# Its The Time To Build



## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 16, 2009)

Heyy everyone its finally the time im about to build a 7x3x3 or 6x3x3 cage for my female mila 

I was wondering if anyone can give me some suggestions like what best kind of wood i should buy? and the type of materials i would need? Also good estimate would be nice too 

thanks guys `


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## VenomVipe (Jul 16, 2009)

Have you considered Bobby's enclosure? There's a ton of great information in the "How to" forum.


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## crox (Jul 16, 2009)

Itll cost you less than 200 bucks. Im building an 8x4 for my female and it should be right around 200 even with the extra support im putting around it so i can use it as a bed frame. Check out the enclosure part of the forum. If it is for inside bobbys 6 feet tall enclosure would be pretty unnecessary. Good luck!


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## MIKE-ZILLA (Jul 16, 2009)

MDF wood (multi density fiber wood) is durable and nice and smooth ,but its heavy and more expensive than plywood.a friend of mine helped me build a snake cabinet using MDF turned out nice.Also plenty of Tips and ideas on line.you gonna make a door on front or top?


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## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 19, 2009)

crox said:


> Itll cost you less than 200 bucks. Im building an 8x4 for my female and it should be right around 200 even with the extra support im putting around it so i can use it as a bed frame. Check out the enclosure part of the forum. If it is for inside bobbys 6 feet tall enclosure would be pretty unnecessary. Good luck!



Ya thats between my budget haha so do you know what kind materials i would need? just basics really haha


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## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 19, 2009)

MIKE-ZILLA said:


> MDF wood (multi density fiber wood) is durable and nice and smooth ,but its heavy and more expensive than plywood.a friend of mine helped me build a snake cabinet using MDF turned out nice.Also plenty of Tips and ideas on line.you gonna make a door on front or top?



Ya that would be nice  so how much does the MDF run usually? Im planning to make a door in the front is that good? and say that i do get plywood i heard you have to seal it, what do I use to seal it? 

thanks


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## 31drew31 (Jul 20, 2009)

I used plywood and 2x4's but really to keep it lighter you could use 1x2's. Sealed it with kilz primer (waterbased) and then put two coats of exterior paint on it. On some of my other cages I have just used 5/8's plywood and screwed plywood to plywood, which is holding up good but I wouldnt wanna stack to much on top of it. If your going 6x3x3 you could just screw plywood together but if your going any bigger I would make some sort of frame.


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## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 20, 2009)

31drew31 said:


> I used plywood and 2x4's but really to keep it lighter you could use 1x2's. Sealed it with kilz primer (waterbased) and then put two coats of exterior paint on it. On some of my other cages I have just used 5/8's plywood and screwed plywood to plywood, which is holding up good but I wouldnt wanna stack to much on top of it. If your going 6x3x3 you could just screw plywood together but if your going any bigger I would make some sort of frame.



yaa Im going 7x3x3 after all cause my tegu is bigger  haha so how much did you usually spend building your cages?


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## MIKE-ZILLA (Jul 20, 2009)

you can check on MDF prices online cause it depends on location. even if you use plywood you may want to build 8' long cause most building wood is sold in 8'x4' panels.you can seal it with exterior paint but donrt forget to caulk the inside seams.good luck :-D


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## MIKE-ZILLA (Jul 20, 2009)

you can check on MDF prices online cause it depends on location. even if you use plywood you may want to build 8' long cause most building wood is sold in 8'x4' panels.you can seal it with exterior paint but donrt forget to caulk the inside seams.good luck :-D


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## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 23, 2009)

bump


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## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 31, 2009)

MIKE-ZILLA said:


> you can check on MDF prices online cause it depends on location. even if you use plywood you may want to build 8' long cause most building wood is sold in 8'x4' panels.you can seal it with exterior paint but donrt forget to caulk the inside seams.good luck :-D


Do you have to seal the MDF wood? cuz im considering of buying that type of wood


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## jmiles50 (Jul 31, 2009)

Hey, this is my walk through. Might help ya! LOTS of pic's My design is from RehabRalphy.

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## CuriousTegu760 (Jul 31, 2009)

haha thanks your design is sick bro haha but how did you get the 2x4 nailed onto the platform?


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## MIKE-ZILLA (Aug 1, 2009)

> Do you have to seal the MDF wood? cuz im considering of buying that type of wood


 if its for indoors I would use something on the inside of the cage(In case of water spills, urine splashes ect.) I would also caulk the seams and edges to stop water/urine from soaking in. I use vinyl flooring (like whats used for kitchen and bathroom floors )to cover the bottom of snake cages, but then had to paint the inside due to feces smears on the edges of the cage. so you should probably try to seal and waterproof real good for a tegu. as far as the outside goes it depends on your tastes. you can paint it,stain it , or leave it as is.


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## CuriousTegu760 (Aug 1, 2009)

OO alright cool ya ill do that then thanks ya im going to use a Kilz 2 water base on the inside and paint over it. 
Also When use vinyl flooring on the bottom you just use the caulk on the sides and edges right?


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## Jefroka (Aug 1, 2009)

CuriousTegu760 said:


> OO alright cool ya ill do that then thanks ya im going to use a Kilz 2 water base on the inside and paint over it.
> Also When use vinyl flooring on the bottom you just use the caulk on the sides and edges right?



Correct, you want to seal the seams, so water can't leak through.


...Jefroka


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## TeguKing15 (Aug 1, 2009)

If you want your cage to be even more water proof and last even longer I recommend adding another coat of Kilz sealer/primer after you paint your enclosure. Just to be safer than sorry. I dont care what anyone says, it never hurts to take a precautionary step if you have left over supplies.


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## CuriousTegu760 (Aug 2, 2009)

TeguKing15 said:


> If you want your cage to be even more water proof and last even longer I recommend adding another coat of Kilz sealer/primer after you paint your enclosure. Just to be safer than sorry. I dont care what anyone says, it never hurts to take a precautionary step if you have left over supplies.



Ya thats true haha sounds good 

so after i paint it how many days do i let the cage sit to the let the fumes out?


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