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I want to build a cage for a boa. I was going to make it 4'W x 18"H x 24"D. Im trying to decide on a material to build it out of though. I want something durable, looks nice painted outside, and easy to work with. It being lightweight and not to expensive is nice too, but not all that important.
I want it to have a see through front like glass or acrylic, but I have no access to a router so I needed to find a way to put that in without one. I was thinking of sandwiching it between two pieces of wood and screw and/or glue it into one piece. Is there something see through that you could drill through easily? Or any other suggestions?
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>>I want to build a cage for a boa. I was going to make it 4'W x 18"H x 24"D. Im trying to decide on a material to build it out of though. I want something durable, looks nice painted outside, and easy to work with. It being lightweight and not to expensive is nice too, but not all that important.

Sounds like you're a good candidate for using 1/2" AC plywood. Or birch-laminated plywood if you want to go a bit fancer. 3/4" will be easier to work with but I think you can manage 1/2".

>>I want it to have a see through front like glass or acrylic, but I have no access to a router so I needed to find a way to put that in without one.

I would just use plastic glass track and mount it on the upper and low lips of the cage.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

"I want to build a cage for a boa. I was going to make it 4'W x 18"H x 24"D. Im trying to decide on a material to build it out of though. I want something durable, looks nice painted outside, and easy to work with. It being lightweight and not to expensive is nice too, but not all that important."

Answer. Well there are a couple of avenues. You can go with Chris's idea, and use a 1/2 inch birch laminate. Hard to find sometimes. or you can use FRP or shower surround. it is 1/8 inch thick. What i am going to do with it is frame the cage out of 2x2s and use liquid nails and brads to attatch the surround too. they are light weight easy to clean and conduct heat well.

"I want it to have a see through front like glass or acrylic, but I have no access to a router so I needed to find a way to put that in without one. I was thinking of sandwiching it between two pieces of wood and screw and/or glue it into one piece."

Answer: I build a basic frame out of 1x2s and use eiuther silicone or tub and tile caulk to adhere the plexi too, i have been doing it for years and have yet ot have a problem with it, or go with glass tracks i just hate ordering and waiting on stuff.

"Is there something see through that you could drill through easily? Or any other suggestions?"

Answer: plexi glass is what i use and yes you can drill through it, just make sure it is a plastic bit, and you tyape the parts you are going to drill.

Whatever you decide good luck. There are alot of people that can help you out and Chris is a genius at this stuff. Good luck and happy building.

Ken
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0.1 Albino Cal. King (Fokker)
1.0 Reverse Okeetee Corn (trouble)
0.1 Creamsicle Corn (Spot)
1.1.9 Bearded Dragons (Bob & Margret and there kids)
1.3 Dogs(George, Sandy, Cookie) they are rescues, Lhasa Apso, Mutt, Boxer
1.0 Betta
0.1 Wife
0.1 Kid

i'm in the middle of the process of building a very similar cage to yours. i'm building it out of 3/4" oak though...because I plan on staining it. However if you want it painted, I would also go with birch. The 3/4" oak is actually bowing a little bit in the center of the 4 foot span, so i'm going to put a support brace in the center...I would definately reccomend 3/4 for the top, however 1/2" is still fine for the sides. I'm going to line the bottom of the cages with FRP, and put it about 5 inches up each wall. The holes in the sides are where i'll place my vents.

If you don't have a router, you could always cut some grooves by using a dado blade on your table saw...thats actually what i ended up doing - was already using the saw so this just made it a whole lot faster to change out the blade. If you don't have a dado blade though, you can just order some tracks from rockler. Basic plastic grooves your 1/4" glass will slide in.

www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?&offerings_id=127&objectgroup_id=37&catid=20&filter=tracks

Here's some pictures of my cages so far.

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-Chris

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Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon