Planning a custom enclosure, lots of ????

[Alicewave]

Hey guys, I need some help with this. I'm planning to build an enclosure to hold all my herps. Its going to be in three stackable sections, 60"x20"x20". The bottom section will be a cabinet for storage. The other two sections will consist of 3 20"x20" spaces side by side but I'm toying with the idea of adding extra notches that I can slide in extra dividers to make either bigger or smaller enclosures. Then I will have screen on top and space for the lamps above that. So the final product will be 60x60x20, capable of holding all my herps with at least 2 20x20s left over for growth. Animals that will be housed in this are Leopard Geckos and my Rosy Boa.

Here are my questions:
1. What's the best material to use? Wood? Fiberglass? I have no idea what to use except not pine or cedar. I don't want anything too expensive but I don't want anything too flimsy either. I'd also rather not have to finish it if I don't have to but I want something that looks nice. If there is anything out there that fits this, let me know. I will finish it if I have to though.

2. For where the lamps go, I'm thinking of installing permanent lamp fixtures hopefully all attatched to a dimmer switch so that I'd only have to plug in one cable for the lamps into the wall. Not sure if I explained that right but let me know if it's possible and/or if anyone has tried this. If I do that I'd like to make the ceiling of where the lamps go aluminum or something so that it reflects well. Just bouncing off the ides, otherwise I'll just use regular domes and power strips.

3. Under "tank" heating: How do I go about getting belly heat for the herps? If a lamp over a rock enough or should I look into using heat tape? I have never used heat tape before and I'm not entirely sure how it works. If I'm making the enclosure out of wood where do I put the heat tape? Could I put it inside the enclosure and then cover it with substrate (I will use ceramic tile as substrate for the leos?) Or should I make the floors out of Plexiglass and put the tape on the outside?

4. Doors. Planning on using Plexiglass for them. What do we like better? Sliding? Tilt down, or tilt up? I have to keep in mine that one 20x20 needs to be totally escape proof for my Rosy Boa so any advice on that would be helpful.

Hopefully my questions make sense. Any additional advice or suggestions would be great. I want to plan this all out perfectly before i buy the materials. Thanks in advance.

[Lasher]

I have already built an enclosure almost exactly as you described. Mine is 48" X 30" X 50". I builtit out of pine (I dont think Pine is a problem as long as it is sealed). I covered it with a dark mahogany varnish. You can get this wood from a salvage yard for $.50 per foot. It will not be perfect, but it still looks nice.

Lighting: I insalled a 24" florecent light in each compartment and a regular socket for a heat lamp. I put a dimmer on all 4 (1 dimmer, 4 lights) and it seems to work fine. Note that peg-board on the back provides for adequate circulation.

Heating: I use a heat pag (like for people) and leave it on low. You could also put this on a dimmer and control each compartment if needed.

Doors: Important lesson to be learnd here. If you are going W/ hinged instead of sliding, hinge them down. It is a royal pain in the a** to try to clean and vaccume an enclusure using your head to hold up the doors. I have plexiglass on my doors (cheapest thickness from Lowe's). I ended up with a darn nice enclosure that all my guys are happy with. It gives them plenty of room, heat, circulation and gives me the pleasure of veiwing them while I work. I am going to try to attach a picture of it in it's early stages. Maybe this will give you an idea. Email W/ any questions.

[Alicewave]

A couple more questions after reading through the forums.

Sealing: If I am only housing desert species (no use of foggers, no misting or anything) Is there any reason I should seal/waterproof the enclosure?

More on the doors: I was reading somewhere that Plexiglass warps, is this true? If so would it be better to use regular glass or is that a lot harder to work with? If I framed the Plexiglass would it warp less?

[Big Mike]

Plexi glass will get scratched up with use and cleaning. So you might just want to go with 1/4" plate glass.

You should still seal up the wood because you will need to clean it. I think untreated wood can harbor much more bacteria than sealed wood. You don't have to stain it...you can just use a clear, water based wood sealant.

Good Luck.

[Greg West]

you are going to want to seal the cage because of defication of the animals. You don't want that stuck in your wood forever.

Greg

[Alicewave]

Excellent point. Will do. So I just look for "Wood Sealant" or is there a certain kind that is safest for reptiles? Does it go on after I stain the wood or before? Do I need to seal it even if I use Melamine?

[Greg West]

You dont need to seal it if you use melamine, but you will need to seal the edges of the wood with silicone. If you use a clear coat you can put it on after you put the stain on, but you don't have to stain it if you don't want. You can just use the clear coat for a glossy natural finish with looks really nice with most wood. I use polyeurethan to seal the cages that I stain.

Hope that helped.

Greg West

[Alicewave]

Cool. I will silicone all the permanent edges but not the adjustable dividers, I will just make sure they are sealed all around. Sound good?

I think I will also use tilt down doors to make sure all the cages are accessible no matter how I adjust the size.