Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am interested in building my own cages and I know a few of you do that as well. What kind of materials do you use that will stand up to BRB's desired humidities? I've been looking into PVC and HDPE, but they seem so expensive that it's almost cheaper just to buy the cage from a manufacturer. Any insights or suggestions?

and agree with the cost of the sheet good its no wonder those plastic cages are as expensive as they are.

i suggest wood over plastic (unless you have a really big purse), now there are a hundred ways you can do it... you allready said you want a brb in there so thats one less question for you. what kind of finished look do you want, something nice and stained furniture like or just a wooden box with a door? is this one cage or a multiple cage unit? what kind of tools do you have and how handy are you at building things?

as far as material i can only suggest one of two things... cabinet grade plywood (maple, birtch, oak,) or melamine (particle board with a thin plastic laminate).

both are good for cages the biggest difference is that with plywood it has to be sealed!! but again there are a hundred way of doing that too. and with cabinet grade there is much less worrying about warping and voids.

with melamine that is the finished product.

so a few more details and ill let ya know what i think
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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?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

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!!)

Hmmm... hadn't been considering wood because I thought it would warp. I assume if you use wood, you can't give them a substrate, but put down a newspaper or something and then give them a couple of humid hides?

To answer your questions, I prefer stained over bare wood. I prefer to build a brb 'housing unit' with many apartments over the one cage at a time approach. I am quite handy, but my tool set is limited because I live in an apartment. It will be growing though because I am buying an old house with tons of diy projects, so just assume the tool collection will grow. I know for a fact we'll be getting a band saw or miter saw in the near future. I should have the tools I need to get this project under way. Thanks for you help!

yeah i dont think a miter or a band saw are going to be much use in this project... the ones your gonna need are table saw and a router those two will do about 98% of what you need to cut... then again that depends on your design.

as for the ply wood you wouldnt want to leave any of it bare. the whole unit needes to be sealed with a polyurethane of some kind. but if you like stain then you would stain it first then coat it with polyurethane.

if you dont feel comfortable putting bedding down on a polyurethane there are other things you can do as well. the two ideas that i like best are vinyl flooring, and bar top epoxy.

once your unit is all built and finished (stained and polyurethaned)you can go to Hdepot or Lowes and get scraps or a damaged roll of vinyl flooring and glue that right onto the floor of the cage, and silicone the edges. you might even run a 2" or 3" strip around the walls to help for cleaning. doing this will make it more durible and easy to clean, plus you can put your bedding down on top of that

the bar top epoxy would have to be mixed and poured into the cage in stages, i havent done this myself but it doesnt look to hard and you can get plenty of info about how it works in the caging and habitat forum. and same thing this is waterproof easy to clean and wicked durible.

i am in the process of working out caging plans myself only dont care for the staining and sealing process, so im going to use maple melamine, and build 5 stackable cages, three of them will have dividers so a stack of 5 will turn into 8 cages total...

how big of a unit are you thinking about. how many cages and how big? that will help in designing it, and also do you have any thoughts on heating? thats good to know for planning also
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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?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

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!!)

The cages I have now are 2'x4'x15" which are a bit short for my taste, so I was considering 2'x4'x2' and dividing some in half for breeding season and when they're smaller and such. I'll probably, like you, build 4 or 5 on top of each other. I've been using the radiant heat panels on the inside top of the cage and those have worked out well so far, so that is the one thing I'll probably splurge on unless you have a good, cheap alternative.

ohhh wow well it you where using RHPs then do that... i cant afford those i was just gonna have a 1/4" floor and use flexwatt, plus if your 2' tall flexwatt might not be enough to heat a cage that tall anyways... but i dont know know that for sure.

im going 14" tall with a finish height inside at 12 1/2" because i was worried that any bigger would just be harder to heat.

so thats going to make for a big stack of cages even 4@ 2' tall adds up to 8 feet high i hope you have a step stool to get in that top one... those top 2 even...
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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?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

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!!)

I have used cages from Animal Plactics, and have been quite impressed. They are expensive, But this is because they use high quality materials. Their workmanship and customer service is fantastic, and I feel that you would get a much better product from a cage supplier like AnimalPlastics than you would if you make your own.

They have made thousands of cages and worked out many of the "bugs" that you will likely encounter on your first few attempts at cage construction.

