Alternatives

[SmaugTheBluey]

Hello, I noticed that at the rate Yoda is growing he will need a new tank within 2 months, I would like for the cage to be 48"-36"-24" (length by width by height) We have the materials for the stand in motion and now I need to figure out what to make the exterior barrier out of I've ruled out glass and anything harmful. I've heard of PVC siding before and have no idea where I would purchase that and what it looks like, then there's acrylic which is probably the top contender for now but I need some extra opinions on the thickness of the plastic before I put in an order. So after thinking and talking about it with my brother who is going to help build it I thought since it will never hold water and it will be up against the wall I will be putting in wood on the bottom and wood on the backside instead of acrylic. Next what about heating during nighttime that will be under the tank because he likes to burrow? Then I've heard of having two floors for extra surface space, how would I do that? How should I make custom caves? How should I make a custom background for the tank? Is their a safe Styrofoam like substance/material that can make the custom caves out of ; and if there is can I strengthen it so he can't eat it? And what about UV lighting if I have the two floors? Thanks for your time please answer all the questions you can.

[Merriann]

There are a few threads on this site that have pictures and descriptions of people's cages-- I am having trouble finding them now (of course!) but here is one that may give thou some ideas: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23871&start=40

And here is one to a site that describes how to make your own custom caves:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a- ... /?ALLSTEPS

A popular cage building material is melamine-- usually the back and sides are built from these boards and then sliding glass or plastic doors are used for the front. Melamine boards are pretty heavy but also water resistant if you caulk the joints after construction. I built mine out of hollow core doors and lined them with vinyl floor tiles-- I thought it would be lighter than melamine but after installing all the tiles it is still pretty hefty! Here is an early picture of one of them-- I used a cheap wooden screen door that matched the size of the hollow core door on the bottom (30" x 80") for a top. The sides were cut from 18" x 80" doors. The cages have worked well but screwing the hollow core doors together without them splitting can be tricky (drill larger pilot holes than you think you need!). In hindsight I'm not sure I would do them this way again but it has worked!

IMG_0697.JPG

[SmaugTheBluey]

Thanks for the link, I've seen photos with custom made things like that and wondered how I would do it with just Styrofoam but then I saw the grout so that convinced me it was safe and we should commence building as soon as we get the glass or acrylic