ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
On giant cham cages, it does. If you press it in before it cures, it will still cure waterproof. A lot of pond builders do this with pebbles around waterfalls and stuff
DIY Double Cage Build
- Thread starter ERKleRose
- Start date
Only issue with this method is that the foam tends to keep expanding a bit so you may get some gaps and need to touch up a bit.
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yah, but if it shaves hours off of carving and siliconing, it’s worth it to me
CJ's Exotics
Chameleon Enthusiast
In my experience, the carving does not take hours, but I am interested to see how this goes.
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’m so excited! So I’m a HUGE Houston Astros fan, my Nosy Be is named Orbit after their mascot and his vivarium is called the Astro Dome, and I came up with a fabulous idea! I’m going to use the plastic helmet bowls you get at the baseball game from eating nachos and ice cream (I’ll wash them, of course), drill a hole in the top of the helmet, turn them upside down, attach them to the background, and make them planters for my cham! I’ll take the mini bats and use them as a couple of branches, too!
CJ's Exotics
Chameleon Enthusiast
That's awesome! I'm also a huge astros fan, you just gave me an idea for my next cham!
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
I could probably use one of the helmets as a feeding cup, too!That's awesome! I'm also a huge astros fan, you just gave me an idea for my next cham!
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
So the final width of this cage will be the original 30” because 3’ is too deep to clean and if I do a deep background to account for that, it won’t be stable. So the official dimensions will be 51” long, 33” wide, and 78” tall, which is an 18” deep substrate bin and a chameleon-usable space of 4’ long, 30” wide, and 5’ high
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
And I updated the stand supports in the final dimensions plan
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Sorry, here's the updated link:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Avq4a-4tGs4WgaJp6yMK_O_5iPjyhA
I also made the cages modular so you can easily disassemble and move them!
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Avq4a-4tGs4WgaJp6yMK_O_5iPjyhA
I also made the cages modular so you can easily disassemble and move them!
Shadowking
New Member
Do you use aluminum screen for your enclosure? I have heard that crickets can chew through the fiberglass screen is that true?
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
It can be. I’m going to be using aluminum because it’s easier to me for splining and I feed my crickets ina PVC pipe feeder. It all depends on your situation
salty dog
Chameleon Enthusiast
This looks great!! I like the design!! Two cages fully contained, I would slant the bottom 2 degrees toward the drain and line the bottom with 20 mil. pvc roof material, it is weldable to itself, and sticks to wood with special glue. It would be nice to tie the drain in to the house
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KingGoodman
Member
This thing looks like it is built like a rock. I’m having fun with the SketchUp viewer on iPad for sure. My first suggestion is to remove the crossbeam on the front floor area so you can slide your drainage tub/container in and out easily. It should not affect the structural integrity of what you built.
Also, the double beams on the floor going front to back are going to make cleaning those areas very troublesome.
Lastly, I would design the cabinet so that it can be taken apart in sections. Each cage could stand alone or be put together with the middle piece shelves and fridge area in the original design. It would make the whole thing more versatile in the long term. It would also make moving this beast something less deadly
Really cool design here. Thanks for sharing with us
Also, the double beams on the floor going front to back are going to make cleaning those areas very troublesome.
Lastly, I would design the cabinet so that it can be taken apart in sections. Each cage could stand alone or be put together with the middle piece shelves and fridge area in the original design. It would make the whole thing more versatile in the long term. It would also make moving this beast something less deadly
Really cool design here. Thanks for sharing with us
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ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Can’t tie the drain into the house, the idea was shot down very quickly. I’ve been wanting to slant the bottom but didn’t know what to use, so thanks! Will it hold up to at least one ton of weight?
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
The original sizes aren’t updated with enough structural strength in the stand. If you build it how it is right now, the stand won’t be able to support the weight of the cage and bin full of substrate. When I have the time, that’s what I’m updating next. As for cleaning, it’ll be bioactive, so the clean-up crew will take care of the substrate cleaning. In the updated link, I made everything modular, in the new design, at least. For drainage, I think I’ll use rain gutters to direct the water outside of the stand and into a drainage bucket nearbyThis thing looks like it is built like a rock. I’m having fun with the SketchUp viewer on iPad for sure. My first suggestion is to remove the crossbeam on the front floor area so you can slide your drainage tub/container in and out easily. It should not affect the structural integrity of what you built.
Also, the double beams on the floor going front to back are going to make cleaning those areas very troublesome.
Lastly, I would design the cabinet so that it can be taken apart in sections. Each cage could stand alone or be put together with the middle piece shelves and fridge area in the original design. It would make the whole thing more versatile in the long term. It would also make moving this beast something less deadly
Really cool design here. Thanks for sharing with us
KingGoodman
Member
If you use plywood, it will.
KingGoodman
Member
If you use plywood, it will. Ideally birch plywood. More than enough to support the whole thing and a tub of dirt in each cage
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