Drainage tray for a cage with 24x24 base?

[diananana]

I am upgrading my guy to the XL cage he deserves (48" high with a 24"x24" base) and am going CRAZY trying to find a plastic tray that I can use for drainage. What I have now with his smaller cage (I think the base is 18"x18") is a plastic tub that's like 22x20. The cage sits in the tub on two blocks so that it's elevated, and then I cut a hole in the plastic on the front and installed a valve that I can open and close to drain as needed.

I want to do the same thing now, but I am having no luck finding a tray that will fit the 24x24 base!!! I have tried Target, Sears, ACE hardware, and a couple other places. Every tray I can find is more like the 22x20 I have now, or even smaller. Today I found a 24x30 and thought I had it, only to realize the cage juuuuust doesn't fit in. The drainage trays Dragonstand makes look good, but I am really really hesitant to spend the $50+ if I don't absolutely have to. Any leads on a paint tray/under-the-bed storage container/etc that would fit my cage's dimensions?

 

[rainbowsprinkles]

Unless you want to build your own with something like acrylic, I haven't thought of a very good way. I tried a top to a large Rubbermaid container. I ended up just buying the Dragonstrand tray and I couldn't be happier with it. It would have cost me more in materials plus my time to make it. If I get more free time, I may build a full wood stand and incorporate drainage system in the bottom, but the Dragonstrand drainage tray is my go to for the near foreseeable future.

 

[ispeedonthe405]

tray01

• ispeedonthe405
• Jun 10, 2017

The bottom tray has been reshaped and reused as a drain floor. The fit is being checked here...

tray02

• ispeedonthe405
• Jun 10, 2017

Installed. From this angle you can see the slope better. The foam needs to be cleaned up.

trellis feet

• ispeedonthe405
• Jun 11, 2017

Wood wrapped in pond liner with stainless steel staples. PVC feet screw into wood boards with...

This is the flat-bottomed tray that comes with a Reptibreeze. It was flipped upside down, and a heat gun plus some weight was used to reshape it into a perfectly sized draining bottom. Cut a hole and add a $2 snap-in drain, and you're done. I finished it off with some Great Stuff foam to sort of squeeze the lip of the now-inverted tray tight against the screen.

For a custom size, rainbowsprinkles has the right idea. Build a simple box out of acrylic, flip it over, and heat-shape the top into a graded floor. The outside bottom of the cage will remain flat due to the height of the box sides.

 

[artgecko]

This is the tray I purchased to go in my XL reptibreeze. It fits perfectly. It is about 3" tall... apparently, there is a 6" tall version they have in the UK, but not available here in the US... If it was, I'd use it to do a bio-active setup. For now, this is sitting in the base of my reptibreeze to catch extra water.