Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last few days I got to work on my cage some. I decided to change some things in my original plan. I opted to cap one half of my cage off. (5'x30" I am going to use it for a bit as enclosure til he gets a bit bigger, and I want to see how the cage holds up to the temps/humidity. I layed down some vinyl sheet flooring and also decided not to putthe vinyl over the frame as many of you mentioned it is going to be difficult, and no kidding! I knew it would be but didn't imagine anything like it was actually. I coated the frame that is exposed a few extra times with polycrylic(sp?) I also decided I am not going to paint the cage as I really like the natural color/look of that russian birch. I may paint the outside, but not sure about that yet. Anyways I took some pics and here they are..

Cage door down, showing vinyl I put down.

Note the color of the temporary wall opposed to that after layers of polycrylic.

Just showing vinyl again.

Closeup

One of the lights I am going to install. (these are going to be for sight, not heat, they will only be on when I want to see inside the cage)

Light hung to ceiling(this was quite a pain)

Light hung,a nd turned on(no i will not be leaving the cord like this, i just wanted to see what it looked like)

This is cage lit up with that one light. You can't tell from this picture as my camera don't like (no flash) but the light makes the enclosure look AMAZING!! I had no idea it would look that nice. It looks like an exhibit case from a museum.

Another angle..

Thanks for looking, and any comments welcomed. Also.. I have to say this as I can't say it enough. HUGE THANKS TO CHRIS_H, AND BIGHURT!!!

Turned out pretty good like the tile, I imagine it would be pretty hard to fit over the interior framework but it should hold up. I also agree with useing half for now but he will need the other half soon I am sure. Good job and remeber that all this work is a learning curve.

I remember my first enclosure, this has nothing to do with yours in particular. I thought it was the greatest enclosure in the world and that I could make a ton of money building these for local purchase. Man was I mistaken the cages barly lasted 2 years, I learned a lot from those little mistakes I didn't even knew I made. So keep that in mind and write down the little things you find you could have improved on. When it is time to build another cage it seems you can never remember what it was you wanted to change.

Again Good job I hope he enjoys it.
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
0.0.1 Youth -coming soon-

The lights that you used though......I bought the same kind of lights from Lowes, and I couldnt keep the things lit, they kept burning out. I had them installed under some shelves, so air flow wasnt an issue. I went through 2 whole sets in a month. I've heard form other people that the brand that lowes carries aint so great either. If you have any problems, try the same style of light, but from Home Depot. Those seem to have a better reputation.
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Thanks for information. Main reason I used those are b/c a bud gave them to me for free. hehe Can't beat that. If they blow out or whatnot i'm not too much.