Bid Build Thread

[phassin]

Alright so for the past few months I’ve been way too bored at work. I started watching snakebytes and it didn’t take long before I was planning a new snake project. I need to get another snake… Thanks Brian and Chewy...

The short story is I couldn’t find any enclosures I liked online unless I went custom built and then prices were through the roof. I decided to look online to check out some DIY enclosures, and sure enough I found some nice looking things that looked reasonable to do on my own. I was going to build my own enclosures.

I had initially planned on starting with an old entertainment system to gut and use as my frame, but that would mean keeping both snakes in the same enclosure. If I’m going to do it, I want to make the best enclosures I can. I decided to start from scratch instead. In this thread, I plan on detailing as much information as I can as a reference for myself and others on how to build your own enclosure and what to expect for timing, price, equipment and skill level necessary to make a nice looking set up for reptiles. Honestly, I think I could have skipped half the steps I took and still could have them look nice and be way cheaper, but I went the extra mile and I think it paid off in the end. Mind you, this was my first major wood working project (I did have help from my dad but I did 90% of the work) so a novice can still make a nice build. Almost all my questions were answered on building and reptile forums (Like here )

Before I go into building detail, here is my material list and cost.

Wood – 130$
3X 4’x8’x5/8” pine plywood, 1X 5”x1”x8’ white pine board, 2X 2.5”x1”x8’ white pine board, 6X 2”x4”x8’ common pine board (before I get crucified for using pine, I have it sealed in a primer and latex paint so there’s no toxic fumes)

Plexiglass doors – 80$
4X 18”x24”x.25” sheets

Paint – 60$
Primer – 1 gal Interior paint – 1 quart latex Exterior paint – 6 spray cans protective matte enamel

Background supplies and fake plants – 60$
4X 1’x2’ Styrofoam 8X fake plants 10lb bag of grout 1 can Great Stuff Foam

Aluminum – 50$
4X .25”x.5”x4’Rails 1X .5”x.5”x8’ Rail 2X 1/16”x1”x4’ Rods

Snake Husbandry - $90+
Thermostat, Lamp, Thermometer, Ceramic heater, Bedding, Heat rope (still need to buy)

Miscellaneous – 100$
Wood glue, contact cement, knobs, locks, hole covers, lights, wire mesh, Velcro, hook and eye screws, surge protector, probably way more

Total - $570

List of tools used:
Table saw, miter saw, skill saw, electric sander, grinder (not necessary), router, nail gun, drill, clamps, hand saw, screwdriver, hammer, tape measure, paint brushes, file, and a razor blade.

The good news for me is that I am a mechanical designer and have access to 3D modeling software which allowed me to make some initial layouts. I knew I wanted 2 stackable cages with dimensions of 4’x2’x2’ and front access. These were my initial designs. It took about 2 months to complete but I only worked Wednesdays and Fridays after work plus Saturdays.

[phassin]

After the planning and buying was complete, we started by doing all of the major cuts. It is definitely important to plan your cuts in advanced and know what will be the corner piece and what will bolt to it. Also, to be more accurate, I would suggest cutting slightly oversized then smaller incremental cuts on edges you need to be exact. Its easy to shave an extra few millimeters off. Adding a few is a bit different. I also sanded down all of the sides with 100 grit sand paper to clear off splinters and give a good surface for primer once I started painting.

The first pieces put together were the foundations. My dad and I decided to change the design and make a completely separate structure for the foundation which was a good decision. We cut down some of the pine boards to 1.5”x1.5” pieces and fastened. The enclosure frames assembled and held together with clamps while being fastened. All of the connections for the wood was done with both wood glue and a nail gun. Careful not to use cedar wood as the framing because it emits toxic fumes. Pine can be toxic as well but if painted/finished, it should be alright.

The ledges were added next with supports. I thought it would be cool to make them look different so I gave them different heights but I regret that now. Having the ledges different heights makes it harder to regulate the temperatures in each enclosure. I wish I had just kept them the same to begin with, but I will admit it does give them a nice asymmetric look.

