Plywood Thickness

[Pythonlover1989]

Hello Everybody,
This is the first time I've written on this site it is a really cool site by the way I first want to start off by introduce my self. My name is Nick and, I one ball python named Ballz and I have just adopted one that will be at my house on saturday. Now to my question I am gathering materials to build an eight foot cage for a burmese python and I was wondering if I should use 1/2 inch plywood or 3/4 inch plywood?

Nick

[tigerlily]

Just wanted to welcome you to the site Sorry but I have no construction skills. You'll have to wait for one of the other to answer your plywood question. I will give you my opinion, worthless though it may be, I say 1/2" since it will be lighter. Sorry I can't come up with better reasoning than that.

[rex322]

welcome to the site!

i am getting ready to build an enclosure for my burm also. im gonna use 3/4 plywood. i figure might as well go all out on it ya know? it may be heavier, but if you think about it, its also stronger.

[Strider]

This is my unprofessional and uneducated guess so i just might be wrong but i would stay the thicker cause its stronger and also a burn i would think could start weighing a couple pounds that along with beding and hides and decor would weight it down a bunch as for the sides and top they can use the thinner if you would like cause they dont need to support so much weight. Again is my guess im pretty sure im right though better let someone say something before you make your decision.

[tigerlily]

Yeah I knew I was gonna be wrong on that, especially when my main concern is how heavy the thing is when I have to move it around and clean the sucker! I'm a big wuss. Good luck with the cage!

[invadertoast]

I'm no carpenter either, but with a cage that large I'm pretty sure 1/2" would start to bow in the middle. My cousin's husband is a carpenter and built my cage for me, it's 40x24x20 or something along those lines... he used 3/4".

[daniel1983]

I would use 3/4'' just for the fact that it would be easier to fasten the box together. Plywood is a really strong material and 1/2'' would hold up just fine, but try screwing a 2'' wood screw into the edge of 1/2'' plywood....it will usually split or break. With the 3/4'' you actually have something to screw into (even though it still may split). I did build a 4' x 2' x 1' box out of 1/2'' plywood that held about 200 lbs of steel without a problem. If you decide to go with 1/2'', you might want to support the joints with a ripped in half 2x4 so that you will have something to screw into. That would work just fine.

[Forrest]

I agree with Daniel. 1/2 inch is okay as long as you have 2x4's spaced 16 inches apart on the bottom part of the tank to support the plywood. For every 45 degree angle you have put together w/ a 16penny nail it will be able to support 1200lbs of weight so 1/2 plywood is cheaper lighter and the way I would go.

[daniel1983]

The only thing I wonder is that with the extra 1/4'' of plywood you would get with the 3/4'' would make a BIG difference in the amount of temperature that is held within the box. I know the thicker plywood would decrease temperature loss a bit....but would it be significant enough to use 3/4'' for that reason?