Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, can anyone give me some tip or links to help me build a sliding glass cage? Me and a friend of mine are going to try to make one for my corn snake so I can have her in something better than a tank and looks a lot nicer. I tried looking for infomation and instructions but I haven't been able to dig up much. Any infomation or links would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Have you picked out the track yet? Do that first and then we can give you some advice.

If you need advice on what type of track to use, first post the Length x Width (depth) x Height of your cage as well as the materials and basic design being used.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

i haven't picked anything yet, I want to first know all the materials I need before we start planning everything. All I know is I need a track and plywood, or if there is any better material to use.

That's too vague. The species being housed, cage size, budget and desired look all come into play when one says "better".
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

My advice is to invest in those corner clamps so you can get everything perfectly square when doing your assembly.

I also built a cage out of plywood and used the plastic track for a sliding glass front. I made an oak frame out of ¾ inch x 1.5 inch that was very strong and square so the rest would be very straight and square on the front side with the door.
I mounted another ¾ inch x three and a half board (poplar, another good straight wood) directly to the frame in front of that. The plastic track (which is exactly ¾ inch wide) sits on top of that board. I mounted a baseboard molding that came right up to the top edge of the track, so there was no way the track could be pushed out.

The illustration hopefully gives some details for you. The blue is the frame of oak, the green is the board the bottom track sits on, the baseboard molding goes on the front and covers the plywood sides on each end. The light yellow is the plywood. The floor is flush with the baseboard molding. The oak frame makes the cage strong and square and provides the overlap for the glass on each side and the top. The top track is mounted directly to the plywood ceiling.

A couple of bad pictures of the cage, this was my first with sliding glass doors.

The occupant in all his glory…

(see why I didn’t want that track pushed out?)

These are the 90 degree miter clamps I would recommend you invest in if you don’t have them- $3.65 each on Amazon

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project!

I prefer using melamine to plywood, that way you don't have to coate/cover the wood and melamine lasts for years. you can get 4x8 sheets at either menards or homedepot(same price). First and foremost you need to figure out the dimensions you want the cage to be. order the plastic door track for the doors(doitbest.com has the lowest prices and quick shipping) let me know when you need more help. here are a couple I made a while ago

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Your best bet is [Outwater.com] for door guides. You would have to buy more than you need in most cases. The plastic strips come in white and brown, last time I checked. On this cage brown was used top, bottom, and both sides (keeps the glass, or plastic doors, from rattling, especially if you use glass. Most glue / adhesives work well. The wood is 1/2" birch plywood. The entire cage weighs less than 15lbs, due to the plastic backing, screen sides, and top.

Good luck with yours.

Mike

Hi!
For the most part you can use the simple plastic or vinyl (or whatever combination it is). Personally, if I was building just one or two small - medium size cages I'd call local glass shops as most should stock it. You'll need to either buy some beforehand or get a scrap piece from them so you'll know how wide the track is in order to make the frame it will attached to the right width (See Upscale's drawings in his post. Good job, Upscale! ).

Once you get the cage built & track installed, take it to the glass shop and let them measure & cut the glass for you.

For larger cages and cages that use large glass panels you should use the metal track with rollers on the glass. Again, for just a few small - medium cages, see your glass shop.

I just did sliding glass doors on a 7ft long x 3ft wide x 21in high Burmese Python cage. I priced the metal track & rollers from Outwater, compared it to local glass shop price. I paid just a little bit more to get it from my local glass shop, but here's the kicker - the few bucks extra I spent meant I didn't have to do all the calculating, measuring, cutting or installation.

I got a scrap piece of their metal track, build my frame and took the whole cage down to them & let them install it. The opening is 81 inches long x 14 inches high. I got laminated safety glass because they stocked it and I didn't have time to wait for tempered glass to be delivered. Tempered is stronger and even a tad cheaper, but usually a few days wait. My cost was $145. But that's usually above & beyond the typical caging needs of most keepers. That was more than I wanted to spend but by the time I got to that point I had a million other things going on and the ol' noggin' was on system overload. I'll most likely do the exact same thing for the other 7 cages I've got to build.

You can even use a table saw or router to cut your own glass grooves in the cage face. I did that for a Savannah Monitor cage. Just remember that you have to make the top grooves a tad deeper if you want to be able to just lift the glass up & out of the track.

Best wishes!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com