Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello!
I have 2 blue tongued skinks and want to build them each a cage and stack them. There is a perfect picture of what I have in mind on this page, for anyone who needs a visual (I am trying to get ahold of the site owner now...): http://members.shaw.ca/cloose/housing.htm
My cages would be 4'*2'*2' each.
I would like to take them with me when I travel, so I don't think I would like them made out of melamine, because I've heard it's really heavy... Is there a lighter alternative? What do people recommend as far as sealant for the wood... is there anything that's toxic for them? I suppose the largest problems I have are the lighting... how should I attach them to the inside of the cage? Also, does anyone have any plans for how to make the sliding doors in the front?
Basically, any and all tips would be really really appreciated!
Thanks!!!
Kate

Any cage that size will be heavy if constructed of wood. I have seen one cage made entirely of a yellow pine 1" x 4" frame, pegboard, and a hardboard bottom. Even this cage was pretty heavy and I don't think it was up to the rigor of travel.

I think your best choice is to attempt to make some sort of knock-down cage out of HDPE plastic. They will be light and easily broken down as needed.

Attaching lights to the top of the cage is really quite easy but depends on what type of light bulb you would like to provide for your animals.

Sliding front doors are also easy. Simple order plastic glass track from Rockler.com and adhere them in place.

Sorry I could not help more. Your project seems to be very much as the beginning stages and I'm not sure how to help you get started.

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I have 2 blue tongued skinks and want to build them each a cage and stack them. There is a perfect picture of what I have in mind on this page, for anyone who needs a visual (I am trying to get ahold of the site owner now...): http://members.shaw.ca/cloose/housing.htm
My cages would be 4'*2'*2' each.
I would like to take them with me when I travel, so I don't think I would like them made out of melamine, because I've heard it's really heavy... Is there a lighter alternative? What do people recommend as far as sealant for the wood... is there anything that's toxic for them? I suppose the largest problems I have are the lighting... how should I attach them to the inside of the cage? Also, does anyone have any plans for how to make the sliding doors in the front?
Basically, any and all tips would be really really appreciated!
Thanks!!!
Kate

Thanks for the suggestions! Can you explain a little about HDPE plastic? Can I buy it from the same the same places as wood (Home Depot)? Is it much more expensive? Is it easy to work with? How would I make it so that it is easily broken down?
Thanks!

HDPE is high density polyethylene, a type of plastic. It is a lot more expensive that melamine or plywood and is only available through plastic shops. I'd recommend PVC but I think a skink would scratch it up.

The cage could be broken down by having some sort of internal frame that carriage bolts would attach to.

I'm a fairly experienced cage builder and even I would not want to trust a nice cage I built to withstand the rigors of travel, loading, unloading, being broked down, reassembled, etc.

I assume you have a big van or RV of some sort of you plan to put two 4'x2'x2' cages in it.

Why don't you build, or have built, two nice, but permanent cages for your home and then have two large tubs that you put in your vehicle during travel? Maybe you could even build some sort of lidless rack to lock the tubs into while you traveled.

A tub with a floor area of 36" x 18" should be no problem. It's not quite the 6 sq. ft. recommended on your provided link but I know BTS breeders who provide less space that that for pairs and they do fine.
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Thanks for the suggestions! Can you explain a little about HDPE plastic? Can I buy it from the same the same places as wood (Home Depot)? Is it much more expensive? Is it easy to work with? How would I make it so that it is easily broken down?
Thanks!

>>I think your best choice is to attempt to make some sort of knock-down cage out of HDPE plastic. They will be light and easily broken down as needed.

Unfortunately, I think that it's impractical to travel with multiple 4'x2' panels, even if they're made of lightweight plastic. I'd build the cages out of wood, and plan to use something different for travel (e.g. maybe a converted dog crate of some sort).

If the cages will be moved a couple of times a year (e.g. college->home->college) then it might make sense to fasten the wood using knock-down hardware. Luckily, there's plenty of knock-down hardware available that works with wood... Take a look at rockler.com (Hardware->Fasteners->Inserts and Connectors), woodcraft.com, mcfeelys.com and leevalley.com for various kock-down (a.k.a. KD) fittings. I have commercial furniture built with cross-dowels, Minifix, connector bolts, and the Blum-style KD fittings; they all seem to work pretty well.

The only problem with KD hardware is that it may take a bit more skill to get everything lined up and square. I wonder what sort of tools Kate has available...