

Thanks for all you help everyone!

Spencer

 

[DaveDragon]

I used surplus vinyl flooring in the bottom with silicone caulk in the corners. That way I don't have to worry about wood rot. I saw a member of "the other forum" use it and I thought he was nuts for going so overboard but when I started planning to build mine the moisture under the mulch issue was raised. Vinyl flooring seemed to be the best & least expensive solution. I also found if you dump water into the mulch it ends up on the bottom, the mulch doesn't absorb it all. So if you haven't waterproofed the bottom you might be in trouble.

 

[PinkPunisher]

Does it come in sticky tiles that you lay down or is it a big sheet that has to be bent all over to fit around the corners and supports? Could i use sticky vinyl tiles that you put down seperatly? The only reason i ask is it would be easy to get into the bottom i would assume.


Spencer

 

[DaveDragon]

I tried the tiles first and they didn't stick well to the painted plywood. The sheet stuff is much harder to work with but once it's properly glued down and sealed it's waterproof. You have to weight or clamp it down for the glue to properly stick. Here are some in process pics.

Finished.

 

[PinkPunisher]

OK another update, we're just in the process of bringing it upstairs. I'll try and take some pictures while we are moving it around but know promises.

Spencer