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Homemade four-viv high enclosure!!

Silt

Silt

New member
Since my corns needed a new vivs, my dad and I decided to build them instead. Having a budget of only $200, we were able to build the below cage. It's able to house a total of four adult corn snakes. Each enclosure is about 3 feet long, 1 1/2 feet tall, and about three inches over 1 foot deep. Some of the materials that I used were melamine for the main frame, acrylic for the panels, glass tracks, and pegboard for the back. Below are some pictures... Enjoy!

The whole cage:
127380291-M.jpg



One of the enclosures:
127380291-M.jpg



A close-up of one of the locking devices:
127380309-M.jpg



Comments and critiques are welcome!

Lisa
 
Very nice! Ive been meaning to make some nice display enclosures but haven't had the time or money yet.
 
Whoops! I accidently posted two of the same picture. Didn't mean to do that... :bang:

The first picture should be this one:
127380276-M.jpg
 
They look very professional. You and your dad did a great job on them. I like the idea of the pep board on the back. did you have to paint that?? I need to make some for my snake too. That's why I'm asking.
Thanks for sharing.
 
Lennycorn said:
They look very professional. You and your dad did a great job on them. I like the idea of the pep board on the back. did you have to paint that?? I need to make some for my snake too. That's why I'm asking.
Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the pegboard backing is definitely less expensive than using melamine for the back of the enclosures! It only cost about $23 for all of the pegboard that I used. Plus, it doubles as ventilation holes. It's the cheapest at Home Depot, if you're ever wondering. I actually purchased all of my supplies there including the latching hooks, drywall screws, and mini doorknobs.

As for the white pegboard, I didn't have to paint it. It just came like that which was extremely convenient! :)

Lisa
 
If you are using any type of wood shavings as substrate, I would reccomend running a 1 or 2" piece of wood across the front, just behind the plexiglass. This will keep shaving from getting in the glass tracks and keep shavings from falling out on the floor. However, if you are using paper as a substarate, I would leave it as is. Great set up.
 
That's fantastic looking. Great job.

*Starts trying to find an empty area he could cram one of those into in his room*
 
tom e said:
Very nice!
For $200? You guys really must be some great shoppers!
Click to expand...

Once completed, we were actually underbudget so the total came out to be approx. $190! I was really surprised because I was almost sure that we would be over our budget. :shrugs: Oh well, that money will just go towards the heat tape. :cool:


mike17l said:
If you are using any type of wood shavings as substrate, I would reccomend running a 1 or 2" piece of wood across the front, just behind the plexiglass. This will keep shaving from getting in the glass tracks and keep shavings from falling out on the floor. However, if you are using paper as a substarate, I would leave it as is. Great set up.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out! I competely forgot about having a small bedding dam in the front... I only have one in the back. :bang: Thank you!

Lisa
 
WOW! A REALLY GREAT JOB CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU DiiD iiT STEP BY STEP ii REALLY LiiKED THE iiDEA MAYBE iiLL DO ONE 2 iiF YOU CAN TELLS US HOW..!...? :shrugs:
 
.:BABY LOKA:. said:
WOW! A REALLY GREAT JOB CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU DiiD iiT STEP BY STEP ii REALLY LiiKED THE iiDEA MAYBE iiLL DO ONE 2 iiF YOU CAN TELLS US HOW..!...? :shrugs:
Click to expand...

If there's enough interest and if I have the time this upcoming weekend, I may do a step-by-step instruction on how to make an multiple enclosure unit such as this. Of course, I would not be able to supply pictures of the process due to the fact that I don't quite have the money at the moment to build another one just for building plans. I would, however, be able to supply you with the exact cost and size of every material used in the making of these vivs.

Is anybody interested in step-by-step building plans? :shrugs:

Lisa
 
Silt,

Yes, I would really like to see a step-by-step construction guide.

By the way, you and your father did a GREAT job!!!

Regards,
Steve
 
Silt,

Like I said early, those looked wonderful.

However, I do have a question. Is it possible for a snake to squeeze itself between the two panes of acrylic, especially in the middle of the panes away from the support of the tracks?

My experience with it is, it’s pretty flexible.

Please let me know.

Regards,
Steve
 
Very very nice work.

one thing that kept me away was the difficulty in finding something that would saturate and coat various materials and NOT flake off and get in substrate, on prey items or in water.

Can you tell me what you painted the pegboard with and why you decided upon it?

Once again- killer setup, especially at that material price!
 
ssmith_1187 said:
However, I do have a question. Is it possible for a snake to squeeze itself between the two panes of acrylic, especially in the middle of the panes away from the support of the tracks?
Click to expand...
If you have thick enough acrylic, it works just as well as plexiglass or glass. But, if you purchase the slightly thinner stuff (like I did accidently), then you kind of have to modify your original plans. As I stated before, I put the sliding glass tracks on all four sides of each enclosure which helped in sturdying it a LOT! Also, I had to put both panels in the same groove in the track, not the two separate grooves that it's supposed to be in.


schilsound said:
Can you tell me what you painted the pegboard with and why you decided upon it?
Click to expand...
I actually did not paint the pegboard. At Home Depot, there was just the regular pegboard, and the pegboard that was white on one side. I really like the finish on the white pegboard because it has the same smooth finish as melamine, and it makes the enclosure look more proffesional.

Lisa
 
If you have thick enough acrylic, it works just as well as plexiglass or glass. But, if you purchase the slightly thinner stuff (like I did accidently), then you kind of have to modify your original plans. As I stated before, I put the sliding glass tracks on all four sides of each enclosure which helped in sturdying it a LOT! Also, I had to put both panels in the same groove in the track, not the two separate grooves that it's supposed to be in.
Click to expand...

Thanks Lisa!!! Good luck with your awesome new setup!!!

Regards,
Steve
 
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