PVC Enclosure

[jor71]

I notice more and more people are buying/selling PVC cages and was wondering if some people can give me their opinion on them. Whether it is through past experience or just some common knowledge; either way I would like to hear from you.

I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for, which is why I ask.

Thank you all in advance :-D

 

[tegulevi]

PVC is an expensive material to work with. it has its advantages and its downfalls. its very sturdy in thick sheets and pretty easy to clean. I think they are good for snakes and low heat lizards. i would never use them for tegus or monitors. PVC outgasses a toxic fume at much lower temperatures than other plastics. and most of these off the shelf cages are too low in height to have a basking spot that is safely elevated away from the material. I think anyone here who builds their own cages has had the pipe ream of selling actual good large lizard tanks. only to realize that shipping a good tank is way to expensive to ever be worth it. simple fact i have yet to see a plastic cage that i would house a tegu in. the melamine ones from boamaster are the only good ones yet and im also no fan of melamine.
so i guess what im getting at is build your own if you want something that you will like. but take a lesson from me and make it easy to disassemble. wood cages seem to get heavier over time. when i moved my 8x4 when i built it i used me and a skateboard. 2 or 3 years later it was me my friend and a hydraulic jack to get it one the trailer lol. i think it soaked up humidity too much.