Enclosures you've built (for any animal)

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Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

Each individual enclosure (2 enclosures per floor) is roughly 24" wide x 18" deep x 12" tall. Inclusive of the external wood, the entire piece sits about 4.2 feet wide...and stands about 6 feet tall.

I focused on the internal dimensions of each enclosure first, to ensure I gave my animals 400 square inches of floor space to live in. From there, I built the frame and such around that, to beef it up and make it look like furniture to match other pieces in my house. I also wanted storage underneath...so the cabinet at the bottom is taller (so I can stack books, water bowls, extra hide boxes, scale, and user manuals).

If I had to do it all over again - I would not change a thing. :)

This piece has been awesome for me, and my husbandry (temps, humidity, etc.) has been spot-on since I set up the Herpstat.

My wife loves that it matches our 'normal' furniture. That...in and of itself...made her acceptance of me having 8 snakes MUCH easier to come by!

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It dawned on me that I am might be taking this thread off topic, but your furniture quality enclosure has struck a chord with me because I am in the same boat you were in. I finally convinced my wife to let me get 1 BP, and now I have 3, and the whole, fish tanks scattered around the house look is getting old, fast. And of course, like the rest of us, I want more - so I need to find that happy medium of something my wife can be happy about and something that is functional for my snakes. And like you, my snakes are pets, not breeders - although at some point I do want to try that... My plan is to start small and make an enclosure for a leopard gecko or crested, so I can refine my skills and work my way up to an enclosure like the one you made. At any rate, if you ever think to, you could totally draw up diagrams for what you made with steps and materials list and sell the plans. Thanks for the inspiration - promise this is my last addition to the thread, unless I post an enclosure pic. Thanks again.

Im in the midst of building a 4'x2'x2' enclosure for my juvi ball and im wondering how i can put a ledge inside that wont rot this is what it going to look like http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/06/e4agu3eh.jpg


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Originally Posted by dillymann

Im in the midst of building a 4'x2'x2' enclosure for my juvi ball and im wondering how i can put a ledge inside that wont rot this is what it going to look like http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/06/e4agu3eh.jpg


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Put a wood beam across the back at the level you want the ledge. This is for structural support of the ledge. Then just screw the ledge into the wood beam. (through the foam)

As for the ledge itself there are lots of options depending on what exactly you are looking for.

Here is one example:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...9.gif~original

If you tell us what you want exactly we can probably help more.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Put a wood beam across the back at the level you want the ledge. This is for structural support of the ledge. Then just screw the ledge into the wood beam. (through the foam)

As for the ledge itself there are lots of options depending on what exactly you are looking for.

Here is one example:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...9.gif~original

If you tell us what you want exactly we can probably help more.

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I just want a little ledge on the left side under the heat lamp but im thinking that if i put bare wood in there it will rot with the humidity


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Sort of like the magnaturals but a little bigger and permanent


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Like thishttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/06/agysupyj.jpg


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Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

Hiya,
If I were to offer one piece of advice....it would be: "Measure three times before you make any cuts." You have to ensure that your math is right, down to the 1/8". If you mess up a full sized piece of lumber, and cut it too short...it's back to the Lowes you go to get another one.

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Reminds me of something my grandfather always says "I cut it twice and it's still too short."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

Each individual enclosure (2 enclosures per floor) is roughly 24" wide x 18" deep x 12" tall. Inclusive of the external wood, the entire piece sits about 4.2 feet wide...and stands about 6 feet tall.

I focused on the internal dimensions of each enclosure first, to ensure I gave my animals 400 square inches of floor space to live in. From there, I built the frame and such around that, to beef it up and make it look like furniture to match other pieces in my house. I also wanted storage underneath...so the cabinet at the bottom is taller (so I can stack books, water bowls, extra hide boxes, scale, and user manuals).

If I had to do it all over again - I would not change a thing. :)

This piece has been awesome for me, and my husbandry (temps, humidity, etc.) has been spot-on since I set up the Herpstat.

My wife loves that it matches our 'normal' furniture. That...in and of itself...made her acceptance of me having 8 snakes MUCH easier to come by!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by mvptext1

It dawned on me that I am might be taking this thread off topic, but your furniture quality enclosure has struck a chord with me because I am in the same boat you were in. I finally convinced my wife to let me get 1 BP, and now I have 3, and the whole, fish tanks scattered around the house look is getting old, fast. And of course, like the rest of us, I want more - so I need to find that happy medium of something my wife can be happy about and something that is functional for my snakes. And like you, my snakes are pets, not breeders - although at some point I do want to try that... My plan is to start small and make an enclosure for a leopard gecko or crested, so I can refine my skills and work my way up to an enclosure like the one you made. At any rate, if you ever think to, you could totally draw up diagrams for what you made with steps and materials list and sell the plans. Thanks for the inspiration - promise this is my last addition to the thread, unless I post an enclosure pic. Thanks again.

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I can tell ya, right now, that taking the leap into something 'furniture grade' makes all the difference in the world. DIY is MUCH cheaper than buying one, you get the satisfaction of making it EXACTLY the way you want it, and it's fun.

I toyed around with getting some AP T-8 enclosures with the dividers. I really like them, and they're easy to assemble, stack, and keep tidy. My better half, however, was not a fan of the idea. She didn't want...and I quote... "a bunch of plastic boxes sitting in our living room, where our company can see them." Mind you - we NEVER have company, but the message was clear. No T-8's for me.

So I took general specs from them, tweaked and tuned to my liking, and made my own condo that serves the same purpose, but looks like it was made by the company that made our other furniture in that room. In order to further appease the interior decorating demon, I built the fish tank cabinet for her African Cichlid tank (I built that first, for practice). She's happy...I'm happy...and my animals are 'happy.'

When the time comes to move to a new castle, I'll be buying a house with a room that I can dedicate to my animals. At that point, the collection will grow...and I'll get some T-8's. I still shop around for them online...just in case! ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

I can tell ya, right now, that taking the leap into something 'furniture grade' makes all the difference in the world. DIY is MUCH cheaper than buying one, you get the satisfaction of making it EXACTLY the way you want it, and it's fun.

I toyed around with getting some AP T-8 enclosures with the dividers. I really like them, and they're easy to assemble, stack, and keep tidy. My better half, however, was not a fan of the idea. She didn't want...and I quote... "a bunch of plastic boxes sitting in our living room, where our company can see them." Mind you - we NEVER have company, but the message was clear. No T-8's for me.

So I took general specs from them, tweaked and tuned to my liking, and made my own condo that serves the same purpose, but looks like it was made by the company that made our other furniture in that room. In order to further appease the interior decorating demon, I built the fish tank cabinet for her African Cichlid tank (I built that first, for practice). She's happy...I'm happy...and my animals are 'happy.'

When the time comes to move to a new castle, I'll be buying a house with a room that I can dedicate to my animals. At that point, the collection will grow...and I'll get some T-8's. I still shop around for them online...just in case! ;)

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Ok, I said the last post would be my last but I can't help it...It is funny you say that cause about a month ago I was on the verge of ordering 3 - T8's. But just like you stated the thought of plastic boxes around our house didn't sit well. I have limited skill and tools, so like you did with the Cichild stand, I need to make a few smaller enclosures /stands in order to get the experience and confidence I need to take on a project that the one you did. The only way my collection of BP's is going to expand is if I figure this out and get something that can be in our house without it being an eye sore - so I have all the motivation I need.

WOW! That is a great setup! What are the dimensions? Thank you in advanced!

-Carlos