Building a bearded dragon cage

I'm planning on building a 4ftx2ftx2ft cage for my bearded dragon, mostly because the pet stores around here don't really carry any and the ones on-line are way too much. Also it would fun to construct something.

What I plan on building is an all glass, with a wire screen for a lid and building a stand out of oak (or similar wood strong enough to hold the tank) to hold wires and other supplies for kuzco.

Before I dive too much into it I had a few questions for those who have done this before or know a bit about cage construction.

Most cages i've seen on-line and that people have built on here use wood on three sides and just a glass front. Is this because it is cheaper than glass or is there another reason?

Would plexiglass work instead of actual glass or would it be better just to stick to normal glass?

I'm sure once I get started and begin construction i'll have a lot more questions, but this is a start. Anyother tips from those who have done this before are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

I use wood on my cages because its easy to cut to size, cheaper , its easy to chip/crack glass with the rock n stuff that you put in and out of the cage and i like the idea of having a door at the front instead of the top which you carnt really have on glass cages,i still have mesh top tho,

Plexiglass would work just fine imo, it will weigh less for a start, will be easier to cut than glass aswell, infact :idea: i might try some plexiglass you have any idear how much it is?

cant really give any tips as haven't really used glass or plexiglass before except make sure the bonding and sealer is plenty dry and aired before putting in your beardie

hope this help

 

Haven't dove too much cost yet, as i'm in the early stages but I found a website for plexiglass that has 4ftx2ft 1/4" thick for $44 or 1/8" thick for $20.

 

WOW thats cheap dunoo if will be as cheap here in uk

 

hey found this link

http://www.reptilerooms.com/forumtopic-49164.html

they have used plexiglass, not quite what your planning but might help

 

I made my beardies enclosure about 2 years ago. I used wood and plexi glass. I was crazy at the time and made it 4x3x2 1/2. I also used plexiglass on the four sides. If you have the tool (or can get someone to machine it for you) making grooves in the wood you are using and mounting the plexi glass in the grooves makes the thing a lot sturdier. The plexi glass was pretty cheap and it is a lot easier to cut than glass. I got mine from home depot and they just cut it with the saw for me.

The only real problem I have with the plexi glass is that it scratches easily and my beardie loves sleeping claws to the wall against it. silly girl.

Anyway, I hope that helps some. I left the top open since she was usually out roaming the house, but I recently added a top because we got a kitten and he thought it was a huge litter box :roll:. If I had to do it again, I would have probably done 3 wood sides and put it on a stand, but oh well it is still a really nice cage.

 

Wood or melamine and plexi-glass is usually good. http://www.timelessspirit.com/enclosure

 

On the question of having the wood on three sides....I have a basilisk and she makes it a habit of running into the glass on her cage when she gets startled because she can't see the glass. I'm sure beardies aren't like that...but its also a security thing. The lizard would feel more secure with three sides that aren't see-through.

 

Thanks for all the information...I'm going to use Plexiglass...and the for the stand i'm going to use 2x4's and cover the sides and top and make the shelf with plywood and use runners to make the doors.

Thanks for all the help and websites.

I'll post pictures of the building once I get started in a couple of weeks.

 

You're welcome. Please do.

 

Okay finally got the time to start building...Stand is in the process of being built, wood has been staind and all that jazz and everything is cut to size...Just have to wait a few days to dry, and basically go back to my parents house to pick it up...After the stand is done will start on Kuzcos home.

but did have a question about the substrate for him...Currently we are using laminate flooring, it has some texture but is a little slick..What we're going to do for his new home is put in slate tile...Now I have a question...I've heard slate tile helps keep their nails trim, is this true?? also I read in another post that when putting tile, you shuld put sand in and put the tile on top of the sand, is this true as well, or could i just put it straight on the top of the plexiglass???

 

I would say that the slate tiles do help with there nails but i supose it depends how much your beride runs around on it, as for the sand i would say no i just have the tiles put in on there own and works fine for me just lift up the tiles every so often and wipe underneath i think if you have sand in there aswell it would be hard to keep it clean,you would have to keep changing the sand thats underneath and that sounds like a pain to me,
when if you just have tiles you just lift up clean and put tiles back

hope this helps

 

Thanks alfie...thats what I though, but somewhere someone said to use sand underneeth...I really didn't see a point to it, but just though i'd get the opinions of others

 

Here is as far as we've gotten on our little project...We have the slate tile and plan on adding it after we finish the stand, withen a couple days...We are also going to build a wood top with a screen...Also I ordered a MVB from reptile UV and we plan on getting more furnishings from the reptile show this saturday...for the stand all we have to do is put the outside of the shelf up and the doors to make it enclosed so out other animals can't get into Kuzcos stuff.





and this is her (pretty sure it's offically a her now), waiting to be moved

 

hey Katndev nice looking tank you have their, and lovely looking BD. may i ask for the site that you bought the plexiglass from?

and good luck with the rest of the project
slakey

 

I got the plexiglass from Home depot...But if you wish to buy online you could just type in plexiglass in google and you will get a bunch of good prices from sites.

 

thanks will now look

 

wow your beardie is almost identical to mine do you know what morph she is? Oh! and how much has this project cost you so far?

 

No i don't know the morph I bought her at a pet store...The cage + stand + the tile + light + rock has cost around $300-$350...cage and accessories has been about 200-250 and stand about 100.

 

Finally almost done...Moved her in today and finished the cage pretty much, may have to make some changes, mainly the log, but other than that the 2 month project is coming to a close.