Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is partical board core with double sided melamine laminate the usual material that is used to build melamine cages ?

also has anyone ever used Cage Crafters (www.cagecrafters.homestead.com)for melamine cages?

thanks in advance...

lou

melamine is usually about 3/4 inch thick and heavy i build cages out of this stuff but i am going to venture into shower surround which is what i think you are talking about. here is a cage i built out of melamine for 25 bucks

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The next time the shuttle lands, lets all get dressed up in ape suits and charge at the astronaughts yelling and ranting. That way they can try to figure out where they took a wrong turn.

froggy, how much the blueprints?

Here are some plans to build a cage that is 4X2X2

here is a cut list.
2 24 X 24 (Sides)
2 24 X 46.5 (Tops and Bottom)
1 22.5 X 46.5 (back)
1 3 X 48 for the bottom lip aka substrate dam.

Take the pieces and put them together, by mounting the side to the outside, not the top on top of the side pieces. it is easier to get the top, bottom, and sides together then put the back in to square it off. predrill all the holes to make sure the screws go in straight and and dont crack the wood. after the cage is built i use tub and tiule silicone caulk to sela the inside of the cage. i let it sit outside in the sun fro a couple of hours or put a heat light in it to cure the caulk. then i cut the vent in the back. usually a 3X25 inch hole centered will do the trick and cover it by any means you see fit ie...hardware cloth screen or whatever. dont cover it right away if you hard wire the ligths inside the cage like i did for my beardies, cause you can run the wires out of the vent. For the door i used 2X3/4 inch strips with a mitre cut and assemsbled them like a picture frame. put a bead of caulk on it and put a sheet af plexi glass over it cut to size of course, and let dry for a couple of hours. i find this works alot better than screwing the glass on. then all you do is put the door on with some hinges, and throw some lock on it, add all the decor you want test the temps and put them in there and you are good to go.

there are a few thing i do different for snakes though, without a vent on back I will cut out two holes on top and vober them with screen to add basking lights to the tank cause i havent figured how to mnake a bulb guard yet, i am working on that. and i will cut a hole on the bottom and put a piece of plexi over it to mount a heating pad.

well thats all i got if you have any questions just ask, and i hope this helps.

ken

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0.1 Albino Cal. King (Fokker)
1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn (trouble)
0.1 Creamsicle Corn (Spot)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Bob & Margret)
1.1 Dogs(George and Ladybird) they are rescues.
1.0 Betta
0.1 Wife
0.1 Kid

I'm gonna print those out and study 'em before I take the enclosure building leap. I'm pretty constructionally challenged, so a 2x2 square would be a monumental feat for me.

Sam Craver at Cagecrafters.homestead.com is great and is where I buy most of my cages fom. Only thing is you will have to pick them up so must live around NJ,NY, Penn
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