Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone
I'm moving into a new house, and my room has some built in shelves that are somewhat similar to deep bookshelves. I was having another probably crazy idea about turning them into a built-in cage. The shelves are made out of what i think is fairly good quality pressboard. It is fairly thick, and has a very smooth finish on it. If i gave the inside of the shelves a thick coating of sealer, and hinged an acrylic door on the front, do you think the shelves would hold up? Good idea or bad? Sorry for buggin you guys with my ideas, and thanks for taking your time out to help!

carole

I have thought of this, also. As long as you can keep it heated properly, I can't think of any problems with it. Post some pics, if you end up doing it.
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"I am a cop, and you will respect my authoritae!"-Cartman

The right shelves always look to me like they are just waiting for snakes. I have thought about turning mine into cages...or just buying the right height sterilite and...instant rack system.
The bed idea would make me always wonder if I was disturbing my animals every time I was in bed. And what if there was more than one occupant in the bed!? Good luck. Duffy

Krystal and I had an extensive conversation about this on the old caging forum and via e-mail. Unforunately, most of the relevant information was probably discussed on e-mail and I no longer have that info to share.

There is nothing wrong with this idea but you'll have some unique challenges.

First, the vinyl coating on the shelves will not accept very many types of sealers, if any.

What I would do is line the shelves with thin, expanded foam PVC - the same material used by Boaphile plastic cages.

This material is smooth, easy to clean, conducts heat well, and has a flame retardant. The latter feature is key if you have some heat tape melt.

You could leave a groove behind the cage or route a hole out underneath to put in an UTH or piece of Flex Watt.

You should also shim the PVC slightly to allow the UTH to slide underneath if you decided to cut a groove in back.

You'll need to add a substrate dam which could also be made out of the PVC.

However, I'd prefer to put in a wooden substrate dam and then build a sliding door off of it. This will be cheaper and easier to construct than a hinged door.

But nothing wrong with a hinged door if you prefer that.

The PVC is available and sign and plastic shops and will cost from $20 to $50 depending on what color and thickness you go with. The full name is expanded foam PVC (rigid).

We can discuss working with the PVC in separte posts.

Oh yeah, if the shelves can hold hundreds of lbs. of books they can handle your reptiles provided you seal them properly (the shevles, not the snakes

I'm moving into a new house, and my room has some built in shelves that are somewhat similar to deep bookshelves. I was having another probably crazy idea about turning them into a built-in cage. The shelves are made out of what i think is fairly good quality pressboard. It is fairly thick, and has a very smooth finish on it. If i gave the inside of the shelves a thick coating of sealer, and hinged an acrylic door on the front, do you think the shelves would hold up? Good idea or bad? Sorry for buggin you guys with my ideas, and thanks for taking your time out to help!

How would they be ventilated?

Thanks for the input everyone.
I was able to measure the shelves today, they are 21.5"Lx20.5"D and about 15"T. I was thinking about using this unit for a leopord gecko or two. Anyone suggest something different?

I like the idea of the PVC, although i'm not sure if where i live has those plastic and sign stores, that or i just don't know where to look. Are there online stores? Sounds like a great idea.

Ventilation--i got stuck on this one too. I was thinking i could just install some vents in the side, but don't know how i would do this with the PVC.

Any suggestions on how i would go about heating this or lighting would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

carole
Feel free to email! thedrummagirl@hotmail.com

The cages could easily be heated with an Under Tank Heater (aka, UTH) that slides under the PVC floor.

You need to cut a groove behind or on the side the shelves. The groove should be just above the floor of the shelf you are trying to heat. When you install your PVC floor you'll need to shim it up slightly to allow the UTH to slide underneath. The UTH will then rest on the floor of the shelf and have the PVC floor of the cage just above it.

Or, you could cut a hole out of each shelf and then cover the hole with PVC. Route the wire through a small hole in the back of the cage and tape the UTH to the PVC floor above.

The downfall to this is that the shelves will lose some of their strength. The groove in the back or side will be stronger.

The easiest way to light the cage would be with rope light available at Walmart, etc. Just cut two holes the same diameter as the rope light at both ends of the cage and then weave the rope light though. There are pictures of this on the web. If you type "Boaphile" and "rope light" into Google you should find them.

Small circular vents are available at Rockler.com. Simply use a hole saw to cut holes through the back and attach the vents.

The PVC is available online from US Plastics and Tap Plastics to name two.

Since this is for Leopard Geckos you might be able to get away with simply putting PVC on the floor and 2" or so up the sides. The vinyl coating on your shelves really won't take any abuse from a leopard gecko.

With Leopard Geckos you could probably use glass track for 1/8" glass or acrylic to make your sliding doors. Clear spacers can be put in between the two doors to make them cricket proof.

That will save you a lot of money. I know many people who keeps snakes behind 1/8" glass so it won't be a problem for you.