Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Now that I finished my hatchling rack, I'm ready to move on to another project.
I want to build a cage for my pair of Hog Island boas.

So, here's my basic idea-
I have three pieces of double paned glass that are roughly 24"x36"(they're slightly smaller- they fit in a 24x36 window frame). They were leftovers from a construction job; someone ordered panes that didn't fit into windows. A guy I know got them for free, and built them into a cage. That cage doesn't really work for what I need it for, and to use it, I'd have to rip the back, top, & bottom off it & replace them anyway. So, I'm thinking of taking two of those pieces and making them the front, with one side being remaning pane, the opposite side & back plywood. The cage would then be 4 feet long, 3 feet high, and 2 feet deep. This cage would be too small as it is for a pair of Hogs(even though my female is only 5 feet, and the male isn't expected to get much more than 5 feet), but I want to make a shelf that stretches half way across. Kind of a basking area that essentially adds half again as much floor space to it.
Here's a quick blueprint I drew up in Paint.

So, from previous responses to questions on here, I've decided to go with plywood for the wood. One recommendation was for a plywood carcass with hardwood frame, and I'm debating about that. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to build the frame, because I came up with one specific thing I want-
Those glass panels are very heavy. Regardless of type of glass, a cage this size is going to weigh a TON. I have hard water, and it builds up on glass in my cages very quickly. So, I decided to build this with removable glass. The easiest thing I came up with would be for the frame to have routered slots in it where the glass will just slide into. Then, all i'd have to do is lift the lid of the cage(the top will be hinged in the back, and the wooden side will have a door for improved access), and I can just slide the glass on out.

Going by these (tentative) plans, does anyone have any input? Anything that would make this simpler, or work better?

And finally, I've asked a couple questions about polyurethane, and always gotten mixed responses. These boas are misted twice a day normally. Would water-based be sufficient, or if not, can someone name a specific brand of oil-based that will work good? Oh, and before I forget, the bottom of the cage will be lined with vinyl flooring, and parts of it will be covered with ceramic tiles, to help distribute heat better, and to protect the wood.

>>Going by these (tentative) plans, does anyone have any input? Anything that would make this simpler, or work better?

If I'm following correctly, I would just use the glass in sliding bypass track for the doors. That will make it removable and give you a door. Maybe that is what you meant.

Also, don't include a frame. Frameless cabinets in kitchens hold up granite countertops weighing hundreds of pounds. It just adds complexity and hard to clean surfaces.

I no longer recommend oil-based polyurethane as the stuff can offgas for very long periods of time. I won't get into it more than that.

If you use vinyl flooring I think you can get away with a water-based polyurethane. I have heard good things about Varathanes WB floor finish. It is readily available and has a decent combination of water and scratch resistance along with a surface that can be repaired if necessary.

Don't let the water from the spray build up on shelves or anything that does not have vinyl on it. You might also try to put the vinyl a few inches up the cage walls.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

>>If I'm following correctly, I would just use the glass in sliding bypass track for the doors. That will make it removable and give you a door. Maybe that is what you meant.

I don't think I really want to do sliding. These panes of glass are too heavy to effectively slide. They're like 1/2" thick each.
The routed bits I was talking about would be grooves put straight into the wood, so that the glass slides down in from the top, but can't be pushed out/in.

>>Also, don't include a frame. Frameless cabinets in kitchens hold up granite countertops weighing hundreds of pounds. It just adds complexity and hard to clean surfaces.

The only reason I thought I'd really need a frame was to put in the glass. I guess I could use the tracking like what would be used to make sliding doors, and just make the "frame" where the glass goes out of that.

>>If you use vinyl flooring I think you can get away with a water-based polyurethane. I have heard good things about Varathanes WB floor finish. It is readily available and has a decent combination of water and scratch resistance along with a surface that can be repaired if necessary.
>>
>>Don't let the water from the spray build up on shelves or anything that does not have vinyl on it. You might also try to put the vinyl a few inches up the cage walls.

Awesome. Varathanes is available at places like Lowes & such, isn't it? And all horizontal surfaces(floor & shelf) would both be covered with vinyl flooring. I have a 7x9 foot roll of it lying around to use for this cage, and a cage for a JCP. Not too worried about running out yet.

Sorry, it was late and I was tired when I posted. I don't think I read your post very closely.

I think that some sort of hardwood probably would work better than plywood for holding a dado to accept the thick glass panels. But you'd need to insure that water did not get in between the glass and the hardwood track, which won't be easy since you need it removable.

There are various plastic and metal tracks designed for things like this that won't rot when exposed to water. I would shop around.

Varathane is widely available, which is part of the reason why I recommended it. They also have an oil-based series so make sure you don't confuse the two.

Understand that with a single component waterborne urethane you may need to recoat at some point. I do not consider it to be a lifetime finish necessarily. If this is a problem you might need to look into some of the tougher finishes.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

>>Sorry, it was late and I was tired when I posted. I don't think I read your post very closely.
That's ok.

>>I think that some sort of hardwood probably would work better than plywood for holding a dado to accept the thick glass panels. But you'd need to insure that water did not get in between the glass and the hardwood track, which won't be easy since you need it removable.
>>
>>There are various plastic and metal tracks designed for things like this that won't rot when exposed to water. I would shop around.

I think it was the old Vision style cages that had a single piece of glass in the front that slid off to either side to get in. I'm going to try to use tracking exactly like what those used, except instead of sliding sideways, each piece will slide up and down. At that point, I'll build a box out of plywood, with "windows" for the glass, and the glass will either go on the inside, or outside.
I was talking to a friend today who was given a cage for a ball python that worked similarly, just smaller.

>>Understand that with a single component waterborne urethane you may need to recoat at some point. I do not consider it to be a lifetime finish necessarily. If this is a problem you might need to look into some of the tougher finishes.

Definitely not a problem. At that point, I can sand it down & make it look nice again, and it's still cheaper than using the more expensive polys.

Thanks for the help!

Definitely not a problem. At that point, I can sand it down & make it look nice again, and it's still cheaper than using the more expensive polys.

Just to clarify, one part waterborne polyurethanes are very expensive compared to other coatings. Some of the high performance urethanes are actually cheaper, but they come with their own sets of tradeoffs, namely long-term offgassing or difficulty of application. Or there are products that hardly offgas at all but use hardeners that by themselves (i.e before mixing) have to be handled VERY carefully. Every finishing product comes with tradeoffs. Some of these tradeoffs are amplified for our use in cages.

Both Target, General Finishes and Fuhr make one-part urethanes that are a bit more durable than the standard stuff. If you can find them locally you should consider trying them. But the difference won't be great enough to justify shipping them in.

I can't remember if you have already purchased the plywood, but there is also pre-finished plywood that comes with a UV cured epoxy coating.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)