Re: DIY enclosure worth it?
It honestly depends on how much you value your time.
You will see savings over the price of the Animal Plastics but not by a huge amount. ....I would say your most appropriate cage material would be plywood (PVC sheets are WAY too expensive to aquire unless you know someone). Plywood comes in 4x8 sheets so all of a sudden, a 30" cage width is going to cost you another sheet or two. Some people might tell you to use melamine but I highly disagree.....it is very heavy and ANY bit of moisture exposure to cut edges will destroy the cage. Large constrictors produce a lot of fluids.
Then, you're going to have to seal the cage bottom at the very minimum to prevent urine from destroying your cage. I like the idea of epoxy resin for that purpose.
Doors....glass or plexi (lexan).....both are somewhat pricey and difficult to cut. Then consider if you want sliding or hinged doors. If you do glass, you'll want sliding doors.
Then...venting. Ive used 3" plastic pvc drain inserts in the past for the purpose.
So....be prepared to spend a LOT of time on the build. Probably an entire weekend for most people if not more and a lot of trips to the hardware store. I didn't have any luck finding blueprints when I built my cages in the past, just look at pictures.
Personally, I like the idea of just ordering my cages now. Ive built a few in the past and just determined that extra hours of OT at work and ordering the cages would have been a significantly better financial choice lol.
Re: DIY enclosure worth it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sauzo
I personally think AP prices are very reasonable considering the time it would take me to make one without a workbench and routers. The killer is the shipping on the big ones.
Say I wanted to get 2 or 3 T8's is the shipping cost per unit or a lump sum up to a certain amount/size?
Re: DIY enclosure worth it?
I just recently purchased 3 cages from AP. Regarding shipping 1 T65 was $182, 2 T65s was $242 and finally I added a T25 which added a whopping extra $6 for a total of $248 shipping for all 3. Plus when u order 3 cages you get a discount!
Re: DIY enclosure worth it?
My apologies. Guess I suck at searching lol
- - - Updated - - -
Well looks like I'm getting a shipping quote for a T25. Thanks to everyone for the input!
Re: DIY enclosure worth it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
67temp
Say I wanted to get 2 or 3 T8's is the shipping cost per unit or a lump sum up to a certain amount/size?
it's $48 shipping per cage. I know, I just purchased 3 T8s haha. I asked about bulk/discount shipping and Ali responded " Shipping on the T8s can only be combined if it is more cost efficient to combine on a pallet and ship freight. In the case of 2 or 3, it would be cheaper to ship individually boxed";
:gj:
Re: DIY enclosure worth it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
67temp
Say I wanted to get 2 or 3 T8's is the shipping cost per unit or a lump sum up to a certain amount/size?
The price listed for shipping is per unit. If you are having oversized items shipped via freight, you get a little discount for a second item. For me though, it seemed the third item was almost the same price as the first, so it seems the best bang for the buck is to go with 2 items on freight. Ali didnt really understand it either but she didnt really have an answer as she just has a list of prices the freight company they use provides.