Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, next semester im taking another advanced wood shop class and i decided its time to build zephyr, my female ig, her final cage. im really into making furniture quality cages. basically all of my cages i build look like nice accents to a room, i hate the basic utilitarian plywood cages. so, i was wondering if anyone had any good plans or designs i could go off of. im not looking to use anyones exact plans i like to creat my own but i am trying to get some ideas. im not sure on dimensions yet exept i want the height at least six foot but i need to measure my ceiling first im not sure what kind of wood to use, im allergic to pine so i am trying to avoid building such a big cage out of that, cedar is no good either so i am trying to find a slightly inexpensive hardwood. my last cage was solid oak and ending up costing my several hundred dollars i didnt plan to spend on a fairly small cage, prolly equal to forty or so gallons. has anyone used oak plywood before? i know what i said about plywood earlier but good looking plywood is different...did that make any sense? i would rather the cage not be just a frame with screen but if thats what i have to do i guess i can. most of my cages are solid wood on the sides, peg board on the back for ventilation and plexiglass doors. do you think thats a possibility here? thanks for any suggestions, sorry this is so long, im gonna look around the net for some ideas now too. thanks everyone.
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"it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
1.0.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 green iguana
0.0.1 columbian tegu(for sale)
1.1.0 knight anole
0.1.0 green anole
0.1.0 asian longtail grass lizard
1.1.0 golden gecko
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.5 oriental firebellied toad
0.0.1 green treefrog
0.0.1 barking treefrog
0.0.1 cuban masked treefrog
0.0.1 gray treefrog
0.1.0 gulf hammock rat snake
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.1.0 siberian husky
1.1.0 ratties
0.1.0 hedgie

i just finished building a cage out of oak plywood and i am pretty pleased with the results. oak is also a nice wood to stain if you plan on that.
i perdonally wouldntthink that pegboard would be strong enough in such a large sheet without some support beams or something across the back.
plexiglass doors also would seem to get scratched easily as well as have the tendency to warp.
i dont have a cage plan but do suggest oak plywood. good luck with it.

Someone else posted these pictures/plans here recently. I think it would be perfect for an Iguana cage, albeit larger.

ok, next semester im taking another advanced wood shop class...

That's good because a project like this will be much cheaper with access to a table saw, jointer, and planer. That way you can start with roughsawn stock.

i hate the basic utilitarian plywood cages.

Utalitarian can be nice. Other than the epoxy on the interior and perhaps the face trim I would consider this cage I built to be "utalitarian", although perhaps one step below furniture quality.

But I probably would still not recommend it for an igunana cage - too heavy. If you make your Iguana cage like the one I posted above you can make the glass panes removable and probably even make all of the sides so that they can be taken apart. I do recommend making a knock-down cage for an Iguana because the cage will have to be too small to fit through doors, etc.

im not sure on dimensions yet exept i want the height at least six foot but i need to measure my ceiling first

If you are making a one-piece cage the height of your ceiling will not matter, the height of your doorways will.

i am trying to find a slightly inexpensive hardwood.

That will depend on your area and current availability. I recently saw a cabinet very similar to the above cage (first one pictured in ths post) made from strips of Europly. Europly is that high end plywood that a lot of modern furniture is made from. The stuff where the cut edge of the plywood is left exposed. You can't do this with any old plywood since the edges often look lousy and are full of voids, etc.

This would be a good option if you don't have access to a jointer and a planer. Also, it would be MUCH more dimensionally stable than a lot of solid woods. This is a huge concern given the difference from inside to outside with your Iguana cage.

has anyone used oak plywood before?

The cage I built and pictured above is made from cheap oak plywood. I don't like the look of radial sawn plywood but my friend (who I built the cage for) likes it and the grain does look good against the plants.

Otherwise, don't use pegboard on a furniture quality cage. I would either hide the ventilation or use perforated aluminum.

this is one i built out white board with a nice wood trim, the white board is 1/4 in so it was fairly light, this makes it easy to move and with the trim it was pretty strong. its also water resistent and easy to clean, i finished the inside edges with silicone. the top was framed with screen and sunk down a few inches to hide lights and wires, it makes for a clean looking cage, not all clutterd with heatlamps and wires.
but ya make sure you can fit it in your door!
this cage was twice as big till i realized i had to cut it in half or leave it in the garage
have fun