Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What have you used for making your own cages? Melamine? I am under the impression that melamins is in thin sheets, I would think that it would flex too much. Any good ideas for materials? Thanks!

Steve
-----
0.4 leopard geckos

I made all mine out of melamine. What it is is particle board about 3/4 inch thick with a covering over the wood. Mostly comes in white, but black is availabe at certain places. I have a pic of one if you hit mystical dragons below. I make them 4x2x2 or 3x2x2 and attach a ceramic fixture inside for a bulb, and sliding doors on the front. I use plexi glass for the doors on mine, but some use glass.
-----
Mystical Dragons

Mattman, what is melamine orignally used for? would a place like Home depot have it? thanks for the info

Steve
-----
0.4 leopard geckos

Yes, Home Depot does carry melamine in large sheets, and in some home depots in 4ft x 2ft pieces. I've seen it used before for utility cabinets, or for bathroom counters. The covering on the wood makes it stand up better too water then just the plain particle boards, which makes it really easy to clean as well.
-----
Mystical Dragons

Is the melamine difficult to cut? What do you use to connect the melamine pieces ( nails, screws, etc and what size)? Thanks!

Aly

What do you use for glass slides?

We used melamine (4' x 8' x 3/4" thick) to make the 6 foot cage below....

Veronica

Beautiful Dragons

n/p
-----
TheClassyLizard

we usually use paintable particle board on the outside and formica on this inside.. the bottom is made out of high density particle board (might be the wrong about that) but is has a smooth hard wood/cardboard top and is somewhat water resistant that is the most exspensive running about 90 dollars a sheet.. then we screen the top with hardware cloth and have sliding lexan doors...i like formice because it comes in a ton of colors or textures.. but it is exspensive... and if you don't care about color go with the melamine

alissa

I made my cage out of underlay sheets. It's alot like plywood but alot thiner. I used it for the back and bottom of the cage. The top was half plywood and half 1/4" wire mesh. The sides were plexi glass as well as a strip on the bottom. The rest of the front is regular aluminum screen. All wood parts were varished and air dried for several days.

As malamine is only coated on one side with paint and sealer, the rest of it isn't coated and partical board does not do well in any damp conditions. Not to mention it is very heavy and prone to chip, and more expensive. It however certainly has a nice finished look.

Here is a photo of my 5'x2'x2' cage.