Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, Im thinking about building an enclosure for my male Black Throat Monitor. I want it to be around 8'x 4'x 4'. I wanted to make it out of plywood and acrylic swing doors. I was wondering what would be the best type of wood to use and what thickness? It also needs to be strong enough to have another enclosure of the same size stacked on top because I plan to get another BTM down the road some time. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Also id love to see some of your monitor enclosures if you don't mind posting them? Thank you

I cant answer this question but I do have a few pointers about plywood enclosures. First I would use something besides plywood for the bottom, or put something over the plywood, even if you stained it you dont want any urine soaking into it, it will smell horrible after a few months. and also I would use some kind of waterproof stain on all the wood. Even if you the cage isnt super humid keeping water out of the wood will help it last longer. i know this doesnt answer your question but i figured it might help.

I was going to seal all of the wood with Repti-Shield. Would it be ok to use wood for the bottom if I seal it with that? If not what should I use? I've never really built my own cages before, I always use visions.

I'm sure you can seal the wood with something but unless it is heavy duty, like epoxy or the like, the monitors claws will dig thru it. He/she WILL try to burrow and gouge the wood. I went with FRP on all walls/floor/ceiling, and then used an epoxy at the seams to ensure nothing leaked. Stewie's cage is 8' x 3' x 3' and it is time to make something bigger. . . again. His is a basic plywood and 2x4 frame, 3/8" tempered glass front, and tiled over the top for looks:

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Chris
0.1.0 Columbian Boa
0.1.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0.0 Black Throat Monitor

Thanks for the info and that is a very nice enclosure you got there. How big is Stewie?

Stewie is getting up around 5' now and 18lbs.
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Chris
0.1.0 Columbian Boa
0.1.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0.0 Black Throat Monitor

also, somewhere on my other hard drive, i've got pics from the basic mockup, thru framing, sealing, staining, etc if you are interested. It's a very 'rough' design, not complicated in the least, nor the prettiest. But I can easily stand atop the cage without worry of it breaking. =)
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Chris
0.1.0 Columbian Boa
0.1.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0.0 Black Throat Monitor

Yes, I am interested if you don't mind.

I'll see what I can dig up. I probably wont post it all up here, but rather a link to the pics, as I have quite a few.
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Chris
0.1.0 Columbian Boa
0.1.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0.0 Black Throat Monitor

No problem. Thanks

Scratch that, I just cut it down to 10 pics, so I can kind of 'narrate' the process.

I had sketched out the general size of the enclosure and estimated, based on size, how much to buy:

I then built the basic frame to check on clearances thru doorways/stairs etc. I suspected it would not fit whole and wanted to confirm.

I was correct, it would need to move into the house in two pieces, so I changed the frame layout a bit to allow for two sections, and started in on the base and the front:

Once the outside was framed in, I added 5/8" plywood as the backing for the FRP. I planned to add the top as a whole once in the final location.

Because it was now two pieces, I added metal straps to help hold things together in the back and started to mock up the front

Cut the rest of the front pieces and the top. Added the glass for preliminary fittings. Everything (thankfully!) went together nicely

Had to let Stewie check out his new home

Here you can better see the individual pieces as I stained and sealed them:

Brought the pieces into the house, screwed them together, and started gluing the FRP in place.

And the (mostly) finished piece, sans the tile top I added later.

Added a 48" fluorescent fixture to the top of the cage (with sturdy wire cage cover to keep him out) and two fixtures, one at each end for heat (one CHE, one incandescent for basking) Ran all wiring thru holes out the back of the cage so they would be out of sight. I tiled directly over the plywood and used wood to frame it out. That was the basic plan of it, let me know if you have questions and I'll fill in the blanks.
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Chris
0.1.0 Columbian Boa
0.1.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0.0 Black Throat Monitor

Great looking enclosure. How long did the whole project take?

Two weekends to build it, then a couple separate short sessions to mortar in the tile and grout. Was fun and plan to build a rack for my snakes here soon . . . .
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Chris
0.1.0 Columbian Boa
0.1.0 Columbian x Hogg Island Boa
0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0.0 Black Throat Monitor