Making a first cage?

[Zoe]

Do you think someone who's never built an enclosure before (someone such as myself! lol) and hasn't really built ANYTHING before, could succede in building one? A usable one?

Lol, thanks
Zoe

[Bryan Self]

Yes, I think anybody can make a good cage. Alot of building is common sense. The real question to ask yourself is do you have the time to learn? It will take sometime to get it build. Not to mention the mistakes that can or will be made. My time is worth enough to me that I am willing to buy my cages. The ones that are wood need to be replaced every 3 years or so if you have boas, due to live birth and the fluid. So I prefer plastic. They are lighter and last longer. These are just my opinions.

[lance]

i agree with bryan in that time is of the biggest importance
everything else you can learn on the way
just don't try to rush things or you'll find out the hard way what not to do

[Syst3m]

Measure twice cut once and make sure you have plans ahead of time.

[Big Mike]

If you have the time, patience and proper tools...then go for it. It a great feeling to build something nice your self. Good advice from Syst3m, measure twice (or three times) before you cut. And make sure your wood is cut square...nothing worse than trying to build with crooked pieces.

[Syst3m]

Yea I thats another point. invest in a good square of some sort if you dont already have one. If you dont you might end up having a trapezoid when your done.

[reverendsterlin]

be willing to think outside the box too, there are several ways to overcome humidity and heat retention when building your own. But is your thinking it may be cheaper to build your own it really isn't.

[Lisa]

Not everyone's a carpenter, the stuff i've made doesn't look as nice as the stuff katey makes, but that's mainly from experience. don't expect to pick up a hammer and saw and have a work of art come out, but you should be able to make something usable.

[tai_pan1]

Absolutely! I had no clue what I was doing, but with some planning and forethought, I've built a really nice cage for my Corns. I used heated glass for 14" of the bottom and left 24" unheated. Using some quickly made jigs, I siliconed together the individual pieces of glass. What I have now is basically a 38" long 14" wide 14" tall aquarium that has no frame and a custom built lid. It has a built in warm side (I needed to use a diode to keep the temp around 90 degrees) Works great and my snakes have plenty of room.

[Them and Us]

yes i agree with the measure twice and cut once. what i personally like to do is keep it a little rough. after you get it cut don't sand it and all that first. build it and then perfect the completed project. this goes for building anything i believe. i did the same when i helped my cousin build a large rabbit cage, my speaker enclosures for my truck and my cage for my rat snake. I am debating now wheather to buy or build a cage for the boa as his 20 gallon glass will not do forever.