Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I will be building a custom cage for my 4 colubrids and had a few questions/wanted opinions. It is going to be a very basic cage made of melamine. it will be 6'tX4'wX3'd and basically be a big hollow rectangle, with shelves. 2 will be 2' tall and 2 will be 1' tall. I plan on just grooving the wood so I can have slideing glass doors. What do you recomend for the glass thickness? would grooving it be ok or do you guys know a better way? Plan on putting in a ceramic fixture and a bulb guard. Also, I was wanting to put in a litte wooden "ledge" by carveing the wood and setting it on pegs drilled into the side of the cage. I plan on sealing all of the corners but am yet to find a non-toxic wood sealant/caulk. Any suggestions/advice? thanks!
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
0.0.1 Butter Corn "Butters" (South Park)
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"

I have found the perfect solution for the glass and glass track. On the cages I built, I was going to have the glass shop cut the glass anyway (I use 1/4 inch) and he had track that he installed that worked better than what I had anyway. I don't risk cutting myself with the glass, cutting it the wrong size, polish the edges, or hunt for track. Why not just go ahead and have them do it?

I hate to be negative and I'm sorry if this comes across that way but I have seen a cabinet similar to the size your describing made out of melamine and it had a couple of serious faults. Have you considered the weight? That sounds like a huge cage that would be very heavy. I saw a cabinet of similar dimensions fall apart when it was moved. Once the weight shifted, screws pulled out, shelves split, etc. You may want to consider a different material.

I like cage stacks where the floor of one cage also acts as the ceiling of the cage below. I'm getting ready to build some myself.

However, your cage seems like too much of a good thing. One thing off the bat that I don't like is cage this is 12" tall but 36" deep. How are you going to reach in the back to reach a snake or to clean the cage? Remember, you'll likely need some sort of lip or face frame which means the actual opening will be less than 12", unless you already accounted for that.

I would say make the shortest cage a taller and decrease the depth. I think 24" deep is fine and saves on material. 30" is a max.

Besides, how would you move a 48" x 36" x 72" into your house? The original builder of my house had a handicapped son and it is built with wheelchair access in mind. I could not get a cage like that from my garage into my house, that's for sure.

Don't groove the wood for glass. Instead use plastic glass track glued to a face frame of some sort. You will absolutely need a face frame to add structure to a cage like that. It will also act as a substrate dam and give a finished look to the front.

You could use either 1/4" or 1/8" glass, it probably does not matter.

I agree with the previous poster and his concern with melamine. I do think it can be used, but I would use a higher grade product with a more durable pressboard core. But plywood is an even better choice.

I would use a combination of dados, glue and screws at a minimum to hold this thing together. I don't normally do this, but I'd also rabbet a 1/2" thick solid back into the whole structure.

This can be done, I have no doubt about that, but I would suggest rethinking your plan.

For starters, I would consider a cabinet of 48" x 24" x 72" and keeping each level about 18" tall.

Your mentioned dimensions would require 6 full sheets of melamine to complete. The dimensions I suggested would only require 3 full sheets. Do you really want to couble the amout of material needed in order to make your cages 12" deeper front to back which also makes them harder to clean?

If you want to provide more height for climbing and viewing, which I think is a great idea, then limit it to three levels and just build a second unit. This could be done with only 5 full sheets of material. Still one less than what you have in mind.

Think about it.

>I like cage stacks where the floor of one cage also acts as the ceiling of the cage below. I'm getting ready to build some myself.<

I'm not sure if this is the type of caging that Chris is talking about, but my 7 high works pretty good and is very space efficient. Here's a pic of it, in case it gives anyone some ideas. It's melamine and painted with fleckstone to match my larger cage. Each cage unit is 36"W x 8.5"T x 16"D. The unit is 72" high and has a storage cabinet on the bottom level.

My larger cage is 4'W x 4'T x 2'D. I find the 2'D to be idea, it's still easy to reach the back of the cage, decorate, etc but it does fit thru a doorway (barely, watch you fingers when pushing). Make sure you put caster wheels on it.

At the risk of getting you lectured at, is it my understanding you're wanting to build a huge enclosure to house all 4 of those rat snakes together in one area, or separately?

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1.1 Jungle Carpet Python
1.1 Ball Python
1.1 Corn Snake
0.1 Gray band Kingsnake
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
0.1 Pueblan Milksnake
1.0 Bullsnake
1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback (Hondo)
0.1 Spouse (WC)
0.0.8 hatchling ball pythons

That's exactly what I was talking about and what I assume the original poster means.

Nice work, btw. I like it.

Also, I went back and read my post and found a lot of typos. Nothing major but I hope it all makes sense to everyone.

That is exactly what I was thinking of! accept There will only be 4 cages. So what is a recomended wood aside from melamine that is cheap and reliable? I plan on putting wheels on this too. Also, thanks for the depth suggestion. About how much will the glass cost?
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
0.0.1 Butter Corn "Butters" (South Park)
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"

>>So what is a recomended wood aside from melamine that is cheap and reliable?

Cheap and reliable is a tough combination. Plywood in the same price range as melamine is of very low quality and I would not use it for such a cage. And you'd still have to seal it somehow which adds cost.

If cost is a concern then use melamine. Just make sure you know what you're doing when it comes to the joinery on such a large cage. Plan carefully. I would probably also recommend a polyurethane glue over a regular wood glue. I would look for something better than the melamine at Home Depot or other home improvment centers.

Remember, this thing will weigh well over 200 lbs. and be awkward to move. If this is your first project you might consider four cages that stack rather than a single unit divided into four.

Again, pay attention to the dimensions if cost is a concern. What you originally posted would waste a lot of material.

I'll let someone else answer the question about glass. I have not priced it in a while.

I have no idea how much my cages weigh, but when I built the large cage in my garage, I was living in an upstairs apartment. I had to hire two young, strong, professional movers that happened to be around taking a lunch break, to carry the d@#$ thing up the stairs for me. I paid them $20.00 bucks to do it. They earned their money!
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1.1 Jungle Carpet Python
1.1 Ball Python
1.1 Corn Snake
0.1 Gray band Kingsnake
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
0.1 Pueblan Milksnake
1.0 Bullsnake
1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback (Hondo)
0.1 Spouse (WC)
0.0.8 hatchling ball pythons

Posted by: UAWPrez at Tue Oct 11 12:04:23 2005 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

>I like cage stacks where the floor of one cage also acts as the ceiling of the cage below. I'm getting ready to build some myself.<

I'm not sure if this is the type of caging that Chris is talking about, but my 7 high works pretty good and is very space efficient. Here's a pic of it, in case it gives anyone some ideas. It's melamine and painted with fleckstone to match my larger cage. Each cage unit is 36"W x 8.5"T x 16"D. The unit is 72" high and has a storage cabinet on the bottom level.

Great looking set up. I notice you also use bulb in cage. I do to what wattage do you use ever have any problems ?
Do you use under UTH heat also or just the bulb heat?
My cages arent built by me they are precision cages . I use 25 watt bulb I find it really gives off great heat in the cage and not hot to the touch.
Ofcourse I dont use them in warm weather. Your cages look roomy and nicely stacked .

One suggestion whatever size you choose... order the glass first. It sucks to build your whole rack then try to find glass, and when they ship it to you the gap around the edge it is 1/8 of an inch to big.