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Just a question for anyone who makes cages from PVCX sheets for their own use or resale: what thickness do you typically use? Is bracing required once you get over a certain size?

I'm always toying with different methods of construction for my own cages and would buy some sheets to screw around with but was wondering what the "norm" was. I own a plastic welder and am proficient with it (one of the few things I learned in public school 15 years ago).

Thanks in advance.

-Jason

Expanded pvc is excellent for the construction of enclosures for snakes,(not sure if I would suggest it for the use in lizard enclosures since it is easier to score and scratch up) you will want to use atleast the .200" thickness, and move up to .240" thickness for anything over 3'x2'x2'

I suggest ordering a sheet of both to toy with (you can also order partial sheets to toy around with, and it will save money over all until you decide what you want to make yours out of)

Good luck with it
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

I have a local supplier (Chicago area) where I can get single sheets of 6mm (.236" for $45 each in white, 10% for colors, less 10% in quantities of 5 sheets or more. It definitely beats US Plastic, even with the gas to pick it up. I would have thought I needed even thicker material, but it looks like the general concensus is that the ~1/4" is the stuff to use. Any comments on these prices? I have access to a table saw and router and the aforementioned plastic welder, so the only thing causing a problem is free time.... maybe I can give up sleep on a regular basis..... (damn snakes....I'm powerless).

I ran across another nice quickie cage idea while at Wal-Mart. They sell pre-fab white melamine storage "blocks" (4 pieces, unassembled) for $20. I think its around 24"x12"x12" if I remember correctly. Add a back and a door or doors and voila, a cage that should look fairly decent and be functional for relatively cheap. I think I'll pick one up and make it tonight or tomorrow and then throw a picture up.

That sounds like a good price for it..I would jump on that...Locally I can get it a bit cheaper then usplastics as well, and the no shipping fee helps too.

I will keep an eye out for your new enclosures..and good luck

Later
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

What size are the sheets........can you buy 8 x 4 sheets?

thanks .... Mike

Mike,

That price in the earlier post is for 4'x 8' sheets.

-Jason

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the e-mail the other day with the PDF link. Now that I'm not on the road I hope to look into that cement mixture more.

Regarding PVCX, I highly recommend you learn to work with the 1/4" for cages. For racks I think the greater rigidity of the 1/2" material makes it well worth the extra money, especially if the rack would be used for small colubrids and/or live bearing snakes with small young.

But for cages the 1/2" material really does not save that much weight over 1/2" plywood, at least according to the listed shipping weights for both products. Given the appearance and value of a nice laminated plywood I'd be hard pressed to choose a plastic over it for cages.

For cages up to 4'x2'x3' (lxwxh) I think the 1/4" material can be made to work.

I could go on an on, but in a nutshell I'll say that with a plastic welder you should definately go with the 1/4".

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Just a question for anyone who makes cages from PVCX sheets for their own use or resale: what thickness do you typically use? Is bracing required once you get over a certain size?

I'm always toying with different methods of construction for my own cages and would buy some sheets to screw around with but was wondering what the "norm" was. I own a plastic welder and am proficient with it (one of the few things I learned in public school 15 years ago).

Thanks in advance.

1/4" should work fine as long as you're sticking to a small unit. I personally use the 1/2" material. I make units over 6' tall and when they're complete, they're sturdy. They don't sway, they don't sag, etc.

As far as supports, I can run about 32" with the 1/2" material without using supports. I would say 20-24" would be as much as I'd personally want to run the 1/4" material although I've seen shelves made of 1/4" 'sag' when run less that than width.

Good Luck! I'd love to see your finished product,
Jason @ Jason' Jungle

Thanks Jason. Half inch is harder for me to obtain, not to mention nearly 3x the price. Even 3/8" is 2x the price of 1/4". Thanks for the input. Unfortunately right now I have more ideas than either time or money. I still haven't tried out Chris Harper's Sterilite tub display cage idea, but I think I will try that this weekend. I should be able to squeeze that in.

Do you think that the following prices are reasonable in small (