plans for reptile enclosure

[ryanharvey1993]

hey does anyone have plans for a reptile enclosure, thinking of building one with my dad for my bearded dragon. need some plans wanna build it out of melanime

want to have it 1200L x 600W x 600H

thanks

 

[ryanharvey1993]

also reccomend me what I need to do it

 

[bfg23]

Its just a square box dude. Get all your measurements and take them to bunnings or a cabinet maker and get them to do the cuts for you, then all you need is some edge stripping and screw it all together. Super easy for simple tanks like this.

 

[ryanharvey1993]

yer thats the easy part but how do we get all the lighting put in? last time we tried it didnt work properly, had a big gap between it and the walls where the cords went through

 

[mrillusion]

eletrictian?

 

[bfg23]

drill holes big enough to just get the wire through, then just nail in cord runners to neaten everything up when you finish.
How many lights are you installing?
I would think 2 ceramic edison fittings, and a fluro on the other side would be fine, only need 1 hole big enough to get all 3 wires through.

Edit: Oh, i know what you mean about there being a gap between the light and the walls, you might want to bolt the lighting to a piece of timber that matches the rest of the tank, then drill your holes through it and rout them to the board. Then screw that piece of timber with the light fitting attached to the roof of your enclosure. Might be a bit tricky to picture in your head, i can get a photo of mine if you like.

 

[ryanharvey1993]

yes, get a picture please. I will use 2 lights, a UV and a heat globe. gonna use UV tubes probably. so drill the thing to the top.

 

[tenacres1100]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/wiki-4599/building-an-enclosure-by-darren-whittaker-76861

 

[ryanharvey1993]

got all my plans done last night figured it all out, thanks for the help, will start next weekend.

 

[dickyknee]

Give me a yell if you need any help Ryan .

 

[ryanharvey1993]

Give me a yell if you need any help Ryan .

thanks brett, how thick is the melamine, just finishing off the measurments, should be fun to build.

 

[ryanharvey1993]

and last question, what ceramic fitting can I use that are wired and ready, so all I have to do is plug them in, I will screw them to the roof, was looking at some but most came unwired

 

[ReptilianGuy]

yeah most do come unwired, and melanine comes in many thicknesses, your probably wanting 16 or 18 mm thick mel. and the wired ones have a plug so you will need about a 40 mm hole to get that through, better to just get a cord with a plug (male and female) cut the female end off it and cut back some of the insulation as required to make contact in the ceramic fitting, get the ceramic fitting and wire it together yourself champ.
all of it is easy, and very basic

 

[ryanharvey1993]

thanks guys, 16 mm it is, will get wired ceramic fittings, and 3mm backing on it. should work out good

 

[user 16446]

Shopping list:

3 x 1200mm x 595 x 595 x 16mm - Top, bottom and sides
1 x 1200 x 600 x 3mm - Back
1 x 1200 white plastic track pack - for glass sliding doors or 1800 long and use the offcuts for the sides.

1 x pack 50mm chipboard screws
1 x pack white plastic screw caps
1 x roll white pvc iron on edging.

You won't normally get the full 600mm length and height unless you get them to cut up a large 1200 x 2400 sheet.

If you make it 500 x 500, the 95mm offcuts can be used to make up a base, and also the upper and lower strips to stop substrate falling out. Otherwise, make it 595 x 595 and buy an extra 1200 x 595 piece for the base and other parts.

I fully recommend counter drilling and sinking for screws.

Questions gladly accepted.

 

[ryanharvey1993]

thanks, that is very similar to my list of what I have

here is mine, probably gonna make 2, get the glass and tracks later on, we have the rest of the stuff in the shed

Bunning’s warehouse

2-4 x vents
2 x locks

Melamine

Walls 16mm

4 - 600mm x 1232mm
4 - 600mm x 600mm
2 - 1200mm x 100mm

Backing 3mm

1232mm x 600mm

 

[ryanharvey1993]

so length is 1200 x 600 x 600 inside that does not include the outside.

does all my measurments sound ok, after its done, we will get the tracks and get the glass.

 

[bfg23]

Is there anything better that than iron-on edge stripping.
I just used some of it building a tank for my jungle and its useless, absolute junk.

 

[user 16446]

I don't know what you were doing with it but I've never wasted any.

 

[ScalyMung]

use to work with that stuff many moons ago!!! what u need to do is contain the piece of wood in a vice or what we had was 3 pieces of offcut 1 on the bottom a the other 2 screwed to it on top with a gap inbetween to house your wood so it was like a fixed vice [if u no wot i mean] the other tools you need are a cork sanding block from the paint section in bunnings [$2] and a blunt/used file can use a new 1 but old 1's work better and if u can use a millsaw type of pattern/cut instead of a bastard type. millsaw have grooves going 1 way only.
turn iron on hottest setting place wood in vice ect. cut or break a piece of edge stripping a bit longer so it overlaps both ends by 30mm .if right handed place strip in left hand place roughly in place on rhs of wood now with iron in right hand place point of iron onto srip and move iron reasonbly quick towards the left with your left hand make sure the strip is straight [all you doing at this stage is just getting it into place] once you get to the left handside keep iron there for a coulpe of seconds until glue is melting hot [u get the feel 4 it quick] now with cork block in left hand follow behind iron as u more iron back to the rhs rub block back and forth as u go . let it dry 4 30seconds or so place on it side on work bench with edge overhanging towards u now all u do now is file off the overlap with file .file held between 30 and 45degrees start from the lhs and push file up and towards the rhs and it should just curl off nicely its the same for both sides as well. the end pieces just break them off then use the file to neaten it up.
sorry for the long dribble but i hope it helps
cheers deano