Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! i was thinking of using 1/2 white polyethelene to make my racks. I was wondering if anybody had any problems using that material? i noticed animalplastics used it in the past but they now switch to CDPVC

where did you find polyethelene 1/2" ive been looking for an supplyer to build caging for my monitors could you let me know how much a sheet costs and info to who you got it from thanks i have some caging from APplastics and that material is awsome to work with thank
vividreptiles@msn.com

well...iam in Canada, but its pretty easy to find, all the plastic distributor in my area have some. The thing i want to get Its is Called SANA-LITE, its the matérial they use to make cutting board for restaurant and butchers. Make sure the matérial is textured, because there many kind of polyethelene sheets, and many of them are smooth finished and easy to scratch

whats a 4x8 sheets go for

I have found that both polyethylene and polypropylene sheet material vary dramatically in quality, cost, and weight. Many brands are quite warped.

Generally the stuff for cutting boards is not too bad, although expensive.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Chris, i know theres many different sub-product of both polyethelene and polypropylene. Ive tried to make racks out of PVCX in the past, with both 1/4 and 3/8 material, and i was not really satisfied of the quality of the final product. Im seeking for the best type of plastic to use to make racks...any sugestions?

>>Chris, i know theres many different sub-product of both polyethelene and polypropylene.

Yeah, enough that I would not buy anything unless you can see it in person first.

>>Ive tried to make racks out of PVCX in the past, with both 1/4 and 3/8 material, and i was not really satisfied of the quality of the final product.

Can you tell me what you did not like about the PVCX? That will give me a better idea of what properties you are looking for.

Was it sagging, the adhesion to itself after chemical welding, cost or what?

>>Im seeking for the best type of plastic to use to make racks...any sugestions?

What are you try to accomplish from a plastic rack? Is it weight savings, long term durability, or just duplicating a product you like for less money?

Also, what sized box is this for? That also matters.

My general warning about plastic racks is that they are a lot heavier than you would expect. This is not a problem necessarily, but given the number of people who have been upset with the final cost and weight of their DIY plastic racks I thought I should point that out. I don't want you to be one of those people.

On the other hand, one guy I helped simply wanted an extremely durable rack for an odd sized box he had. He did not care about weight or cost. So for him cutting board plastic was perfect.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

what i didint like about the pvc was 1: the shelves where sagging 2: the friction of the tubs in the long therm deteriorated the surface of the product 3: i found that even if assembled verry well(all the shevles dadoed in the side and the back, chemically welded and i even added screws to see if that would help)the rack could be torked and wasnt 100% stable 4: finally i didint liked the fact that the material break easly.

Has for what i want to achive. I dont cagre about the weight, i think that a racks wich is more heavy will be more stable. What iam really looking for is durability and overall apearance. Thats why i was thinking of 1/2 cutting board. Even if its pretty expensive, i dont care to pay more to get better quality

You sound like the guy I mentioned in my previous post. Cutting board material will be pretty good. You could clean it with any disinfectant you wanted and be fine. It could even be hit with a steam cleaner.

The biggest issue is that it often comes slightly warped and can have a rough enough texture to prevent the boxes from sliding well. You need to shop around and hopefully pick out the actual sheets of the plastic you will use. I'd be skeptical of ordering it and hoping for the best.

Also, if this is for larger boxes, anything bigger than the typical sweater box, you'll likely be better off ordering 5'x10' sheets which most plastics come in. It will end up costing less per level that way.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

thanks for the help, do you think there any other type of plastics i should be looking for?

I can't think of any but I've not gotten much sleep recently. Maybe I'll think of something.

Why not melamine? I have found it to be quite durable. I really only avoid it due to the weight. But that sounds like a non-issue for you.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

I thought I would reply to this because polyethylene is all I will use to make my cages. If I were you I would use the polyethylene that does not have a rough surface. This will allow the tubs to slide easier. It will however scratch, but if your going with white you will not see it very easy. You could make it out of 1/4 inch material to keep the weight down, but you better know how to plastic weld to do this. If your using metal fasteners, you will need to go with 1/2 inch. Polyethylene beats xpvc hands down! The price of this stuff changes in price due to oil prices, and your location. I dont know if this helps or not but I thought I would try to help you figure it out. You can read more about polyethylene at my website. I hope you find what your looking for and good luck.
www.randysreptiles.com

I like better the textured stuff because i tried the smooth one before and it scratch too much. I know most polyethelene have tendency to wrap over time but 3/8 or 1/2 thick should fix that. The only other material that i see is better is the white CPVC(not pvcx), that thing is so strong, and resist high temperature, its also not oiled base and would not change color over time, the only drwaback is the price and the weight.