# Building Cages?



## Beazer (Apr 13, 2009)

Okay, well, for a while I have been talking about building a few cages for myself with a few friends. I am just not sure what materials to use? I am somewhat leaning towards showerboard because the cage needs to beable to with stand higher humidity during certain points of the year. The cages are going to be fore my Varanus auffenbergi and for my V. timorensis. I just cannot make up my mind on what materials and how the hell to go about it, lol. Also, the dimensions of the cages are going to be (LxDxH) 4ft x 2.5ft x 4ft. Any advice? Thanks.


-Jon DeLong


----------



## nivek5225 (Apr 13, 2009)

I am planning on building an enclosure with similiar dimensions for my frilled dragons... 4ft long x 4ft high x 2ft deep. I am thinking about just using plywood and sealing it with something, and then using linoleum for the bottom where any substrate will be.


----------



## Beazer (Apr 13, 2009)

I was going considering ply wood but I dont want to have to re-seal the wood every so often :/ . So far it looks like a choice between ABS plastic (I have noooo idea where to get sheets) and PVC plastic (still no idea where to get sheets). The showerboard just will be too much work lol. So, if anybody has any advice on how to go about it or a place they know of that I can find the sheets, I would be very thankful. Thanks guys.


----------



## FoxxCola (Apr 14, 2009)

Can't you get them at your local Hardware store? That's where I got mine. My mom works there, so she ordered me some. But I am sure if you ask they will order you some too


----------



## nivek5225 (Apr 14, 2009)

FoxxCola said:


> That's where I got mine.


You built an enclosure using plastic? Do you have any pictures of it???????


----------



## omgtaylorg (Apr 14, 2009)

I simply used plywood, partical board to be more exact since it was cheap (but heavy)...and on the re-sealing part. All it takes is sealing it one time with KILZ2 primer/sealer, and then I pained over that with an outdoor paint. Thats all you need to keep the boards from being warped or damaged and you wont have to do it ever again. My cage turned out great and my tegu loves it, so if you are looking to save some money I would go with the plywood. I spent around $120 for an 8x4x3.


----------



## jmiles50 (Apr 14, 2009)

Yeah, I used Killz primor on mine to seal and it worked great :!:


<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3621" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3621</a><!-- l -->


----------



## FoxxCola (Apr 14, 2009)

nivek5225 said:


> FoxxCola said:
> 
> 
> > That's where I got mine.
> ...



Unfourtunatly, That was at my old house and it would not fit through the door. We had to rip it apart. By the time we were done with it, it was complete garbage. Just because of the amount of time and money I had left after moving, all of my new cages were are all made out of ply wood


----------



## Red Earth Exotics (Apr 14, 2009)

i know you said you weren't going to use it, but just wanted to give another reason not to use the shower or tile board. IT SUCKS! if there are ANY type of scratches or the smallest amount of penetration through the exterior "tile" it will absorb water and bubble up! i used it in my burm cage a year ago and it already needs replaced. a tegu would tear that stuff to shreds!!!!


----------



## crsaz (Apr 17, 2009)

a better option than shower board is FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) the use it for walls in showers and countertops in big(resteraunt) kitchens. it is a bit pricier than shower board but is 1000x more durable. you can't scratch it and even if you some how managed to scratch it it would not matter because it is 100% synthetic materials. If it were me I would go with 3/4" melamine. and what kind of doors do you want to use? 

I will be building a rack 6'x3'x18" melamine cages next weekend or the weekend after. I'll post up some pics.
I will be basicly using this design(link below) but I will be improving on a few things. I will use FRP board on the bottom instead on linoleum, and will be "finishing" them a little better.
http://www.monstersnakesforums.com/forum15/8806.html


----------



## dicy (Jun 14, 2009)

the wood i whould use for a wooden viv that needs to be humid to wet is the plex wood they use to make boxes to hold wet concrete in place while it dries i dont know the english word but if u seal that u can even keep fish in it but here is a pic of the wood <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.looijmans.nl/images/Merantie-Betonplex.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.looijmans.nl/images/Merantie-Betonplex.jpg</a><!-- m -->
is not cheap but lasts verry long pple here use it to make koi ponds to <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.anrokoi.nl/projecten/oktober_2002/10%20Wanden%20van%20betonplex%20en%20HDPE%20Fiolie.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.anrokoi.nl/projecten/oktober ... Fiolie.JPG</a><!-- m --> and ofcourse vivs <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ter.nl/webwinkel/images/betonplex%20100x50x50.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ter.nl/webwinkel/images/beto ... x50x50.JPG</a><!-- m -->


----------



## RehabRalphy (Jun 14, 2009)

Beazer said:


> Okay, well, for a while I have been talking about building a few cages for myself with a few friends. I am just not sure what materials to use? I am somewhat leaning towards showerboard because the cage needs to beable to with stand higher humidity during certain points of the year. The cages are going to be fore my Varanus auffenbergi and for my V. timorensis. I just cannot make up my mind on what materials and how the hell to go about it, lol. Also, the dimensions of the cages are going to be (LxDxH) 4ft x 2.5ft x 4ft. Any advice? Thanks.
> 
> 
> -Jon DeLong



I have used <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mcmaster.com/#</a><!-- m --> in the past to purchase PVC sheets.

(same stuff used for boaphiles) tad bit pricey though


----------

