I'm almost done building one, 48 x 24 x 24 for the lizard although the bottom is a cabinet to the entire piece is 48 x 58 x 24. I used Birch plywood since it finishes nicely. The piece I bought from HD I thought looked like crap since it has two dark stripes in it, but now that it's finished I think the stripes really add character. I put 8 coats of polyurathane on the wood inside the tank, sanding between each coat so it's really smooth. Hoping to keep the crikets from climbing. I did the urathane in Nov thinking it could cure for at least 30 days before putting the lizard in. I still need to finish building the cabinet doors and add the shelves for the bottom half. Although we probably won't get a lizard until mid April since we don't want to bring one home and then be going on vacations. One thing I did do, was to add a custom made stainless steel pan to the the pen that is completely hidden from the outside, however remove 3 screws and the pan slides out of the tank for easy cleaning. I still haven't decided on the doors yet either, probably 1/4" sliding glass doors on aluminum tracks.
My goal was to build a funriture quality piece that we can put into the family room so the new lizard will really be part of the family. Now, my woodworking skill aren't great but I think it's coming along. To date I have less than $100 invested in the tank.
I also built an enclosure for the mercury vapor bulb (yet to purchase). Again, I want it to look nice. I used a 15" dome that I purchased from Ikea but I replaced the cheap plastic socket with a ceramic one that I salvaged out of a recessed light fixture. The socket is rated at 250W and it includes the thermocouple to shut the lamp down if an overheat condition exists.
I'll take some pictures and post them this weekend.
