work in progress

[munchy]

heres a pic of one of the new 4x2x2 enclosures im building. it still needs paint and glass. im thinking ill probably use marine enamel as mentioned in someone elses post, but i think i recall jeff favelle mentioning something about food grade acrylic in another post a long time ago. which would be better?

[munchy]

ooops here the pic http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2904king_018.jpg

[Invictus]

Looks like you're off to a good start. Marine enamel is great, but it's overkill if you're not housing something in it that requires obscene amounts of humidity. Food grade acrylic does just fine for other snakes without high humidity requirements. Just give it about a week to cure.

[munchy]

sounds good invictus. i might go with the marine enamel just incase. did you notice my nice big 5" litter dams to minimize glass? good idea glad i thought of it.:D

[Invictus]

Hahaha... gee, maybe I'll use that idea someday too, LOL!

[munchy]

...update...

i got some paint on the enclosure but i still need to add a couple more coats. i went with marine fish hold enamel. all i need is my glass, a shelf on the back wall, and some ventilation.

i just started work at a window factory and get a 67 percent discount on anything i need including glass, screen, tracks, frames, locks, and more. im getting all the glass i need for free due to the small ammount i actually need. good timing eh?

here is an updated pic of the cage. it is 4x2x2 half inch plywood. i should have sanded the wood a bit more but i really just wanted to get it finished as soon as possible.http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2904kljlg-med.jpg

[likeal0stchild]

looks very good i like that litter dam idea u have to minimize glass and if it were for a sav or somthing that lived on dirt thatd be a good idea too.

very nice

[Tim_Cranwill]

Looks nice. I'll be building a few in the near future myself. :)

[likeal0stchild]

me too.....me too

[munchy]

hey thanx guys. ill have to be building a few more asap. i got the litter dam idea from invictus. the main reason i decided to go with it was to save money on glass lol but now i get killer deals on glass.
im going to get the glass from work tomorrow. it will be going on normal sliding tracks. what kind of glass would be ideal for this type of enclosure? they have literally everything you can think of at my job so im just wondering what kind to get and also what thickness?

[likeal0stchild]

hmm im thinkin quarter inch?

not quite sure but i was wonderin the same thing for an enclosure idea i had

[Jeff_Favelle]

Marine enamel is good. After drying, its about the same as the food-grade acrylic. Only difference is, I don't trust marine enamel until about 2 weeks AFTER painting, whereas food-grade cures in 36 hours!!

GREAT cage! Once you go sliding-front-glass, you'll never go back man. You can build like 30 of those cages for PEANUTS, rather than spending THOUSANDS on brand-name plastic cages. Plus wood insulated something fierce! So you're temps stay more stable!

Good stuff man You're on your way..........

[Tim_Cranwill]

How are you guys heating yours?

Heat tape under the cage? In the cage? Routered under covered?

[munchy]

yeah the marine enamel does seem pretty tuff but damn, that ish is expensive. the wood soaks it up pretty well too so i had to use alot (still needs a couple more coats.) i dont plan to put anything in there for at least a couple weeks after painting but thanx for the heads-up.
i havent fully decided on a permanent heating method yet, but i use those exo terra heat pads for most of my enclosures so i think ill go with one of those of the appropriate size on a dimmer and an incandescent heat lamp on the same side for during the day and see how that works out. any suggestions are more than welcome.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Use a primer first man! Marine enamel is WAY to expensive to waste one the first coat or two, LOL!

Depends on the species Crannie, but I usually just run heat tape down the back to the side hooked up to a Helix. Piece if cake. Chocolate cake. Deep-and-Delicious

[munchy]

i was thinking about MAYBE placing the heat pad directly on the floor of the enclosure and placing a piece of glass or acrylic over it with a bead of silicon around it to seal it in. this would allow me to have the dimmer as low as possible at all times, but im not too sure yet. if by chance the dimmer did malfunction it would probably get extremely hot. anyone ever tried this before? if not does it sound like a good idea?
lol and yeah primer probably would have been a good idea.
im not sure what ill be housing in this one yet, but ive got it narrowed down to my bp or one of my cal kings. ill post more pics as i go. thanx for the feedback everyone...

[VooDooMafia]

Well you also have to think about removal, if you ever need to remove it it will be a pain.

I would suggest under the cage itself. What about lighting? you gonna use a spot or just a uv light?

Its looking good though. What do you plan on using it for?

[munchy]

meh...i dont think removal would be TOO bad, but yeah it would be a bit of a pain. im more worried about burns. for lighting ill just be using an incandescent fixture with a bulb of the appropriate wattage in the cage with a soft mesh cover.

ill either be housing one of my cal kings or my bp in this one, but im going to have to get a few more built soon because all my snakes are growing. not to mention the reptile show on july 3 from which ill be purchasing AT LEAST one snake (probably more:D .) anyone going to this show in abbotsford? it is in my home town and will be my first reptile show so im pretty stoked.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Heat pad inside is fine (calibrate before putting anything living inside), and can be installed after because all you gotta do is notch the sliding glass strips and the heat pad cable goes in the notch. No probs!

[Invictus]

I use a 25 watt light bulb. Gets the ambient between 78 and 80 and 88 degrees under the basking spot. Piece of cake. Deep and delicious. :D

[munchy]

glass type and thickness anyone?

tempered or normal glass?

[Jeff_Favelle]

3/8" normal glass. 1/4" for BIGGIE snakes.

[DragonLord_Qc]

Hi there munchy ! Your cage is looking great... Here's a pic of what your enclosure may look like at the end :
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/5084IMG_1459-med.JPG
I did my enclosure all by myself, using melamine panels... The glass i used is actually 6 mm thick, if that can help you. My enclosure has the same dimensions as yours, 4x2x2, but I've splitted mine in the middle using a 2x2 pannel... That way, I can house my 2 Leopard Geckos on 1 side, and my Taiwan Beauty on the other side. Hope it can help you a bit !

[Invictus]

I use the 5MM (1/4") glass for all of my enclosures. Tempered is great if you can afford it, but for most species, it's not necessary.

[dvs]

where can you get this food grade acrylic from???? is it a spray? or paint on??? need to get started on a big cage for my 10 foot coastal :) Thanks.