building a custom/ homemade cage help!!!!!

[Kboz1991]

Hi am I going to tackle building a custom cage. My plan is to build it 4 foot x 4 foot x 5 foot so I can split it in 2 for two 2 x 2 x 5 foot cages. I wanted so help coming up with ideas I wanted to know if you all could share some pictures of your cages you have build to help me with ideas. I kind of have a idea of what I want but some input and some pictures of your cages would be great.

 

[JohnR]

Not having built my own yet, I would think that it's relatively simple.

If you plan on using wood, remember that by misting it daily might cause the wood to eventually rot. So might want to think about the material that you use.

I have thought about converting these shelves to a cage. This is sold at Lowe's. It's metal frame, adjustable shelves, with removable wood. This way, you have a frame and can make it as tall as you want, or as short as you want. Something to think about.

 

[pgr7]

 

[Kboz1991]

this is kind of the idea I have right now. I'm pretty handy when it comes to building things. thank you guys for sharing I appreciate it

 

[Kboz1991]

what do you coat your wood with or do you just leave it? was thinking clear spay paint and just make sure it dries really well

 

[Lathis]

On wood, i would recommend no less than 3 coats of spar urethane for anything that could get wet. I used Minwax brand water based. Do some searching on the forums on this - it's a topic that gets asked often and there is some good info out there. Building the enclosure is a lot of fun and not all that difficult if you are somewhat handy, have the space, and have some basic hand tools. Power tools help, but I did it all by hand a few years back.

I would do a few things differently for the design of the cage structure next time, but this will give you a general idea of how I approached it.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/thank-goodness-for-9-ft-ceilings.111618/

There are a lot of good DIY cage build posts. Go through and steal the best ideas from all of them.

 

[pgr7]

+1 to lathis
I used butchers block stain on mine 2 coats of it and has held up well so far knock on wood

 

[tim's owner]

yea I would agree I did minwax and two layers of thick oil based black paint. so far so good.

 

[JGuinan007]

I would recommend using Type 304 Stainless Steel 8x8 Mesh .017" Dia. Wire .108" opening from a local wire cloth warehouse I used Universal Wire Cloth Co.. You don't have to use stainless steel, it will cost less to use aluminium or just steel. The 8x8 mesh will allow more light (especially UVB) and better air flow, still keep feeders from escaping (with the exception of fruit flies for babies), and will not harm your chams claws either.