Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I made 5 acrylic cages that I'm going to house hatchling veilds in. I used silcone to attach all the sides, but I'm having problems with the silicone not setting fast enough to keep the screen taught. Any ideas as to what else I could use? or how to set up a jig or something else to keep it in place for as long as it needs to set?

Thanks
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1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Tangerine Leopard Geckos
1.1 Blue Spiny Lizards
1.1 Uroplatus Phantasticus
0.0.1 Yellow-Throated-Plated-Lizard
0.1 Moroccan Uromastyx
0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake

You could sandwich the screen between the acrylic of the cage and strips of acrylic, forming a frame around it's perimeter. You'd probably have to use a more viscous acrylic solvent, though.

Or you could just attach it with hotglue or a combination of hotglue and strips as mentioned above. You'd be amazed at how strong the bond will be when using hotglue. The frame will take away from the sloppy appearance of the hotglue.

i would say depending on the thickness acylic used to pre drill holes in a even pattern and then sandwich the screen between the two layers thus forming a " frame" for the screen to fasten to.I wouldnt think Hotglue alone would have enought surface for the glue to adhere to to hold w/o popping loose.
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Instead of attaching screen, why not just lay a pattern of holes out and drill the acrylic itself?
Unless the screen is for a lighting system, then go with the idea about the frame...

You need lots of ventilation for chameleons, thats why most if not all chameleon cages are all screen.
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Later,
WhisQuila

I was going to put screen on the front and top of the cage for ventilation and lighting. Drilling holes I would expect a lot of small crickets escaping. Thanks for the help, I'll post pics when I'm finished...
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1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Tangerine Leopard Geckos
1.1 Blue Spiny Lizards
1.1 Uroplatus Phantasticus
0.0.1 Yellow-Throated-Plated-Lizard
0.1 Moroccan Uromastyx
0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake

You can get the aluminum screen frames and corners at Home Depot, etc. Make a frame with this stuff (real easy actually), put in the screen into the frame like you would a window screen, and simply use those screen clips to hold the screen and frame in place on the cage. Or, put a few small #6 machine screws and nuts to hold it if you want. This makes a clean screened area that is easily removed if the screen is damaged. Much better than trying to stick screen onto plastic. As long as you're not housing a large colubrid or python, this method is sufficient.

Hmmmm, I like the sound of that, and the picture of it in my mind, but the acrylic I'm using is only 1/8" thick. I'm building several cages for hatchling chams, so the removeable screen idea would work well.

Thanks for the tip!
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1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Tangerine Leopard Geckos
1.1 Blue Spiny Lizards
1.1 Uroplatus Phantasticus
0.0.1 Yellow-Throated-Plated-Lizard
0.1 Moroccan Uromastyx
0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake