Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does any one have any ideas on how to make a cage fast and simple. What i was going to do is have a gage about 5 by 4 and about 5 feet high with chipboard on 3 sides and glass for the front but that can get pricy anyone have an idea???

proper cages cost like 500$, unless you manage to get some used parts. Used parts could be wood/plexiglass, or entire prefab peice such as cabinits or sheds.

Plexiglass is cheaper than real glass. Converting an entertainment center or something can make things easier. Check garage sales for suitable pieces of furniture, even a big dresser with the drawers removed could work. You won't get anything very deep though, because most doorways are only 26 inches or so, furniture bigger than that wouldn't fit into your house.
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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

One option is building it. You can get exactly what you want much cheaper. If you suck at building things (like I do) and are scared of power tools (as I am) then buy the materials and have a friend help. In my case my brother law built it in exchange for some technical work I did for him.

The advantage to building is that you can make something that actually looks good in your house. If you are creative and a very good planner you can make something similar to a J-World cage for a lot less. In addition, you can add things over time which spreads the cost.

Also, if you are willing to CAREFULLY and SELCECTIVELY disregard some of the well intentioned advice you can come up with some very unusual designs that look great in your home.

Our cage completely goes against the grain when it comes to commonly accepted viv design. It is entirely see-through as it is an aluminum frame with plexiglass walls. There were some initial problems with snout rubbing which we quickly corrected. I received a lot of negative feedback on the design a while back but it was well intentioned and I appreciated the dialogue. Had I scrapped the idea I would have lost out on a really fantastic and one of a kind viv. It is very large, completely modular (i.e. I can break it down and put it up without using and screws or fasteners) and has a 50 gallon pond and waterfall in it. When it is empty is can hold several people comfortabley (tall people at that!).

My advice:

Plan, then plan, then plan again.

Think about:
1. It will be with you a LONG time. Unless you want to tuck them away where you never see them, it will be SEEN by many people. Therefore how it looks is ALMOST as important as how it works.
2. Having said the above keep in mind the primary focus is how it will work as a living environment as well. The CWDs need a low stress environement where they get the proper lighting, temp, and humidity. This has been beat to death on this forum so I won't elaborate.
3. You will probably need to move it one day. Think about that when you design it. It is releatively easy to design something that fits together instead of being nailed/screwed together. If you build something outside and screw it together it better be smaller than your biggest door or you will be screwed!
4. Money is an issue no doubt but plan WITHOUT cost in mind. Get a good design, then work backwards at making things cheaper. If it ends up costing 800 bucks then spread the cost over months. You can get the enclosure done cheaper and then add nice things as time and money permit.

That's some advice from a guy that is not very handy. However, I built my first viv (it sucked) and helped design my second (it rocks). I learned alot from both processes so feel free to ask. Be creative and don't get locked into a particular mindset - you will be surprised what you can do if you put your mind to it!!

-f