wanting to make boa enclosure

i am wanting to make my own boa enclosure out of expanded pvc and was wondering what thickness to use??? any input

I'm keeping an eye on this, I'll be building one in a few years. Sorry, don't have any tips yet :)

Most professional cage builders such as Animal Plastic use 1/2 inch PVC for their cages.
So I suggest something like that or thicker.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Most professional cage builders such as Animal Plastic use 1/2 inch PVC for their cages.
So I suggest something like that or thicker.

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Actually, they use 1/4 or 3/8 inch. 3/8 is best. This does make a sturdy enclosure. And boas need sturdy. :D

to put them together are they screwed together or glued??? how would you screw together 1/4" pvc

They can be screwed. Just as you would assemble wood. Extruded PVC is malleable just like wood. But once it's finished, don't forget to seal the seams!!

im guessing realy small screws or L shaped brackets?

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Actually, they use 1/4 or 3/8 inch. 3/8 is best. This does make a sturdy enclosure. And boas need sturdy. :D

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Actually both animal plastics and c-serpents use 1/2 inch thick PVC it makes for nice and sturdy cages and that's what I would recommend. :gj:

I've built a couple hundred cages now in expanded PVC. Most in 1/4", but some in 1/2". The 1/2" cages are obviously sturdier. But they are also double the weight and double the cost. And IMO not really worth the extra money. If the cage is built properly then the weakest spot of the cage will always be the opening window regardless if its built in 1/4" or 1/2". Most comedcial cages are built in 1/4" material so simple math tells me that 1000's of snakes, if not 100000's of snakes are being housed in 1/4" PVC shells. And I have yet to hear even one story of someone's pet snake pushing through the end of a well built cage.

How large is your enclosure going to be?

Are you planning on bending, screwing or using solvent?

minimum 6x2x2 but was thinking 6ft long by 4 ft high by 2 ft deep...not sure yet

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Originally Posted by willieshotg3

minimum 6x2x2 but was thinking 6ft long by 4 ft high by 2 ft deep...not sure yet

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Use wood if your going 4' tall IMO. Or maybe look into HDPE. It's food grade and much stronger then PVC. I doubt any thickness of xpvc will be rigid enough to support spans that high. Especially without the aid of thermoformed corners to stiffin it up.

ok so hdpe it is if i go that big...to screw together just pre drill and screw like plywood???

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Originally Posted by willieshotg3

ok so hdpe it is if i go that big...to screw together just pre drill and screw like plywood???

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I've never personally used it for anything that required fastening like that. But I would think so. Your bound to have some scrap so just try it out on that first to make sure. :)

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Originally Posted by willieshotg3

ok so hdpe it is if i go that big...to screw together just pre drill and screw like plywood???

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Jason is correct... at the size you're making it's bound to have issues if made in PVC. I'd recommend making it out of wood also, perhaps a marine grade ply.

However, if you're dead set in your ways, then do yourself a favor and at the absolute very least, make a support divider. You can make it like this picture so that your snake can still move back and forth.

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/x...psf22488dc.png

i can use a diffrent material...im just looking for easy clean up im not worried about weight