caging idea...not the norm

would there be any problem turning a 20gal long or 29 gal tank on its front? so the front is now the bottom, and the top is now the front?

i am a big fan of front opening cages. it makes it very easy for cleaning. i also feel it makes herps less scared as you are no longer coming at them from above, so i am not seen as a predator.
while i dont own corns, i own a few crested geckos and all of their vivs are front opening.

so my idea was to take a 20L or 29 turn it on its front and using plexi, maybe glass but dont think im that adverturous, and a setup identical to a screen door, convert it to a front opening

what i would do is cut a 5" high or so piece of plexi and run it down the entire bottom of the enclosure, siliconing it in place. and make either a split door, or a single piece door that will open downward.
making life maybe a little easier, but also a little more expensive, i may use a premade split screen door ive seen online, made by either esu or kritterz, and just adding the plexi to the inside lip of the tank.

has anyone ever done this before?
any pros or cons you can think of before i get into it?

I think that's smart, but since I only have had my first snake for about a week, I have no idea how that would work. I'd love to see pictures if it does work out.

The sides of glass vivs are not made to hold much weight so you should be careful with how much you put in to the viv when on it's side. Other than that I don't see any other major problem.

One more thing, I really don't think it will matter to the snake if you are trying to grab it from above or from the side. Predators in the wild would attack from every possible angle.

I guess it would be like the herp vivs that you can buy. I don't know much about glass, but would there be a problem with weight distribution?

Be careful of gaps between the glass if you are using a double-sliding door. Small snakes can squeeze out of very small gaps. Make sure to drill some holes in the plexi for air circulation.

I'm sure more people will come by to offer their 2 cents.

Good Luck!

I had thought of doing that myself and building a shelving unit on a wall, but for me, practicality and laziness took over.

I'm guessing the 5" lip at the bottom front would be to give it a full bottom to keep substrate in?

a glass aquarium is meant to hold water, from all directions, so i dont THINK it should be a problem.....but its just a thought so far.
but if its elevated to allow airflow for a uth, i dont know what kind of effect that might have if any

i know of several people that have turned 20L tanks on end to make em tall for their aboreal geckos. but again, these are usually placed flat on a table, not elevated

then on the other hand, i have some of those herp vivs that pnyklr is talking about that open in the front. these are actually elevated on the bottom to provide room for a uth.

PNYKLR- i will not be doing sliding doors. my doors, or door, will be hinged. also, the plexi will just be for the bottom 5" or soto keep the substrate in. above the 5" of plexi would be screening

Originally Posted by dwyn127

I had thought of doing that myself and building a shelving unit on a wall, but for me, practicality and laziness took over.

I'm guessing the 5" lip at the bottom front would be to give it a full bottom to keep substrate in?

correct....and im kinda upset you became to lazy to try this. was looking for some advice, lol

Originally Posted by NYCrestie

correct....and im kinda upset you became to lazy to try this. was looking for some advice, lol

Sorry, I guess I get to wait on YOUR advice......that is as long as you don't get lazy or something.

Originally Posted by dwyn127

Sorry, I guess I get to wait on YOUR advice......that is as long as you don't get lazy or something.

D'oh
well once i get the info, and seems possible, ill probably give it a go
unless of course the idea gets axed by experienced viv builders

Originally Posted by NYCrestie

a glass aquarium is meant to hold water, from all directions, so i dont THINK it should be a problem.....but its just a thought so far.
but if its elevated to allow airflow for a uth, i dont know what kind of effect that might have if any

i know of several people that have turned 20L tanks on end to make em tall for their aboreal geckos. but again, these are usually placed flat on a table, not elevated

The bottom of a glass tank holds most of the weight when full of water. The glass pane on the bottom is also normally thicker than the sides unless you are using a tank that is made for reptiles then the bottom is also made of the same thinner glass as the sides. I was trying to help you avoid stress fractures from having to much weight on the sides.

This info comes from working at Central Garden and Pet Supply (A pet and garden supply where house). They were very strict about how you were supposed to stack glass aquariums because if you stacked them on there sides they the ones on the bottom would get stress fractures and be useless.

I have know doubt that you can do this but just be careful of how much weight you put in it and you might want to add support to the edges that have no support.