I then primed and painted the inside of the enclosures. I went with a sky blue so that it lightens up the cage gives it a more outside/daylight feel. Make sure to check the toxicity of the paint you use on the inside of the enclosure. I used a latex paint after I read it is commonly used on baby furniture for its mildness. We also added a few holes in the back for plugs which were painted and fitted with a plug later.

[phassin]

I couldn’t figure out a good way to do the background for a while. I was hoping to find some nice 2D back drops to glue in but there was only a few that were large enough and they were expensive. I started looking at DIY backgrounds and saw two different types that I liked: Great Stuff backgrounds and Styrofoam backgrounds. After looking at them both for a while, it was clear to me that the Styrofoam looked far better and I could do a nice rocky look that wasn’t too difficult. I glued Styrofoam edging around the ledges to secure the bedding and used a razorblade to form the grooves and texture. I also made some removable background pieces to go under the ledges to give some contrast to the blue background. I had Styrofoam rectangles cut up with Styrofoam chunks glued on at random and put a Great Stuff base for stability.

This reminds me! I made as much stuff as possible to be removable for cleaning and snake removal purposes. The only things attached to the interior are the ledges. Everything else is removable, including the doors (I will discuss later).

Ok the back on topic. Once I had the shapes I wanted on the ledges and back ground, I painted on a layer of grout for hardening and aesthetic. The first layer I did was way too watery and it left the grout being very chalky. I added several more coats with the proper consistency and it gave the grout a nice hard finish, but it is still easily chipped. I would like to find a way to make it more durable still….

The planters consist of just a block of wood with Styrofoam glued on. I bought all the plants from Michaels because there was a large variety as well as cheaper than online (fake plants are crazy expensive). They turned out really nice but I will probably have to get more because there’s still a good bit of open space in the enclosure.

[phassin]

My dad and I had discussed what to do about the face of the enclosure and we decided it would be best to get a nicer wood and make the face separate then attach it to the frame. This would keep the face from having gaps between the wood and give a much nicer presentation. Routing the edges of the enclosures also gave the whole set up a much more professional look. It didn’t take long to route either. I think we spent 15-20 minutes total and it was our first time ever routing.

I re sanded the outside and put two layers of primer on (sanding between the layers with 220 grit). We cut the top hole out which is for the ceramic heat emitter with a skill saw.

Here’s where I wish I had chosen a different path… I went with a matte black finish on the outside via spray paint. I always like matte finishes if done well and it’s also great to hide imperfections in the wood. After the first coat, I thought I was golden….. The issue is it has a lot of friction and rubs off pretty easily. Not to mention cleaning it leaves streaks. I tested out spraying a protective clear coat on the backside and it glossed up the paint and showed every nook and cranny in the wood. Now I’m stuck trying to decide whether I want to just keep it matte and see if it lasts or add the protective coating and not look as nice. I wish figured this out before hand and I could have picked a different paint for the job. Still looks nice; I just don’t know how I’m going to keep it that way.

[phassin]

Now that the structures were complete, the final steps included adding the wire mesh, installing the lights and securing the doors. I decided to put the lights in at a 45 degree angle from the front of the enclosure. This kept the lights out of the way and also gave more lighting under the ledges instead of focusing all of it from above. I used under cabinet xenon lights which I bought in a batch of 6 (3 lights for each tank). The great thing about these is that there is a touch dimmer that came with the set. All I have to do is touch the pad, and I have three different light settings to choose from. This is a really cool extra feature. The xenon lights themselves are nice and bright but do produce some heat so it raises the temperatures of the whole tank a couple degrees.

To attach the mesh and the railing, I had to go with a different type of adhesive because wood glue doesn’t work well with aluminum. I ended up using contact cement which I bought for cheap at Home Depot. This stuff was perfect for the job. If you decide to use it, make sure to coat both sides of what you’re attaching and let the cement dry. For me, it would take about 15-30 minutes. Once it’s dry but still tacky, just attach the two sides and an instant bond is formed. It’s very easy to work with but make sure to get it right the first time because it’s hard to fix. I also had to clean all of the aluminum as it had scratches all over it. Three or four different grits of sand paper ranging from 100 – 400 did the trick and made them shine very nicely.

