savannah monitor cage design

[nepoez]

Hi all,

I'm now starting to design the cage for a savannah monitor. It will be 8x4x4. Here's a rough design I made, I didn't draw the screws in, but the wooden pieces are all there plus the "glass".

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[smy_749]

I would think its easier to use plywood with regards to retaining heat and moisture as opposed to only boards and support beams. Maybe just make the dirt box with board and a simple frame with plywood, insulation in the middle.

[DeadlyDesires]

so are you planning on just using boards then? no plywood or OSB? if you are as was mentioned above you will have a lot of cracks between those boards and it will be harder to keep your humidity correct in there you will have to line the inside with something no matter what. with the glass, make sure its thick because it will break easily

[smy_749]

so are you planning on just using boards then? no plywood or OSB? if you are as was mentioned above you will have a lot of cracks between those boards and it will be harder to keep your humidity correct in there you will have to line the inside with something no matter what. with the glass, make sure its thick because it will break easily

Why did you say the same thing I said again?

[DeadlyDesires]

Why did you say the same thing I said again?


because what you said confused me i wasn't sure if that was what you were saying or not..

[smy_749]

because what you said confused me i wasn't sure if that was what you were saying or not..

I'll try to be more clear, usually I'm thinking in one language, and writing it in another, so the grammar will be kind of off. :wacky:

[nepoez]

hey guys I'm kinda confused. Trying to make a good cage this time so gotta get it right.
Each piece of that cage is gonna be made of 4ftx1ft planks as shown in the video. What material it is I don't know yet I just know it's gonna be some kind of wood from home depot.

So you mentioned boards and blanks and OSD, etc I have no idea what we're talking about(I'm not very handy at this point). So please educate me, and make no assumptions of me knowing anything.

and yes I'll be lining that with something for water proofing etc..

thx

[infernalis]

hey guys I'm kinda confused. Trying to make a good cage this time so gotta get it right.
Each piece of that cage is gonna be made of 4ftx1ft planks as shown in the video. What material it is I don't know yet I just know it's gonna be some kind of wood from home depot.

So you mentioned boards and blanks and OSD, etc I have no idea what we're talking about(I'm not very handy at this point). So please educate me, and make no assumptions of me knowing anything.

and yes I'll be lining that with something for water proofing etc..

thx

Considering what I just read, I too am a lousy carpenter, I can tell you from experience, plywood (sheets of wood) is easier to build a box from than planks are any day.

http://www.chompersite.com/cage_files/cielin.jpg

[smy_749]

Is this the new one? Or pics of the older one during construction

[nepoez]

Considering what I just read, I too am a lousy carpenter, I can tell you from experience, plywood (sheets of wood) is easier to build a box from than planks are any day.

http://www.chompersite.com/cage_files/cielin.jpg


cool. So if I could find sheets of plywood that is 4ftx2ft then I could spend less time making each face of the box.

I'm thinking of lining the soil parts of the cage with heavy duty plastic sheets for water proof. Then cover each side with a hard plastic material to prevent the monitor from ripping the lining.

[infernalis]

cool. So if I could find sheets of plywood that is 4ftx2ft then I could spend less time making each face of the box.

I'm thinking of lining the soil parts of the cage with heavy duty plastic sheets for water proof. Then cover each side with a hard plastic material to prevent the monitor from ripping the lining.

I assume transportation of 8 foot long sheets is out of the question?

Anyway, yes.. Home depot (and many places) will cut the sheets down smaller for you.

As much effort as you are putting into sealing the bottom, why not just use a paint on resin sealer? it will last for a lot of years.

[DeadlyDesires]

As much effort as you are putting into sealing the bottom, why not just use a paint on resin sealer? it will last for a lot of years.


i agree with this, plastic will get ripped over time, promise lol.. they can claw their way through everything.

[infernalis]

they can claw their way through everything.

At the very bottom of my cage, I covered the wood with aluminum sheets, sometimes at night I can hear the sounds of claws against metal. It's persistent (they don't give up easily) so my feelings are, anything that goes down there has to be resistant to a constant barrage of little digging claws repeatedly trying to break through.

We have to remember, we are only giving them a fraction of the depth they could achieve outside in the wild where the ground has no bottom, so there instinct is going to be to try digging further.

(especially when we have indoor heated enclosures, the dirt is heated too, unlike outside where the dirt gets progressively cooler at depth.)

They can rip through soils that would make our fingers bleed, so I would imagine they could easily shred plastic.

[nepoez]

Hm... I got a problem with chem coatings. I got my temp cage setup in the basement already so the sav is there. For me to build a 8x4x4 cage I need to build it in the basement, at least assemble it there. And coating that stuff in the basement will be bad for the health of the lizards, and people who are down here too. If I coat the new cage else where, I won't be able to move the cage through the door to the basement as the cage is too big..

Can a monitor claw through plexy glass? Maybe I can use that to protect the lining, so each face of the box, starting from the outter later would be
1.) Wood
2.) Heavy duty plastic lining
3.) plexy glass
4.) soil

[nepoez]

or instead of plexy glass to protect the plastic lining I can use aluminum sheets as u do?

[murrindindi]

or instead of plexy glass to protect the plastic lining I can use aluminum sheets as u do?


Hi, you can use FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic) on the bottom and sides up to substrate level, it comes in 8 x 4 ft sheets just like plywood, and I`m fairly sure they would cut it to size for you.
As far as building the enclosure, why not make it in two halves; the top is basically just 3/4 inch plywood joined at the corners with some steel angle brackets (very cheap and much stronger than screws), and a sliding plate glass front (or a ready made window).
The bottom half which holds the substrate will obviously need 2 x 4 inch framework.
Doing it that way means you could make it in another room, and easily get it through the doors before putting it all together.

[DeadlyDesires]

they will claw through the plexi glass over time im sure of it.

[DiscoPat]

they will claw through the plexi glass over time im sure of it.

This and they will go to the corners and bend them out to squeeze out which can hurt them or they will escape. Avoid plexiglass.

[infernalis]

or instead of plexy glass to protect the plastic lining I can use aluminum sheets as u do?

If you chose that, go to your local scrap yard (recycler of scrap metals) and ask for old road signs, often sold by the pound, right now it's about 50 cents a pound for aluminum, so it will still be a little pricy, but a lot cheaper than going to a meatl dealer and asking for virgin sheets. (sold by the square foot and a lot more expensive)

However, polymer resin is far lighter, just as strong, just as permenant and about the same price as the scrap aluminum.

I got a whole stack of that metal once in a trade, it was conveniently in my way anyhow, so I used some of it on my cage.

Had I been forced to pay my way, I would have chosen polymer resin... But since I have a pile of aluminum, I used that for free VS buying poly resin.

[Danimal]

That size is very convenient. All you need for panels is 3X- 4 x 8 sheets ( have 1-1/2" cut off of one end of 1 sheet so the final dimension is 48" X 94-1/2 ) and 2X 48X48. Homedepot has pre cut project panels. **The reason I suggest this instead of just cutting a full sheet in half is that you need 48 inches on the side panel. If you cut a full sheet in half, the kerf will leave you slightly short, not a deal breaker but my OCD won't let me do it. Plus you won't have to depend on the accuracy of the home depot guy.

Here's a graphic

[infernalis]

Most plywood has an extra 1/4 to 1/3 inch to compensate for kerf loss.