reptile enclosures

[Elapidae1]

MDF is fine to use once it's sealed.I have enclosures nearly 10 years old and they are still like new.One of the biggest breeders in the country also uses it.
Pretty sure the dust from cutting melamine isn't real good for your health either.

I agree even using melamine if the joins are not sealed properly you will still have problems, I would suggest that if your enclosures are checked regularly and spills ,excrement etc cleaned ASAP, it shouldn't be a problem, I would also suggest that you cut all of your panels and paint before you construct it this way you can seal the edges that are going to butt against each other and then run a bead of no more gaps after construction, even if using melamine seal the cut edges before construction.

 

[Kenshin]

my ideal cage material would be the poly cages you can get from the likes of URS, vision and and freedom breeders, however they cost a south african diamond mine so i dont own any, i do use plastic tubs for smaller animals that move upto melamine enclosures when large enough i do normally like to run silicone around the bottem edges of my enclosures to keep moisture and animal waste out of the edges and corners

 

[Mr.James]

They need to make bigger & cheaper plastic enclosures. They're ideal especially some of the new American designs.

 

[Kenshin]

They need to make bigger & cheaper plastic enclosures. They're ideal especially some of the new American designs.

i know i cant post links but theres a company in europe that makes some A1 racks and enclosures i actually enquired about them but the price was quiet hefty by the time you ship them here, there was one enclosure i was particuarly interested in it was 3ft tall x2x2 and had slideing doors for top and bottem, was completly stackable and had an inset bit to put a lamp/light
these would be perfect for all my carpets under 6ft and wicked for gtps and alot of colubrids

just cant seem to beat the price of melamine enclosures though for a 3x2x2 around 200-300 as appose to 500 and up for poly's

 

[benjamind2010]

The best enclosures are made from PURE plastic. I myself had pure acrylic enclosures made.

6mm for everything except the front and doors which were 12mm.

Now, I should have asked them to use black opaque acrylic for 5 of the sides (except the front) of the enclosures though as I now understand snakes really do NOT appreciate being in something that makes them feel as though they out in the open instead of feeling safe and secure in a box. Stress is very VERY bad for a snake, and can lead to things like long term health problems, self-mutilation (snout rubbing, headbutting, spinal damage, skin damage, etc). I rectified the problem by simply placing a bed cover over both enclosures, so my womas now feel as though they are in a cave or under a rock. The result is much happier snakes.

The best material is High-Density Polyethylene or Controlled-Density PVC. You can screw it, drill it, bend it, solvent-weld or thermal-weld it, colour it any way you like. Acrylic is considerably more expensive but is great, as long as you follow the BOX principle - that is, 5 sides of the box cannot be see-through, only the front can be see-through, for your viewing pleasure.

In all seriousness, rack systems are the VERY best. You cannot see your snakes, but boy let me tell you, they feel as safe as a bank vault in a rack system where the ENTIRE enclosure acts as a hide box.

 

[dadaman]

I use Melamine to build all the enclosures I sell. It is a little harder to build with then MDF because you have to be careful not to chip the white surface, but you can't go past this stuff.