Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm thinking of making 2 4'x2'x2' cages out of 5 or 7 ply plywood, on a 2x2" frame, for my beardies. Question, will 5 ply be thick enough, and will i have to finish the cage in any way?

Unfortunately the number of plys and actual thickness do not necessarily correlate across different types of plywood. So I have no idea what thickness you mean by 5 or 7 ply.

Regardless, if you really want the 2x2 frame you could get away with 1/4" plywood. I prefer frameless construction (and use 3/4" but you need to go with what you're comfortable with.

I finished mine with stain and several coats of Polycrylic, a water-based polyurethane. I ended up going back in and applying a piece of vinyl flooring to the bottom due to the excessive scratching and minor water spills.

The sides have held up pretty well but, with hindsight, I should have used something more durable. An epoxy probably would have been overkill for a bearded dragon yet an oil-based polyurethane would have taken much too long to offgas completely. The polycrylic is so easy to apply and dries so quickly that touching the cage up every year or so should not be a big deal.

BTW, my cage was made out of birch laminated plywood I had leftover from another project. I'll attach a picture.

What are the dimensions on that cage? How tall is the false ceiling and the substrate barrier?

The cage was built from leftover plywood so the dimesions were sort of forced on me and not, perhaps, how I would have built the cage with a full sheet.

Dimensions are 49.5" x 20" x 24". The top and bottom lips are about 5.5". The false ceiling occupies the space between the frame for the ceiling and the top of the cage - so about 5".