Caging materials

Have any of you ever used any of the pvc or cdpp sheets to build your cages? If so, where did you purchase the sheets & what did it cost?

I've noticed some of the newer cages that are being advertised are made of this stuff so it seems there must be a place to purchase 4x8 sheets.

I just can't see spending $300-500 for cages & the melamine is just soooo heavy.

Thanks!

Eric

Eric,
There are several good nonporous cage materials currently available. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot, and look in the panneling. There is a white fiberglass type composite stuff wich is commonly used for wall panneling in public restrooms. Youve probably seen it. It has a kind of bumpy suface. Very rigid, light weight, and waterproof. But you have to bulid a frame to hold it all together, or laminate it onto plywood.

Then there is a thin very flexible plastic panneling, but again, it needs to be laminated onto a more rigid surface.

The newest thing I have found is rigid white plastic panneling like you see a lot of the new manufactured cages made out of. Very good stuff. I found it at a local farmer's supply store, named Orschelien's. They are a chain outfit, so they might have a store near you. The dairy farmers use this stuff to line the walls of the milking barns with. It's really good stuff. But I ran into the same dilima with this stuff also. The main problem with these things is that you need a way to make corners, and hold two peices together. Sooooooo,....

I solved that problem as well. I did some digging on the internet, and located a plastic peice to hold my corners together, and make a seal. I plan to order some of this stuff, and build one or two cages to see how well it works. If all goes well, I will try and sell some pre-cut kits that you can put together. It will likely take me a while to figure out pricing, and get all the bugs worked out. But I hope to be able to make some really good, and cheap cages, and cage kits.

If you can solve the delima of corners, and structural strenght, youv'e got it licked! I think I have. We'll see. I'll let ya know. Feel free to e-mail me for more info.
T.

Enclosure materials

I have found HDPE (high density polyethylene) to be a superb enclosure material. It can be cut and drilled just like wood, and the panels can be bolted, glued or welded together. Personally, I prefer welding the panels together, as this will allow a quarter rounding of the interior seams, which allows for much easier maintenance and no soil build-up in corners.
I am fortunate to have a neighbor who is a retired cabinet builder / electrician, with a huge shop. He actually enjoys experimenting with reptile enclosures.
The enclosures he builds for my Drymarchon are 8’L x 4’D x 2’H. He welds the panels together, then cuts square holes in the sides large enough to install a bar fan, which is a series of 4 muffin fans, on each side, with all blowing in the same direction, to create a positive pressure flow of air. The outtake side is where the radiant heat panel is mounted to the interior top of the enclosure and provides a hot spot without heating the entire enclosure.
For lightening, I use a dual tube 48” UV light fixture, which is flush mounted into a seat welded into the top of the enclosure, fashioned from HDPE strips.
The doors are tempered glass, which slide on a track which has been welded into the top of the enclosure and into a 4” litter dam at the bottom..
The hides are fashioned into the base of the enclosure, in the form of a drawer, which is also of welded HDPE, and accessible via a 4” section of schedule 80 PVC pipe, which has been bonded into a hole in the floor of the enclosure. The drawer also makes for a great nesting box for gravid females.
All of the lights, fans and heating panels are wired to a single control panel, so I do not have to fight with an assortment of wires and switches when making specific adjustments.
Also, I use Helix radiant heat panels and controls…

Best regards,

Jeff Snodgres

Where did you get your 4 x 8 sheets and how much did they cost?

Thanks!

Eric

HDPE Sheets

I have a friend who operates a granite quarry, and he sells me his surplus.
Not certain what they use it for, but they buy a ton of the stuff, in 4’ x 8’ x .5” sheets and they let me have the surplus for $20.00 per sheet.
The only drawback is I am limited to two colors black or grey…

Jeff Snodgres

How do you "weld" peices together ?
T.

there is a special kind of glue that from what I understand, melts the pieces together.

$20 a sheet?! Man I found a company up in Iowa that sells a similar product but, it's like $60-70 a sheet plus shipping. And if you don't buy an entire pallet you get charged like $30 for their trouble of pulling a sheet off of a pallet!

Eric

Welding HDPE

No, it's not glued. You can buy polyethylene welding rods in both high and low density.
Ther enclosures are actuually welded, using the welding rods and heat, not glued. You can also use a spin welder to create a friction weld or microwave welder, though the latter is quite expensive.
HDPE is much like using wood, cuts and drills the same and it can me welded much like metal, but it doesn't rust, warp or rot..

Best regards,

Jeff Snodgres

Jeff,
You gotta let me see this. Your cages, and the welding techniques. Caging has always been a problem for me. It's always been so difficult to make all the desired qualities of a good cage come together. And there are many qualities which a "good" cage must have as far as I'm concerned. At one time or another, Ive tried just about everything you can imagine to build a cage. Old T.V.s, old freezers, styrofoam, you name it. And I really don't like buying cages. Someone always has to make a profit, and they are never quite exactly the way I would build them. By the way, I made some cages with the sliding under drawer hide boxes too. Worked very well, but those cages were porous, and after my little crypto episode, they went up in smoke. Right now I'm using Visions, and Neodeshas. The one drawback to under drawers is, it revives the stackability issue. I will be at the PARC meet, and I hope you'll give me a tour.
T.

How about posting some pics of your cages.

Thanks!

Eric

Which one of us are you talking to?
T.

Sorry, I meant Jeff.

Eric