Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If I build a cage out of plywood can I seal it by laying down two layers of contact paper overlapping each other and using fish tank silicone at the corners? If not, why and what do you suggest? Thank you in advance for yous replies.
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4.4 python regius
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Try the Cage forum for additional input.

You can. Thing is, the "contact" paper nowadays is not quite as thick as it used to be, but it still does a reasonable job as long as you know you may have to replace it occasionally.

Shelf paper (adhesive) is perfect for the sides of the cage. For the cage floor, I still recommend either pour epoxy (bartop epoxy) or the more recent polyurea product sold for reptile cages. Or a piece of closed-cell PVC cut to fit the cage floor and siliconed at the edges.
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Mark

I built a 3 x 5 foot cage recently and used sheets of countertop plastic laminate to line the inside of it. Sealed the seams with a latex-based silicone caulk. The laminate should last a super long time, much longer than the coated melamine board you find at a home center. It's easy to install with a roller and contact cement, but you need to be able to trim it flush with a small router.

You can buy the laminate from some home centers or online.

Good luck with your decision and your cage!

Fish tank silicone is not going to stand up to cleaning. You could line it with any number of things but the easiest and probably cheapest is to seal it with a two part epoxy. I have also heard of people using truck bed liner.

Go to the cage forums and search around for tons of threads exactly like this one.

Hello,
I used to build my own racks and cages however, I recommend buying the best cage you can afford for your snakes. I built cages and racks, then purchaed cages, and now I buy only racks, like ARS and Freedom Breeder, and that is the best decision I have ever made (I am now running out of floor space). I save a whole lot of time cleaning!

Think of it this way: A cage is a one time investment, and the monthly upkeep of a snake is way cheaper than say a dog or a cat. It is kind of like fish. You would not try to build your own fish tank would you? You would buy the best (large) tank you could get to prevent all of that water from crashing out of it like on Duce Bigalow Male Gigolo.

If you start getting more snakes in your collection you can stack most cages (like Vision; Showcase cages, & others) on top of each other to maximize your floor space.

And lastly most cages have rounded corners which makes cleaning that uric acid out a whole lot easier. There are plenty of other reasons to buy a cage vs. building one, but for me it comes down to what I will do with everything in the future and how I can save myself time to enjoy the snakes.

Hope this helps,
Anthony Wrenn

Anthill pythons
Woma pythons
Blackheadpythons
Ball morphs
Sonoran Super hypo boas
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-Anthony Wrenn-