Reptile & Amphibian Forums

gaboonviper posted the idea to laminate shower board onto plywood or mdf and use that as my waterproof sheets for making cages. I do like the lightly textured look of the showerboard and I have used it for cages I made for a game and fish department to use as display cages. It works great but I don't use it for the floor because it is lightly textured and complicates cleaning. At cleaning time, I often have to resort to a paint scraper to get the stuck-on residue off the cage floor and a perfectly smooth surface is best for that. For snakes like Indigos, which occasionally shoot their waste onto the walls, again, a smooth surface is best.

That said, shower board is a great material for less fire-hosey snakes, and much less expensive. Good tip.

not to beat a dead horse but, if we are talking about the same shower board (not the very ridged one but the flexible one that you could roll up if you wanted to) Ive glued it texture side down and it stays put. I cover the floor with heavy books and place weights on top of those books until the adhesive is dry and flat. my problem is that I dont have a steady enough hand to cut that formica straight. plus I use the shower board because its flexible and I can put it in after the front is on the cage, which I couldn't with formica because I leave a 4 inch lip all the way around the front as a frame for the door to shut against and to prevent substrate from falling out. If poop is getting on the floor though, it sounds like maybe you arent using any wood chips or anything in your set ups. what do you use to cut the formica? a router or saw?

I used to make museum exhibits so I have blades and bits for working formica. I rough-cut the formica a bit oversize, then laminate it to a base using contact cement. Once it's in place, I trim it with a high-speed mini-router called a laminate trimmer, using a laminate trimming bit. That sizes the formica to the base sheet. When I cut formica on the table saw, the rough cut always has little chips along the edge, so finishing it with the laminate trimmer eliminates those and leaves a nice clean edge.

Once the sheets are all ready, they are assembled just like unlaminated sheets of plywood or mdf. I do use bedding (mulch) in all my cages but active snakes like racers always push it around and leave bare spots, which they find to poop in like guided poop missiles.

Stick with whatever works for you--as long as the animals are healthy and you're satisfied. I like formica because it's very durable and smooth. So far, I have not had it de-laminate but of course that may still be in my future.