Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm thinking about getting an Argentine Black & White Tegu, and I'm looking for ideas on how to build a cage as cheaply as possible, as well as estimates of what it would cost. The cage needs to be about 6'wide by 3'deep by 2'high, and I'm going to heat it with a heat lamp or radiant heat panel on the inside of the ceiling. Price is my only concern. I don't care what it looks like or how much it weighs or anything as long as its as cheap as possible.
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 Columbian BCI
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
1.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
A Blood or Short-Tail Python
A Dumerils Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

First, let me thank you for saying up front what it is you're looking for from a cage. Saves a lot of time vs. asking what you're looking for exactly.

I don't know enough about tegus to know how much damage they can do to a cage. If you need FRP board or polyester resin to line the cage this could get expensive. My suspicion is that they need a durable protective coat, but I'm not 100% sure. If I were to get a tegu I would build a cage with an epoxy coating, no doubt. Just to be on the safe side.

Otherwise, the biggest issue with a cage this size is the amount of material it will use. Almost all material that might be used for a cage this size comes in 4' x 8' sheets.

So...

The back panel at 6'x2' and two side panels, each at 3' x 2' could be cut from a single sheet of material. Scrap piece would be 2' x 4'.

The bottom panel at 6' x 3' would have to be cut from a single sheet. Scrap pieces would be one at 1' x 6' and another at 2' x 4'.

The top panel at 6' x 3' would have to be cut from a single sheet. Scrap pieces would be one at 1' x 6' and another at 2' x 4'. The 1' x 6' piece could be used to make a face frame for the cage.

So that's three full sheets of material. If melamine is sufficient for a tegu (ask this on the tegu forum) then you're looking at maybe $120 for the carcass of the cage. You would also have some useful scrap, which may or may not be a good thing.

I have not priced glass in a long time and it tends to vary anyways. You'll need to call around and ask.

What type of door do you prefer? Sliding bypass dooors, hinged doors? You'll want to avoid plexiglass or other types of acrylic due to how much tegus scratch.

I'm also wondering if building a cage from hollow core door blanks might not work. You can often find these scratch and dent for about $10 each. Otherwise, I have found decent HC doors for $22 each.

You could use two doors at 80" x 32" for the top and bottom panels.

A third door at 80" x 24" for the back panel.

Just about any sort of scrap wood, melamine shelving, or whatever for the two side panels. Or even another door cut in half.

You would also need something for the face frame.

This would be cheaper and lighter than melamine but then you'd absolutely have to seal them with something. If melamine is durable enough then it's your best option since weight is not a concern.

But if you want/need to use an epoxy coating anyways then HC doors might be something to look into. You might be able to build a cage carcass for well under $100, especially if you shop around for scratch and dent door blanks.

The rest depends on what you want for doors, etc. This is the unknown factor going into any project. Little things like bottles of glue, paying shipping on glass track, or even paint brushes add up quickly.

Also, what tools do you have access to?

I didn't think about sheets being 4' by 8', if I decide to go with melamine, I'll probably make the cage 8'wide by 4'deep, instead of 6' by 3'. Not sure how I'd move this though. For tools, my dad has a cordless drill, a table saw, a circular saw and some other stuff. My grandfather used to be a carpenter, so he has a lot of tools, not sure what. As for doors, I don't care what, as long as its cheap and relatively easy
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 Columbian BCI
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
1.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
A Blood or Short-Tail Python
A Dumerils Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

It sounds like you have access to plenty of tools. If you make the cage that big you'll have to build it so that it can be broken down.

First thing I'd do is find out what is suitable for that species. If melamine works I can make some general suggestions.

Let me know.

np
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 Columbian BCI
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
1.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
A Blood or Short-Tail Python
A Dumerils Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

I only have a minute...

I would go with 96" x 30" x 18"

That way you can take a TWO full sheets of melamine and rip both so you end up with one piece at 30" wide and another at 18" wide.

Actually, melamine is 49" wide so you could have one piece at 19" and one piece at 30".

Note that what I'm doing here is have the height plus the depth equal the width of a sheet of melamine. This saves you ton on material, although I'd personally want a taller cage.

You now have a top and bottom panel, each at 96" x 30", and a front and back panel, each at 19" x 96". You cut just cut two large rectangles out of the front panel for your doors. For now, just some cheap acrylic hinged doors that recess into a rabbet. I'll post a picture later (remind me) and your dad will understand.

Find some cheap melamine shelving to cut into two pieces at 18" x 30" for the sides.

This is an oversimplification, but should give you a basic idea.

Also, I'd encourage you to get a higher quality melamine than what you can get at Home Depot.

I might still cover the floor with fiberglass reinforced panel (aka FRP).

Hope this makes sense.

I would just use a metal cattle trough. You can get a 8ft x 3ft for around $160. All you have to do is construct a lid (top). Many people use these for monitors and should also work well for a tegu. Hope this helps, good luck.

Thanks,
Anthony

Thanks for the help, but I've decided to just stick with snakes for right now. I just don't really have the room or the money for a tegu right now. I'm going to be building a cage for my Columbian Boa soon, its going to be 4'x 2'x 2'. Would the doors you were talking about work on that? Also, melamine is like plywood or fiberboard with a plastic coating, right? I went to Lowes a little while ago to check on the price and I couldn't find any sheets of melamine. There's a Home Depot right next to the Lowes, I guess I'll check there sometime.
-----
MY COLLECTION:
1.0 Columbian BCI
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
1.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
A Blood or Short-Tail Python
A Dumerils Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

Typically melamine is particle board with a melamine layer on both sides. Other items are also called melamine, but that is getting to be relatively uncommon.

I don't recommend melamine from Home Depot or Lowes. If you shop around you'll find that cabinet supply shops sell melamine for about the same price and the quality is much higher.