Building a Bearded Dragon Cage

So, since nothing that is within my desired price range is available in the size my beardie needs I've decided to just build him a cage.

I have a few questions:

• I was initially planning to use melamine but I've read it's super heavy so for a 72" cage that's unreasonable. What should I use in it's place? If wood, what should I seal it with? (brand names whenever possible would help)
• Does anyone know how to build sliding glass doors? Or can someone point me in the direction of a tutorial or plan.
• I wanted to use a screen on top of the cage to put his light/CHI/fluorescent UV light. What should I use for this? Chicken wire? Something else?

Thank you all so much! Clearly I need some help. :)

Hi I have used plywood(cabinet grade) on all my dragon tanks and never had an issue and it is definitely lighter than melamine. For that grade of plywood it usually runs me about $50 for a 4x8 sheet. You can use cheaper grade if you want but it will prob have a lot of knots and blemishes. For the size you want to build you can get the bottom/back and both side pieces from one 4x8 sheet. The only thing you wood have to worry about is the front which you would have to put a runner around the edge and get some track for the bottom and top for your sliding glass doors...

here are some that I have built
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/y...Y/CIMG1839.jpg
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/y...Y/CIMG1840.jpg
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/y...Y/CIMG1843.jpg

I built these with removable covers(little more work) but if your just going to use screen no top needed. Also I went with drilling holes right into the wood for ventilation as in previous models I had used peg board cut outs but found it wasn't enough..

The track for the sliding glass doors can be bought at home depot or like business. It is a metal W shaped piece that the panes of glass fit into. As far as painting, I just use stain on the outside and use a clear coat sealer to cover both inside and out.

Here is a link to A similar cage but with more instructions... Lol
http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/

Any more questions just ask I will try to find my other plans for you.. :D

Thank you! All that information really helps. Those cages look amazing.

Here's a custom that was actually built for my vets office. But he had no need for it so he sold it to me for dirt cheap. It has tempered double panes glass that slides on a track on all sides. Wood stand, tray for sub that pulls in and out. Wood hood built in florecent lights( although I'm converting the fixtures for the heat and UVB. Bc right mow I've got the lights hanging in. Temp gauge and hydrogemeter built in. I love this thing. It measures 48 x 24x 48high
I love it. My two girls live in it full time and a boy rotates in and out. I'll say thats it's huge and bulky and heavy though. Thank god it pulls apart in smaller peices. http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a1d960-cbe0-cbef.jpg
http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a1d960-cc1d-24e1.jpg
http://tapatalk.com/mu/47a1d960-cc59-fd41.jpg
Enjoy

my hubby builds my cages. Our first cage was a sliding glass door. You can actually order the whole kit with any local glass company. Just give them the dimensions. Another cage my hubby did was with doors. I can tell you....I LOVE the doors way way better than the sliding glass.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ge-by-my-hubby


You also can make your own fake rock wall and hides ....its actually very easy and super fun!!
http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/index.html

Great cages everyone...I wish I was more handy...The only thing I can do is whip my credit card out of my wallet...LOL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

my hubby builds my cages. Our first cage was a sliding glass door. You can actually order the whole kit with any local glass company. Just give them the dimensions. Another cage my hubby did was with doors. I can tell you....I LOVE the doors way way better than the sliding glass.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ge-by-my-hubby


You also can make your own fake rock wall and hides ....its actually very easy and super fun!!
http://www.lizard-landscapes.com/index.html

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What are the dimensions on your cage? I was planning a 72" cage and figured sliding doors would be more convenient than huge doors. But those doors looks super nice - do you have plans for that cage?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

Would this product be okay for sealing the interior or would that be toxic to the beardie?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Action Reptiles

Hi I have used plywood(cabinet grade) on all my dragon tanks and never had an issue and it is definitely lighter than melamine. For that grade of plywood it usually runs me about $50 for a 4x8 sheet. You can use cheaper grade if you want but it will prob have a lot of knots and blemishes. For the size you want to build you can get the bottom/back and both side pieces from one 4x8 sheet. The only thing you wood have to worry about is the front which you would have to put a runner around the edge and get some track for the bottom and top for your sliding glass doors...

here are some that I have built
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/y...Y/CIMG1839.jpg
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/y...Y/CIMG1840.jpg
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/y...Y/CIMG1843.jpg

I built these with removable covers(little more work) but if your just going to use screen no top needed. Also I went with drilling holes right into the wood for ventilation as in previous models I had used peg board cut outs but found it wasn't enough..

The track for the sliding glass doors can be bought at home depot or like business. It is a metal W shaped piece that the panes of glass fit into. As far as painting, I just use stain on the outside and use a clear coat sealer to cover both inside and out.

Here is a link to A similar cage but with more instructions... Lol
http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/

Any more questions just ask I will try to find my other plans for you.. :D

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What's the brand name of the sealer that you used on the interior?