I have heard good things about other cages, but do not have direct experience with these vendors. I think that herpcages is about to offer a redesigned cage that meets your size requirements, looks real sleek and had ease of use in mind for the keepers. I would suggest paying for the professionally made cages. It is worth the extra money IMO.
Best Wishes,
BHH
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Bryan Hummel
www.rainbowboas.com

I tried doing the pro cage thing. Right now I have some cages made by repti-racks, but when they were shipped they just sent us cut pieces of plastic (pvc) with pilot holes. They are good at holding humidity and decent cages, but some of the glue to keep the stripping together is peeling off after having them for a month. All in all they are decent, but when I look at them I think I could have done a much better job of making them myself. I will check out animal plastics before I make my own and see what kind of prices they offer. Either way tho, I assure you I will not be cutting any corners and my snakes will not be cut short for me to save a few dollars

I'm not a fan of wood enclosures, too hard to get mites out of if you end up with them. I could do wood racks, but not a wood display. I'm sure I could use marine varnish to seal the wood appropriately, but I'm not into the fumes or time it would take to do this.

I recently picked up several second hand cages, including a 4x2x2 melamine display and a 4x2x1 boaphile display. The melamine is nice, but the laminate is warped where heat and humidity have done their thing. Its serviceable, but I have large plastic tubs in there to hold the cypress and water, it would only make matters worse to have that moist substrate on the ground. Seeing this cage's wear totally turned me off of any laminate.

The boaphile is really nice, its very light and its held up well. The inner hardware is slightly rusted and the urates have stained the PVC, but overall its in outstanding condition and I'll totally buy a few more of these if I want this style of display cage. The base price on the 421d is money well spent IMO, there's no way I'd be able to make a cage this nice with materials and time spent for $209.

If you're looking to build your own racks, that's a much more reasonable project IMO.

if your talking cage for cage i agree with you... however we are talking about a stack...

ive priced it all out myself and yes a boaphile 2'x4' is the best price out there and to build one your self it would be $100- $150 IMO worth it because this is everything included whereas that $200 is just the cage itself...

now lets talk about a stack, say you like that size but want 4 or 5 of them now we are up over a grand. and now to build build the same thing out of plywood or melamine, believe it or not but that extra material doest add much to the cost at all. i would bet the whole thing could be built for $300-$400... a fraction of the cost... anyone who has the means and ability to build, that is on a budjet, IMO would be crazy NOT to build.

and i will agree with you that if money is not a concern then its easier to buy so you dont have the hassle, unless you like me and love having project to build but thats different

yes plastic has its bennies, but wood has proven time and again but be more than suitable, after all these plastic cages are pretty new to the market still
-----
-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?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

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!!)

...your points are why we normally ask people how much carpentry or plastic working experience they have when the topic of constructing your owne enclosures.

If you already have access to all the tools you will need and are extremely(cabinetry grade) proficient at crafting with the chosen material then your assumptions are correct. It would be more satisfying and cost effective to build your owne.

However if you do not have both of those commodities then the chances are very very high that you will at best break even and possibly still not get as good a product. Buying power equiptment almost always kills any cost savings of doing it yourself even if you do it perfect. If you have the tools then you still can end up losing any cost savings do to wasted material from having to redo cuts, welds, joints, etc...

That is why it is generally best to approach building a enclosure setup as a crafting project rather then a solution to reptile housing problems.

I am not trying to discourage you but mearly to make sure you appreciate the potential problems involved. I love crafting projects and will most likely build some of my owne in the future but I will never place my self made enclosures into my reptile housing plans until they are fully finished and ready for use.

PS if you are looking at building them out of wood at any point talk to Dave Colling. He has some beautiful home made wood enclosures and great info on building projects.

Sean.
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1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

And with gas prices the way they are, don't forget the cost of going back and forth to Home Depot 17 times because I screwed something up or forgot something!!

>>Buying power equiptment almost always kills any cost savings of doing it yourself even if you do it perfect. If you have the tools then you still can end >> up losing any cost savings do to wasted material from having to redo cuts, welds, joints, etc...

I think I'm going to use this as a stepping stone to try to learn how to build cabinets for my house (they are sooooo ugly!)

I happen to be using Vision 322 tanks for my BRB's and find them very practical for housing snakes. Very lightweight, stackable at any size, sliding glass doors that are easily removed and rounded inside corners makes cleaning an easy task.

I keep the tanks humidity between 75-100 percent and using the Cypress mulch have not a any issues with mold. However, mold does develope on any wood branches I have put in the tanks. So rather than a wood branch I cut a piece of 1" PVC pipe and silliconed it on each side of the tank then wrapped a "silk" vine around it for decor.

The 322 tank is 36"Lx 23"Dx 21"T. There is venting along the top/rear of the ceiling which I have taped a heavy piece plastic to from the outside to prevent any humidity escaping. On top of the plastic sits an aquarium light (24" w/ 18" bulb) for lighting; which is plugged into a timer (Home Cheapo has a nice digital timer for about $15).

Flexwatt on a dimmer under 1/2 the tank. Ground temperature about 8083 degrees. The gap between the 2 glass doors (1/8" is enough ventilation for the BRB's and I can maintain nice humidity for 3 or 4 days between mistings.

