Reptile & Amphibian Forums

vision cages, boaphile, etc.. for thier dragons? if so how do you like it or dislike? I'm thinking of getting some but wondering how the basking bulb will act with the plastic. I run a small rescue and think it would be so much eaiser to have stacking cages then my current set-ups not to mention save alot of room. For you guys that make your own with the bulbs built in how do you protect the bulbs from comming in contact with the dragons? Pics would be nice to see also. Thanks

I make my own and just make sure the bulbs are to far for the dragons to reach.

thanks for the pic that looks sweet and very heavy!, so you don't have any kind of shield over the bulb? about how high are your cages and top of the basking platform to bulb?

No a shield would dissipate the heat. The bulbs are not above the basking area but are angle towards them. At the closest point the bulbs are a little over 10 inches from the edge of the basking platform. The cages are 2' tall so the inside would be 1' 10 1/2" tall.

wow, these cages look sweet, what are they made out of how, we need more pictures!!
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Seeking bigger cages for the family

They're made of melamine. The center column is 5' long x 3.5' deep by 2' tall. The outside columns are 4' long x 3.5' deep by 2' tall. The one below is a 4' setup for sick animals. No particulate substrate and the hides are blocked.

I heard melamine is one of the best ways to go when building a cage. I have been really thinking about doing this since my beardie is in a 60 gallon tank but its only a foot wide and want to get him into a 4'x2'x2' (LxWxH) size cage. I heard the biggest down side to melamine is how heavy it is. If you could give me any advice on this that would be great.

If you are going to build your own cage, home depot sells 4 x 2 sheets of melamine. It makes it much easier to build the cage, only a couple of cuts and thats it. If you are going to buy something, there are quite a few people selling what look to be great cages.......

That sounds great because thats like a perfect size cage for a beardie. Although I will just pop on into homedepot tomorrow is there a going price per board? Also for a front anyone got a how to video or good at explaining the best way to make a door?

For a few extra dollars you can have Home Depot do all your cuts for you, or use their equipment to cut the sheets yourself. It is best to draw up a diagram of the cage you want to build so you can take in account the width of the wood itself. Also the saw does 'eat' about a 16th of an inch per cut.

Typical thickness of a melamine sheet is 5/8ths of an inch. Thus the top and bottom piece needs to be the full length of the cage, plus 5/8ths x 2 (to ensure the top and bottom piece fit snug with the top of the end pieces (and bottom).

Melamine needs to be pre-drilled to prevent splintering and 'popping' of the screw or nail as it comes out. Ends may need to be covered with 'stripping' which you can buy at the same place you buy the wood. This stripping is basically plastic sticky stuff to coat the 'naked' ends of the board when cut. You don't need to use it but it gives a nicer finish. It also protects from humidity getting into the wood and causing it to swell.

Excess dampness is melamine's enemy. Good to seal the insides with an aquarium safe caulking too.

Malamine is basically particle board coated with a vinyl 'finish'. Particle is what my dad calls, sawdust and glue. Get it wet and it swells like a sponge and the glue breaks down..so even if completely dry, it still messed up.

That said, it is one of the most common building materials used for cages and works very well. It is also what most shelving units you buy assembled or not, (including desks, computer desks, and other similar furniture), so definitely a very effective building material that has little finishing work to do. Basically cut, screw together, touch up edges, done.

Plywood would require sanding, varnish or paint, sealed with something to keep water out (several coats of clear varnish, or sealer ontop of stain or paint)
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks for the information it means a lot to me. Now i just have to get the wife to let me make a cage lol. Im always like yes lets do it and she is the no not at this time. So it can go either way always lol. When I do this project I will take pictures and put them up for you guys.

I don't know about up in the great white north. lol. But, here in the good ole' USA melamine is exactly 3/4" thick not 5/8". Yes it is heavy but all 4' x 2' cages are heavy. I can lift a 4' x 2' melamine cage by myself (without the doors in it) but I can't lift a glass terrarium. It's hard to get a good grip because of size. You can buy smaller sizes at Home Depot just keep in mind that you pay more than if you buy a whole sheet and cut it yourself. It takes 1 sheet with very little waste to make a 4' x 2' cage. The sheets are actually 49" x 97". So my 4' cages are actually 50 1/2" long outside, 49" inside.

How tall are your cages?

24"

There is often a difference in the actual thickness of the wood and what the label says on the shelf where the wood is stored. Often the shelf size is rounded up...so the thickness of the sheet could be anywhere from 1/16th of an inch off or even 1/8th... but this varies far too much to worry about. It may be more Canadian cut vs US cut or simply by manufacturer.

The important part is remembering wood thickness when calculating the length of sides which will overlap other sides on the edge. Otherwise, your ends won't overlap and you can't screw them together.

Having built a few cages myself and managed to mess up on a baby rack cause I forgot to add the thickness of the top shelf, so my last level is exactly the thickness of the top too small. Or the sides were cut 1/4" too short at Home Depot...(then again I checked my measurements and saw it was my error, not the guy who cut the wood for me).
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PHLdyPayne

It is exactly 3/4" as labeled and as measured. The melamine coating on both sides makes up for the undersize of the particleboard.

Sounds like a fun project I can't wait to start

you don't have to worry about it. You basically use 4 sheets of 2 x 4 melamine. 3 of the sheets for the top back and bottom(screwing the top down into the back panel and the bottom up into the back panel .....gives you an inside height of the width of the sheet). Your 4th piece will be the one you cut for the two side panels(should be the width of the sheet - 3/4" and then you just have the front however you do that. I think a full sheet of melamine is mid/upper $20's with the 2 x 4 pieces costing about $10 each.......I think its well worth the $15 or so to not have to lug a full sheet around or worry about making all the cuts perfect.

I got to the point now where if I have the supplies, doing it this way I could probably do a whole cage wired/vented/and sliding doors in an hour or so.

don't know how that got there it was supposed to be a )

Chris, I wish you'd come over here for a day if you can build a cage in an hour. I'd pay you well. It takes me way longer. lol.

Something to consider is that if you cut a 4' x 2' piece into 2 pieces you will not have (2) 2 x 2 pieces. They will be a 1/2 of a saw blade too small. This will leave a gap somewhere and I am way too meticulous for this. The other problem (I've bought the precuts before) is that the cuts are not perfectly accurate. So if you decide to do it this way you should bring a tape measure and find (3) pieces that are as close as possible.

Yes, a full sheet of melamine is very heavy. I have to get help to get them from the rack onto a cart. Luckily I have a pick-up so I just slide them out onto saw horses to cut.

The side panels actually wind up a bit smaller than half a sheet, so they have to be measured and cut......

So far the precut sheets really havent been bad, I only had one that was off by maybe 1/8", but if you are that meticulous or if these were display cages I would check all the measurements.

I was thinking about the hour, lol, it may be a little longer. I have to do 3 more, maybe today or one day this week and I'll time it.

Yea, all my cages are in the living areas of my home so they are all display cages. I countersink and cover all the holes and leave no unfinished edges visible so I have to assemble them a little different than you describe. I am in the process of building 3 more right now.

Your cages are very nice too so im sure all the work is well worth it. I went to homedepot today and the pre cut 4x2 boards are $11.98 each. They arnt true 4x2 but very close so im working it all out before i buy it.