Enclosures you've built (for any animal)

I really like the idea of creating custom enclosures for specific animals.
I'm curious to see what you guys have done!
I saw a great water monitor enclosure recently that uses a window as the door! great idea in my opinion. racks count too!

My first (and only!) VERY amateur build for my ball. Just a cheap 55 gal acrylic tank I got off of Craigslist, flipped on its side and added doors :)

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/ameharug.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/ysu4ujez.jpg

I like it! I don't have any custom enclosures (yet), but one day I want to make a few snake tanks out of wood and linoleum sheeting, with glass or acrylic doors. Then it'll be the best of both worlds, I hope.

Although I did sort of mess with my tree frog tank. It's one of those tall Exo Terra ones; I didn't like how the front doors obstructed the view, so I flipped the cage 180 degrees and moved the backdrop to the side with the doors! Now I view them from the rear side of the tank and just access it from the top :D

I had thought about doing that same type of thing with a tank that I got free. I ended up not doing it but yours looks nicely done.

http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3e330a1b.jpg

http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8be25ab0.jpg

My enclosure looks pretty bad right now because for some reason the ivy randomly decided to start losing a lot of leaves so it looks scattered and I haven't replanted the grass in several months. I want to do another big change in the landscaping of the enclosure but I don't have any good ideas just yet.

Here's an old turtle table I used for my manouria when they were young, later added a lid so I could rear tegus in it. Just used an old throwaway table, added some sides, stapled some vinyl flooring and it was good to go for the tortoises. The lids were just frames with hardware cloth stapled on and secured with hooks. I think the table was 4 x 3, pretty sure the tube light on there was 4ft.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/100_0798.jpg

Enclosure I built for the tegus when they outgrew the turtle table - it's 8 square feet. Since tegus are big diggers I have hardware cloth under the substrate to prevent escapes. There's some sewage tubing under the chair that goes down to an underground hide that's just a big tupperware box I can access from outside the enclosure. This enclosure is several years old now, I've since removed the underground hide and just let them overwinter inside.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/100_0346.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/100_0350.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...100_0351-1.jpg

Tortoises are outside year round now in a simple 12 x 12 enclosure. Sides are framed in 5/4 and lined on the inside with tin roofing so they can't damage the wood. Had some problems with them climbing/flipping on the sides so I added a lip/blocker around the edges and haven't had an upside tortoise since(knocks on wood). Will try to get pictures of their enclosure sometime if I can remember.

Here's a few we've done.

Tort pen
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...ps101463e8.jpg

Crested gecko table
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3e9adcf8.jpg

Condro set up
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4c428cd8.jpg

Burm cages
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...ps00d54030.jpg

These are all supppper nice!!! I wish I had the tools/KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS to do something like this!

Nice enclosures, guys! keep em coming!

I didn't build it initially but I did a lot to upgrade it.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/5avudu6a.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/e4etuzat.jpg
As you can see it was an ugly color and the interior wasn't sealed.

Dad did most of the work
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/amysu7yg.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/paqaqega.jpg
Lino inside

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/01/2usaha3y.jpg

Happy boa

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...m/IMG_0414.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...m/IMG_0418.jpg

Made this about 5 months ago. 8 enclosures, currently housing 2 Corns, 5 BPs, and 1 Tarahumara Boa.

I built two of these for my boas years ago.

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/...ps95d8ad94.jpg

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/...pse946b76d.jpg

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wow these are all really impressive! I can't wait to start on some projects in the future! thanks for posting guys

I love seeing the well built furniture quality pieces that aren't plain on the inside.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

Made this about 5 months ago. 8 enclosures, currently housing 2 Corns, 5 BPs, and 1 Tarahumara Boa.

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Could you give me some insight on how you made this enclosure? What type of wood did you use? What type of sealant. Any pointers you can give me on how you put that together I would appreciate it. It looks amazing. Thanks.

Here's my 12 x 12 tortoise enclosure. I water the tortoises every day and on the hotter ones(many summer days) leave the hose on for 15-20 minutes which floods the enclosure nicely - they love their wallowing time.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...psd114f5e9.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...psfbd2e0eb.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mvptext1

Could you give me some insight on how you made this enclosure? What type of wood did you use? What type of sealant. Any pointers you can give me on how you put that together I would appreciate it. It looks amazing. Thanks.

---

Hiya,

Thanks for the kind words!

This enclosure was built, 100%, from solid oak and oak plywood. I took about 2 weeks to draw everything out on paper and get the measurements that I wanted for each 'condo,' then went to Lowes about 43 times during the build. :)

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.

There's a thread in the DIY forum that shows the project, in work. I'll see if I can dig it up and put a link on this post.

Building these things is a TON of fun. Enjoy the ride!!! Feel free to hit me up if you have questions, or want any suggestions.

KD

FOUND IT!!! : http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...o-in-the-works!!!!-)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

Hiya,

Thanks for the kind words!

This enclosure was built, 100%, from solid oak and oak plywood. I took about 2 weeks to draw everything out on paper and get the measurements that I wanted for each 'condo,' then went to Lowes about 43 times during the build. :)

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.

There's a thread in the DIY forum that shows the project, in work. I'll see if I can dig it up and put a link on this post.

Building these things is a TON of fun. Enjoy the ride!!! Feel free to hit me up if you have questions, or want any suggestions.

KD

FOUND IT!!! : http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...o-in-the-works!!!!-)

---

This is perfect, just what I was looking for. Certain helps to conceptualize how you put the enclosure together.

Thank you for digging that up!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kona's Daddy

Hiya,

Thanks for the kind words!

This enclosure was built, 100%, from solid oak and oak plywood. I took about 2 weeks to draw everything out on paper and get the measurements that I wanted for each 'condo,' then went to Lowes about 43 times during the build. :)

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.

There's a thread in the DIY forum that shows the project, in work. I'll see if I can dig it up and put a link on this post.

Building these things is a TON of fun. Enjoy the ride!!! Feel free to hit me up if you have questions, or want any suggestions.

KD

FOUND IT!!! : http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...o-in-the-works!!!!-)

---

Quick Question for you. Roughly - what are the dimensions of each level? Just want to get an idea of the scope of the structure.

Thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mvptext1

Quick Question for you. Roughly - what are the dimensions of each level? Just want to get an idea of the scope of the structure.

Thanks

---

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!

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!

---

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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Quote:

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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


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk - now Free

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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.

Quote:

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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.

---

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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Quote:

---

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.

---

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!

---

Quote:

---

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.

---

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:

---

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! ;)

---

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

That's a great looking enclosure. What kind of wood or sealer did you use?

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...983d3b2d95.jpg
One we are currently building for leachies

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[IMG]http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...60613_1453.jpg[/IMG]

Our melamine rack that is 1/2 complete. Cages are 20" deep x 12" tall x 48" long. Full spectrum led lighting, rhp, thermostatic control, locking glass doors. Cages maintain 65-70% humidity without misting when ambient is 35-40. We used DAP 3000 to seal all of the seams and anywhere drilling/cutting was done. The frame for the glass doors was made from solid wood for rigidity. Cages are stacked on a grey powder coated metal shelf system with PVC inserts.
The only modification I need to make is when the other 3 are done I will place 3m clear protective film on the floors incase of standing water.

Oh and all 3 were made from only 2 sheets of melamine. There was literally 0 drop. If anyone is interested in can make a cut sheet you could take to any home improvement store and have the pieces made.