Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got a couple questions. I am going to be building a large melamine cage system 8'high by 8' wide by 2' deep. I have it designed it is going to be a shelf like frame with multiple different size cages. The main questions i have is i dont have much electrical experience and was wondering how hard it is to install light sockets to use for the heat bulbs? I want to do this for multiple reasons cheaper than buying all domes, sturdier and can run them together so not 100 wires coming out the back and trying to plug them all in. I also was looking for pictures or ideas of cages or guards to put around the light sockets as to not let the animals burn themselves on the bulbs if they get close enough by some chance such as screening the bulbs in or something. Any input ideas or pictures would be of great help this is going to be a huge unit and is going to take awhile but looking for input or if someone has done this pictures.
Thanx

Tom

if your talking about a simple ceramic light fixture that i think you are (get them at any hardware store) then its not that hard at all. just rember one main thing "black on brass to save your a$$"... now are you gonna hard wire it right to the pannel or plug it into a socket or use switches or dimmers? thier are alot of diff ways to do it
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-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

Yes i was just thinking of simple sockets and connecting to plug but am open to many options ideas and pictures especially becuase this whole thing is still in planning stages.

Tom

no I know what ya mean cause im planning a simalliar thing only alot smaller im gonna be 4'x2x maybe 6' only im gonna use heat tape or RHPs either way wireing is gonna be about the same.

i dont have pictures to help ya with sorry, hopefull someone else can help you out there. how many cages are you gonna have in this setup and how many light fixtures are you thinking?

if you wanna have it plug into a socket thats easy, same as heat tape, just get a walmart extention cord and cut the female end off black to the brass screw and white to steel screw. easy enough to add a dimmer into that too when you get your fixtures grab some 14/2 gague wire at the same time so you can run multi fixtures off one plug....
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-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

Probably going to have like 11-12 cages around two light fixtures in each because i want to put uvb in them too. I am doing this to try to cut down the multiple wires that would be coming out the back. Thanx for your advice.

Tom

You might want to consider how difficult it will be to move a cage that size. It wont fit through any doorway with the 8ftx8ft dimension. You'd be better off building individual cages and stacking them or building it in 4ft halves.
And melamine will be ungodly heavy. A sheet of 3/4 is nearly 100 pounds. Plywood would be a better choice in my opinion
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Jason

I am going to be building a large melamine cage system 8'high by 8' wide by 2' deep.

I would also encourage you to build this as a series of cages that stack together. It does not mean you need to build 11 cages and stack them, but maybe try to build 4 individual units, each consisting of one or more cage that stack together somehow.

If you build any individual until 8' tall then you'll need a ceiling that is at least 99 inches tall, or about 8 foot and 3 inches.

how hard it is to install light sockets to use for the heat bulbs?

Very simple. Use galvanized metal electric boxes that a typical porcelain socket attaches to. I don't remember what these boxes are called. The metal boxes can be screwed right to the melamine and conduit ran from the box to outside of the cage. Very simple and the least of your worries.

They do tend to transfer a lot of heat to cages above. This is another advantage to cages that stack as it allows you to include an air space which helps reduce heat transfer or even allows you to slip in a layer of Reflectix to nearly eliminate heat transfer.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

If you build any individual unit 8' tall then you'll need a ceiling that is at least 99 inches tall, or about 8 foot and 3 inches.

I wrote this assuming that the cage would have to be assembled and then stood up in the room. Since the diagonal of the side of the cage would be 99 inches you would need 99 inch ceilings to raise the cage. Obviously this does not hold true if you assemble this cage on site as a built in.

Sorry for any confusion.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.