Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Would someone mind giving me some advice on sliding doors? where can I get a good track? is plexiglass ok to use?

I am building several large cages and want to get this settled before i start on any doors.

>>Would someone mind giving me some advice on sliding doors? where can I get a good track? is plexiglass ok to use?
>>
>>I am building several large cages and want to get this settled before i start on any doors.

Since you're building several large cages you should order from Outwater plastics. They are much cheaper provided you order at least 12'. At least I believe that's their minimum order.

Regarding plexiglass/acrylic:

1/8" acrylic and plastic door tracks is not a good idea - not nearly secure enough for a reptile cage.

1/4" acrylic is okay but in my opinion only offers the advantage of a slight weight savings and bit more insulative effect. I suppose it's also more shatter resistant.

Otherwise it's more expensive and susceptible to warping and yellowing.

I really depends on what species these are for.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

I always have the worst time finding this product in their online catalog. But I found it and bookmarked it for future reference.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for produce 180 and 140.

They also have another track that has "anti-rattle". I assume it has a strip of something like very thin weather stripping to hold the glass in place. Never tried that stuff.

http://www.outwater.com/catalog04/outwater/opi069.htm

Again, which thickness you use partly determined by the species you're building these cages for.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

I agree with chris_harper2. I have used plexi/acrylic (no less than 1/4" ) and glass. In my experience I find glass to be far superior. Doesn't scratch, doesn't warp, easy to clean and I find it slides much better...provided you have the sides sanded when you get it cut (usually done for free).

I have used different thickness' of glass, but have settled on using 1/4" for almost everything now. I use plastic tracking from Home Depot and it works great.

I had a look at the Outwater Plastics link...alot of good products there...thanks Chris.

Good luck!

>>I had a look at the Outwater Plastics link...alot of good products there...thanks Chris.

No problem. I have the paper catalog as well if you need anything looked up. It makes finding stuff on the website a bit easier. It's still a difficult site to use, however.

>>In my experience I find glass to be far superior... provided you have the sides sanded when you get it cut (usually done for free).

Also, with regular glass you can polish the edges yourself every couple of years. Not that it really needs it.

Also forgot to mention that I spray the track with either a teflon or silicone spray. I found a silicone spray from Blaster Chemical that has something like four times the silicone content of other sprays. It's all I use anymore.

When I first built my bearded dragon cage we were using a sand substrate. When we switched away from that the glass doors were sliding very poorly - both the track and the glass had taken a beating from the sand. I sanded and polished the glass and then polished the inside of the track with a dremel buffing wheel attachment. I sprayed on some of that silicone and two years later the same glass and track are working well together.

>>I have used different thickness' of glass, but have settled on using 1/4" for almost everything now.

Me too. I might try 1/8" double-strength glass for my next project, however.

>>I use plastic tracking from Home Depot and it works great.

Almost always cheaper if you can find it - no shipping.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Thanks for all the info and help. I have never seen any of the tracks at home depot or lowes, closest i came was the metal "u" track. so i'll give this place a try. as for what animals this is for, it's for two pairs of beardeds, a small nile monitor, and 10 columbian boas.

Hey, whatever you do, do not use the metal 'u' track. I thought glass would slide nicely over it...nope. Very hard to slide glass and I even had the corners of 1/4" glass chip!

Usually have to ask for the plastic tracking at Home Depot, but they have it.

I keep a 4 1/2' iguana, a 4' water monitor and a nearly 18' burm in my enclosures. No problems with any using the tracking. The only problem I had was when I had an enclosure where the tracking sat directly on the floor. It kept getting clogged with substrate.

I now put the tracking on top 2x6's (on their sides), so it gives me some room off the floor. I wish I would have used 2-2x6's for the water, but I plan on building a MONSTER enclosure in about 2 years where he'll have about 3' to dig!

Thats a whole new story...

no worries, i will never use the U track heh. and I am already going to use a 2x2 to raise the track. I have a tank I bought at a show that uses the same (possibly) track as the one from outwater and the dragons are horrible about getting sand in there heh.
i actually went to home depot this morning and didnt see the track but i gotta go back for more wood so i'll ask this time (i was in a bit of a rush).

n/p