Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm finally in my new house in good old Florida, been awhile since I've posted, all of my animals are getting new enclosures here. I've got the rat racks done, snake racks done, but have one monitor enclosure to finish.

I'm looking at a 4ft 8ft 4ft enclosure for my male black throat (currently 11 months and 45 inches, also looking for a simular size female if anyone knows where I can find one.....) Back to my orginal question, sorry but what I was going to use for the front of the enclosure for viewing was a single, not sliding glass patio door. Its 4 x 8 and tempered glass, where my brain fart has started is where and how to put an easy access door to get in and change water and feed him. Any thoughts would be greatly apprieciated.

rat rack, only new encloser that I've got a pick for so far, thought I'd share....

It is possible to cut tempered glass at a glass shop. If you had the 4x8 cut to 2 pieces 4x4 then you could hinge them in the front or put them on sliders if you don’t want visual obstruction.
Some will suggest having access from the two sides with a solid glass front and solid top but I have seen this done before, You would have to open one side then go around and open the other side. I'm 6'2" and don't have a comfortable reach of 4' when doing heavy lifting or cleaning.

If you don’t want to cut your glass I would suggest you could have access from the top of the enclosure. If you enclose is say 4' wide split the top into quarters 2'x4' with two pieces hinged for access and two pieces permanently attached to mount the lights, that way you don't have to move the light every time you open the lid. PS- Remember a door is only 30", I’ve made that mistake before!

Tempered glass tends to shatter if it is cut (up to a week after the fact). I don't know of any glass places that will even attempt it, usually the glass is cut to size and then tempered.

If the cage is going to be 4 feet high, access from the top is going to be a bit awkward at best. You can get a standard sized double sliding window at most window places (including Home Depot, although they don't use tempered glasse ever) that can be up to 6 feet in length. I think the opennings wind up being a little over 2 feet. From the cluster-frick that my cage has become with trying to create access, I would go the window route if its in your budget.

Hope that helps a little.

Things I have learned...

-----
-Andrew

i dont build display cages so im not really one to give ideas, i build for practicality, ease of cleaning and for what the monitor needs, so i'll leave it up to the other guys. Anyway check varanusweb.com classifieds, they got a female on there.
Scott

where on the site do you go to find the classifieds? thanks for the heads up....

regarding the enclosure, I'm going to see if anyone will cut the glass or not and what the options are with it. Construction will start next week, I'll keep everyone updated with pic's as I move forward....