Pushing force

Not sure if anyone can help me with this looking for any info on what kind of pushing force or pressure a ball could put on the door of an enclosure. I'm thinking of using a hooking mechanism to hold the door in place along with a lock on the opposite side so that the door removes from the front of the cage completely and I'm pretty sure it will work. Just want to double check some math.

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Originally Posted by gunkle

Not sure if anyone can help me with this looking for any info on what kind of pushing force or pressure a ball could put on the door of an enclosure. I'm thinking of using a hooking mechanism to hold the door in place along with a lock on the opposite side so that the door removes from the front of the cage completely and I'm pretty sure it will work. Just want to double check some math.

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i dunno if anyone has tried to measure their pushing force or how u would coax a BP to do one at it's max strength, but it is a good question. i would love to know!

but questions on your build: the door would not be hinged at all (so it can be removed completely)? and only attached via hook and lock? my concern would be the security of the hook and how much bend and give it would have. are u opposed to just using 2 cam locks/thumb locks? maybe more depending on the length of the door. these are standard hardware for AP's, Boaphiles, RBI's and other cages.

My BP will go up the sides of the enclosure and puts a fair bit of her mass against the walls, she is probably not thrusting her body aggressively at it, but that might be a potential issue if the doors open outward. They also sometimes flop after going up the walls, so potentially she could bonk the doors, as to how hard, I have no idea, but it is a good question.

I'm at work but but I will post some pictures of what I mean about the luck and mechanism when I get home. I wasn't very clear on my idea.

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Originally Posted by Ax01

...but questions on your build: the door would not be hinged at all (so it can be removed completely)? and only attached via hook and lock? my concern would be the security of the hook and how much bend and give it would have. are u opposed to just using 2 cam locks/thumb locks? maybe more depending on the length of the door. these are standard hardware for AP's, Boaphiles, RBI's and other cages.

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So I should have been a bit more specific. Here is the link to my build thread.

Here is a picture of my cage without the door on it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WQ...j=w444-h250-no

and a Picture with the door on it. The door measures 14" tall and 36" wide made from 3/4" hardwood plywood. I will be putting a piece of acrylic in the opening and securing it and using 1/4 round trim to finish it off.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EZ...=w1699-h955-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/o4...=w1699-h955-no

I am considering using 2 or 3 of these (they are stainless steel) on the inside of the right hand side of the door and installing the mating piece to the (still to be chiseled out so the door sits flush) butt end of the right hand wall so that if you slid the door with the bottom on top of the piece of wood it sits on it will lock the door in place on the right side.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1000_.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1000_.jpg

Then I will use 1 (or 2 if necessary but hope 1 is enough) of these cabinet locks to secure the left hand side of the door. I plan to use a metal "L" bracket on the inside for the lock mechanism to grab onto.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ne...=w1699-h955-no

This would make it so that all that is visible from the outside is the lock. It will make cleaning and accessing the inside much easier as space is limited in the area the enclosures will be. To be honest I think the Plexi will be the weakest point of the whole door. I don't see why this wouldn't hold but it got me thinking of what kind of force they could put on a door. Also I plan to use 2 part 30 minute epoxy to secure the screws into the butt end of the plywood as I think that would be a weak point. For those that haven't read my build thread I have till March 31st so Plenty of time to air things out and make sure there isn't any fumes from anything left.

The build thread was quite interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

It seems like it will be secure enough and well thought out, building is not my area of expertise. Potentially could make a groove for the door so it could not pop out and you would then slide the door out?

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Originally Posted by e_nigma

The build thread was quite interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

It seems like it will be secure enough and well thought out, building is not my area of expertise. Potentially could make a groove for the door so it could not pop out and you would then slide the door out?

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Thank you. I like to over-think things. Better to spend the time doing it once then have to redo it later. As to your suggestion I thought of that but then I would need to make sure I have 3' of free space on the side to be able to slide it on and off. Also the lock would have to be rethought as you have to pull the left side out from the cage about 3/4" to clear the side.

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Originally Posted by gunkle

Thank you. I like to over-think things. Better to spend the time doing it once then have to redo it later. As to your suggestion I thought of that but then I would need to make sure I have 3' of free space on the side to be able to slide it on and off. Also the lock would have to be rethought as you have to pull the left side out from the cage about 3/4" to clear the side.

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I was more thinking vertically, but if you are stacking the two that would not be feasible.

I will be interested in seeing it when it is finished, nice that you have plenty of time before your BPs arrive. Looks like a fun project!

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Ahh. Didn't consider vertical. Probably too late to make that kind of modification as I'm pretty picky about the finished look. If I had thought of that before building I could have done that. My goal is to finish by the end of this month so that I have a month to play with settings and adjustments to get a handle on how the enclosures will react what is needed to get them up to and holding temps/humidity. Hope to take lots of notes so I know what to do and adjust as issues come up. Only issue is that I don't know what size snakes I'm getting so I can't buy hides yet so I will have to use some temporary placeholders.

oh ok. yeah, i think using 2 or 3 of those "hooks" would be a good idea in combo w/ the cam lock. i agree that acrylic panel for viewing will be the weakest point. how are u securing that to keep it from bowing when a snake pushes?