Once all of that was attached, the last thing to do was set up the acrylic doors on the front. Acrylic or Plexiglas was certainly the way to go for me as they are safer and more insulating than glass but also harder and more scratch resistant than polycarbonate. The acrylic cuts similar to wood so we use the same tools for sizing. One last thing I did was add an insert into the bottom rails on both enclosures to raise up the doors slightly. This allows for all of the doors to be easily removable by just lifting the doors all the way up into the top rail and pulling the bottom out. This will be massively helpful in regards to transporting/cleaning/decorating/removing snake.

After the doors were put on, the build portion of the enclosures was complete! The tanks were pretty heavy but not bad to move with two people. Luckily everything fit through the doorways but just barely. If you plan on a large build, make sure to take transportation and doorway sizes into account.

The enclosures stacked nicely. I decided to not even bolt them together as I think it is unnecessary (though I’m keeping an eye on them to see if the top enclosure shifts at all). For a substrate I’m using a mixture of 1/3 aspen bedding for its odor and liquid absorbency with 2/3 cypress bedding for humidity control and roughness as my carpet uses it when shedding. I am still waiting on my cut logs to dry. They will be used as climbing logs to go from top to bottom and will be attached at the top with a hook and eye screw. I’m still toying with the temperatures in the tanks. There is a hotspot in the upper 90s from the ceramic heater and a low of around 80 in the far corner. Not far off of optimum but I will add a few more plants to drop the hot spot temp slightly and will be adding some belly heat under the warm side hide. I may also add some cut outs to the cool side to let out heat. We’ll see what happens.

Anyways, I know this was a long read but I hope I helped answer some questions along the way. The build really didn’t need to take as long as it did but I really enjoyed the process and the end result. Though it seemed a daunting process in the beginning, it turned out to be very doable and rewarding. If you have any more questions or concerns I can answer to the best of my ability.

Patrick

[EL Ziggy]

Great job Phassin! When can you deliver my 4x2x3?

[lewis13]

Great job. So far I have built two 4x2x2 cages and two 4x1x2 cages. I am not sure how much money I saved over buying them directly, but there is a real sense of accomplishment to building something like that yourself!

[SWDK]

Great looking enclosures! The hard work definitely paid off in my opinion.

[phassin]

Thanks for all the compliments! I am starting to realize that even though I am technically "done", I am probably going to end up tinkering a lot with them. Now I'm researching live plants to add in as they will increase the oxygen and humidity control.

Zig, As soon as I get a raise and an extra week of PTO at work, I'll be right on it (I ain't holding my breath lol).

Lewis it's most certainly worth the build even if you don't save that much money. The ones that were comparable in cost are plastic cages and though they work well, I don't think they are as pretty. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment as you stated.

[Albert Clark]

OMG! What Craftsmanship. You should consider a small business as a special order enclosure builder and keep it private initially. Congrats.

[phassin]

Thanks Albert!

[JellyBean]

Simply gorgeous!
(And we are almost neighbors)

[trailblazer295]

Awesome cages I plan to build a 4x2x2 for my carpet next summer and might be asking for help. It's the doors I've got the biggest problem with, wood work I'm okay with. I wanted wood because I plan to use parrot branches for climbing bracnhes to create a natural looking climbing enviroment. A few washers and bam real branches to roam on.

[toddnbecka]

Sliding glass is the simplest way to do doors. I found 6' plastic track on Amazon for a decent price. My first enclosure was done with wooden tracks, simply cut the grooves on a table saw. However, after sitting around for a while the unused pieces bowed a bit so I gave up on them when I got around to building the second enclosure. I found that the plastic allows the glass to slide more smoothly anyway, so no great loss, lol.
You do want to build the enclosure before ordering the glass. Also, I found it helpful to have the bottom track sitting a couple inches higher than the bottom of the enclosure so substrte doesn't get into the track as easily. It is easy enough to clean out with an old paintbrush though.

[dannybgoode]

Top job. I line to think I could do something lounge that but know for sure I couldn't!

Like the idea of the background though-I may have a try at that when I get my new vivs. What do you use to paint it with.