Building new corner enclosure :D

Hey guys.

Well last night I spent about 110$ on some building material, and decided id get started on it today.

This enclosure is going to be given to my tiny savannah monitor, whom due to prior ownership I believe is stunted in growth

It is 6.5 - 7 feet long at its widest point and a good 4 feet wide

It is built to fit in the corner so I am giving him all the space he will need, while at the same time still being able to call my room a room (get it? if i built an 8 x 4 x4 my room would be a cage :D)

Anyway, here are the pics of it just after painting.

I am using exterior plywood, painted first with latex primer (white), and second with mold and mildew resistant latex paint (white)

Please note that all material involved was picked out to be non toxic, hence the latex paint instead of oil paint

Here it is, we are going to chop that big peice that is only half painted. that will be the floor. the other two rectangle peices will be the walls

We are also taking apart a 70 gallon fish tank for a total of 6 feet of glass which we are going to figure out a way so it will over lap

We are also using any extra wood to create a 2nd level in the enclosure, so in total there will be even more floor space

this second level is also important because it will put the basking spot closer to the heat bulbs which will make it easier to maintain a 120 - 130F basking spot

The top of the enclosure is going to be linked fencing/"chicken wire" This will be fine in my room as my room seems to hold a steady 60 - 80% humidity (how? I have no idea. but its great!) this is what my lamps will be sitting on

Ill post more pictures as the "operation :D" comes along


Heres the start of it


The bottom peice, which still needs to be cut where the paint ends (ofcourse we will mark a line so its a smooth cut)

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/2397/img0283hw.jpg

The side peices, which we plan on screwing directly into the studs in the wall

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6096/img0284t0.jpg

All the peices together now :D

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1296/img0282p.jpg

Ill upload more pictures to this thread as the project comes along

Thanks for looking :D

We used some tileboard for the inside of our cages, its easier to cut and less worry about when the paint will cure fully. We have the stuff in 3 so far, one already had it when we picked it up and we just built two 3x2's with it. It's about $20 but a little bit goes a long ways. http://www.lowes.com/pd_61082-46498-...roduct_price|0

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Originally Posted by onna_shinigami

We used some tileboard for the inside of our cages, its easier to cut and less worry about when the paint will cure fully. We have the stuff in 3 so far, one already had it when we picked it up and we just built two 3x2's with it. It's about $20 but a little bit goes a long ways. http://www.lowes.com/pd_61082-46498-...roduct_price|0

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Thats a great idea! Thanks :D

If I have the money ill pick it up for sure.

Thanks again!

We are going to begin building it sometime today so ill update everyone sometime later today :)

Sweet, can't wait to see the finished product.

I almost forgot, you'll need some silicone to seal up the corners. I think we just used the basic window crack sealant and let the whole thing set for about 2 days to cure. Good luck getting it done in a day, it took us almost a month due to weather to get ours done.

Stay away from silicone as it takes 24-48 hours to cure or longer.

Ive used Hot Glue on ALL cages needing sealing. Its non toxic and cures instantly, not to mention its water proof.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Stay away from silicone as it takes 24-48 hours to cure or longer.

Ive used Hot Glue on ALL cages needing sealing. Its non toxic and cures instantly, not to mention its water proof.

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Ahhh damn, I already bought silicone caulking.

Oh well, if it takes 24 - 48 hours to cure its okay. ill caulk the corners and edges as soon as we put it together.

that will give us time to take apart the 70 gallon aquarium that we plan on using for the sliding doors

Thanks!

Anything that 24-48 hours gives you plenty of time to make sure the cage heats up right and holds a steady temp and humidity. I think ours sat for an extra week before we got the snakes in. That and no way I could move a 6ft x 2ft cage alone and hubby was working all week.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onna_shinigami

Anything that 24-48 hours gives you plenty of time to make sure the cage heats up right and holds a steady temp and humidity. I think ours sat for an extra week before we got the snakes in. That and no way I could move a 6ft x 2ft cage alone and hubby was working all week.

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Thats another thing.

I bought a HUGE heat pad, like big enough for my 2 ft long monitor to fully sit on, so im going to put that in before the heat light to get the temp at least 110F

than when I add the light it should bump it to 130 - 140F

Also thought id update you guys, sadly we arent going to be building it until at earliest monday.

This is because my step sisters husband (the one helping me build it) is going to be working.

So it will be done next week for sure. Im just not 100% sure when

Thanks!

Very cool. love to see how your doing a corner tank