Reptile & Amphibian Forums

does anyone know where i can find cage designs for a bearded dragon. i dont want to pay for plans(who does?). i dont have to much money i need something that wont break the bank because i have to build 4 of these.

Thank you all in advanced

There are plenty of walkthroughs on the internet. I beleive clay davenport had some cage building walkthroughs on his website. Just google it and you should find it with little trouble.

There's really no need to purchase plans. All your really doing is building a box. I built a few out of 3/4" plywood, no framing, with a hinged glass door in the front. Mounted a fixture and put a small vent.

There are a ton of ways to build a cage. If your handy with a saw and screw gun you should have little problem. You may need to do some wiring if you plan to mount fixtures inside the cage, but other than that it's not all that complicated.

Here ya go: www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/

If you're going to build 4 cages you might want to take a look at Dachiu's rack-type cages that they use. Here's the link to their homepage, just click on the "Our Facility" link on the left. www.dachiu.com/

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I have seen some very nice and very simple cages built from precut melamine shelves that you can buy at most home improvement centers. Melamine cages are heavy but the surface works well for bearded dragons. And when it comes to saving money melamine is about as economical as you can get unless you need more moisture resistance.

I know there are free plans on the net but I don't have them saved.

When you price these precut shelves it's easy to think you'd be better off buying a full sheet of melamine at the same store and cutting it yourself. In some cases this is correct but the precut shelving offers a few advantages.

1) It's a higher quality particle board and a much higher quality melamine coating than what comes with the commonly available melamine sheet material.

2) It's CNC cut and each shelf is perfectly square and perfectly sized.

3) It's edge-banded with a machine that costs about as much as my house, making for a very durable edge compared to what you can do with a roll of edge banding and an iron.

The one disadvantage to the shelving is the sizing. IIRC the 48" shelves are dead on at 48". The full sheets are 49" wide which you can use to your advantage in that you can build a cage with a 49" wide interior. A 49" interior is an advantage in that you can easily fit a full 4' light fixture inside the cage which means cheaper fixtures and cheaper bulbs, not to mention brighter light.

I have fit 4' light fixtures in 48" cages but I had to mount them at a diagonal. Not a big deal.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.