I currently have 4 of them in stacks of 2. If you live in the Northeast; try Albany Reptile.com. They will have the tank to you in less than 2 days and have been an absolute pleasure to deal with. The 322's are $265 shipping.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it....

Thanks,
John
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John from Jersey

2.2 BRB's (Route 280, Spitzer, Ruby and Angie)
1.1 Abbots Okeetee's (Bill and Hillary)
1.2 Filthy Cats (Weezer, Scrappy and the other one)
0.1 Very Cute Brat
0.1 Spouse (nice dorsal stripe and big bold crescents)

Any thoughts on recycled plastics? I found a company that has a 1/4" x 48" x 96" for $58 a sheet. This is about double than wood, but all the chemicals I'll have to use to treat the wood, not to mention the hazard those chemicals may present to the snake... I might just do that.

...I do know some plastics can breath/release chemical fumes when they get warm. That or chemicals leaching from plastic into water(from humidity) would be the two things I would be concerned with. Hopefully someone more familliar with plastic materials and construction will chime in.

Sean.
-----
1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat

i dont know much about the plastic itself... but 1/4 " material prolly isnt the best to use. its thin and prolly flimsy, also its cant be screwed together, that means you would have to use some sort of glue or get yourself an expensive plastic welder
-----
-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?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

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!!)

Well, I could get a thicker plastic, but the thicker they are the heavier they are, and I was trying to avoid having a 200lb setup.

yeah i know what you mean, but even still IMO 1/4" is way to thin. i think 1/2" even is to thin but i know there are builders out there that use 1/2" but it just seems a little to thin to me. i myself wouldnt go any smaller than 5/8".... that is assuming you are talking about the whole cage, if you want to build the whole thing out of 1/4 plastic everything above still applies .

so after going on about how i think 1/4" is to thin, i actually am planning on using 1/4 is some cages i want to build. however i am only using 1/4" on the floor the rest will be 3/4". and like you i choose this to cut down on weight, but also because i want to use heat tape and heating through 1/4" is alot easier and safer then trying to heat through 3/4"
-----
-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?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

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!!)

I've read all the posts so far and here's my $0.02.....

Wood cages -

Very attractive, also problematic for humidity. That can be fixed with proper finishing. I do have all the tools and cabinet grade skills. Yup, my experience building cages etc. gave me the experience to build my own kitchen. VERY nice job, ask anyone including my Father-in-law a retired cabinet maker. He's always showing off my kitchen, even more than I do

Do NOT fool yourself though, wood cages are NOT cheap. Mine are made with cabinet grade plywood and solid oak fronts/doors. Of course I spared no expense and could have made them cheaper but then they would be cheaper cages.... The first set was made as two pieces, four sections each. With Formice added to the floors for durability. Learning from the first, the second stack is four seperate identical two section cages. Fully lined with Formica. Stained and finished with Varathane Diamond Elite water base polyuerathane. After all is said and doe I believe my oak cages (second stack) was more than a comparable Boaphile 422T stack. (4' x 4' x 18" two doors and removable divider)

Also wood cages are harder to heat. I tried the heat tape thing but heated the room more than the cages. Switched over to RHP's and wow, they work GREAT in my wooden cages.

I have several Boaphiles and while I love my oak cages especially for breeding, the plastic cages would work just fine!!

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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I was definitely planning on RHPs either way. I have them in some of my repti racks and I just love them. IMO they just work much better than tape or under tank heaters.

Now I just really need to decide whether I want to use the plastic, which just seems like it might be too heavy in the end, or the wood. Has anyone else tried putting down laminate flooring scraps in the bottom of the cage and sealing it with silicone? I'm interested to see if that has worked nicely for putting substrate on or not. I might just get sweater boxes to put substrate in instead.

If you build your own, wood or plastic, you could custom size them to snugly fit the sweater box or other standard size tublike container. Just make sure you use a container that won't disapear off the market in two months lol.

Further benefit of this is you could have the bottom of the see through part of the door just slightly above the top lip of the container and thereby have all of the viewable area of the enclosure right at/just above the surface substrate level. At the same time you could install a small lip on the walls just above the top of the container to cover the containers top lip making it completely invisible. All that while still keeping the functional benefit of a pull out container holding all of the substrate for quick easier cage maintenance/changing.

LOL now I'm getting ideas for when I get arround to building a display enclosure for my own place.

Sean.
-----
1.1 BRB
1.1 Triple Het TPRS's
0.1 Silver TPRS
1.1 Amel Bloodred Corns
0.1 Abbott Okeetee Corn
0.1 Blizzard Bloodred Corn
1.1 Thayeri Kingsnakes
0.1 Reeve's Turtle
0.2 Amstaff's
1.0 Pudytat