Building ?s

[Ixidor]

I did do a search! Got like 1000 results and a lot of them were pics of the finished products which were all very very nice! Anyway I'm no ace at building anything, so I'm going to build a cage for my two leopard geckos,


-----whats the best kind of wood, in terms of weight and endurance?

------any kind of glue I should use i.e. silicone or epoxy?

------anything I should do before building or doing something like predrilling holes?


------I want it to look nice! Is there any kind of stain or varnish toxic to reptiles that I should stay away from?


Hopefully with your help I won't blow myself up. (yes with me it's possible, even with no fire, all I need is my two hands and a lack of professional supervision :P)

[Linds]

Originally posted by Ixidor
-----whats the best kind of wood, in terms of weight and endurance?

Plywood works well. It is a managable weight and stands up well as long as it is sealed properly.

------any kind of glue I should use i.e. silicone or epoxy?

Carpenter's glue is the way to go. At the very end, after your wood is finished with whatever you choose, seal ALL joints with 100% silicone sealant (aquarium-safe, but not the overpriced stuff sold in pet stores specifically for tanks). Using glue in combination with screws will give you a cage that the wood will break before the joints will. The screws mainly acts as clamps, the glue is super strong.

------anything I should do before building or doing something like predrilling holes?

You can predrill pilot holes if you wanted, however I've never had any problems skipping that step with ply-type wood. Get a feel for the type of wood you are working for.

------I want it to look nice! Is there any kind of stain or varnish toxic to reptiles that I should stay away from?

I would recommend staining you wood with the stain colour of your choice and sealing it with an epoxy. I use Epoxal 3:1 available from Niagara Protective Coatings. It is pharmaceutical-safe, as well as safe to use on food preparation surfaces. It provides complete waterproofing and a tough as nails finish. Due to the complete seal it provides, it makes a 100% safe atmosphere, regardless of whether the stain beneath is offgassing anything.

Some people like to use urethanes, I prefer to avoid these however. Not only do they require several coats, but they can be a pain to work with environment-wise, some continue to offgas for a long time after it is "fully cured", they only provide a level of resistance to moisture rather than waterproofing, and they actually end up being more expensive than the epoxy I use.

[bidden]

whats the best kind of wood, in terms of weight and endurance?

Just because I have used it... Melamine. Sturdy, attractive. downfall is it is very heavy.

any kind of glue I should use i.e. silicone or epoxy?

Pure silicone is best, epoxy's too toxic. can off-gas for months later

anything I should do before building or doing something like predrilling holes?

Predrilling is great, espicially with melamine, less chance of splitting. PRE-PLAN everything before you start!!!!!!!!

want it to look nice! Is there any kind of stain or varnish toxic to reptiles that I should stay away from?

Melamine paint looks nice, a little pricey, takes about a week for it to cure/dry completly


Again this is based on what I have done personally.

[MouseKilla]

Melamine is easy in the sense that you don't have to go to the extra trouble of sealing all the surfaces of the cage after you've put it together. Other than that it is just crap.

It seems like the greatest stuff on earth at first but then it crumbles and deteriorates on you and ends up looking like hell. I think you have to look at it like furniture, if you want it to last forever build it out of a good, durable wood. If you only need it to last a year or two, use the melamine.

Quick and fast or built to last, it's up to you. I don't think there is much price difference in the cost of materials so it's mostly a question of how much work you want to put into each cage.

[jjnnbns]

For wood I prefer to use 3/4" 4x8 oak (or birch) plywood. It is BEAUTIFUL, but costs around $40 a sheet. Depends on if you are using paint or stain, and if its a display cage or just functional.

[klein]

i used 3/4" maple and it cost me $50/sheet and i needed 2 sheets to build this cage ... here is a pic of what is looks like stained and varathaned ... for the whole cage, it cost me $350 and i didn't have to pay for the glass which is about $20-30, so that gives you an idea. the dimensions are 4 feet high x 3 feet wide x 18 inches deep ...

[Kyle Barker]

carefull screwing into plywood *ends* that are not predrilled. the layers can split apart very easily.

Pure silicone is best, epoxy's too toxic. can off-gas for months later

there are literally HUNDREDS of types/variations. Epoxy isnt necessarily the only thing. go to a fibreglass place and ask them, i would say its for fish for ease of conversation.

A polyester resin is what you'll need. what linds mentioned is great. but yes there are epoxies that off gas for very long times, and ones that only take a few days. read and ask the store, not just here. they may not know animals but they will know off gas times and all teh other specs.

also seen as your not doin git thick and probably wont want to add glass (if you decide to epoxy it), you may want to consider adding some styrene monomer. all this does is make the resin soak into the wood more, making it way stronger. it will also decrease the chance of chipping. resins are relativly weak without glass support. word of caution. DO NOT mix with the catalyst. mix the cata then the styrene after the first is completely mixed in. it has been know to ignite if mixed together. anyway the store can tell you more.