Anyone know how to untilize a 4ft snake cage for geckos?

• Apr 3, 2007

• #1

S

sacredcreatures

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Hi all I have 12 of these! And I want to use them for my Leos and Fat tails and maybe even for some beardies. Does anyone have ideas how to go about this? I was thinking about making two-three sections of breeders or making it with many sections for hatchings. But I am not sure what to use for dividers. Plus the door is the whole front of the cage so if I do sections how do I keep the other sides in? Any thoughts on this would be great~ This is a picture of what theykinda look like: The only difference is the door it is all plexiglass no PVC in the middle like this one shows. I know I can use them but I am not too creative when it comes to actually doing it Thanks, Deb

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 3, 2007

• Apr 3, 2007

• #2

PaulSage

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Deb, I kept a few stray leopard geckos in Boaphile cages for a while on paper towel and they did fine. I wouldn't recommend putting bearded dragons in them though. Dragons will claw the snot out of that plexiglass and leave it awfully scratched up.

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #3

Scott&Nikki

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Is there a way you can divide the plexiglass too, so that the whole thing doesnt open at once?

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #4

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sacredcreatures

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Thanks Paul, So you didn't use dividers or anything? How many geckos is safe to keep in there together. Do you think each one I could put a colony of say 5 females to a single male? I really am excited about this. I sold many of my snakes and have these available so I need to use them for something. Thanks for the tip on the beardies, it makes alot of sense since they do the clawing in the aqarium. Deb

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #5

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sacredcreatures

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Well I am sure I can cut it and just add hinges to each side without it. But I am not sure what to use. My husband has alot of saws ect so we can find out what to use. Thanks for the idea. Then I can add a divider and have two cages in one. Deb

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #6

Scott&Nikki

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For plexiglass, a saw might crack it a lot. You should be fine just pressing really hard with a sharp knife. You might have to score it a few times, but you should cut it deep enough that it will snap off perfectly if you bend it.

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #7

Grinning Geckos

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I wouldn't risk it with the doors. Not only do you need to cut it, but you would also need to add more hinges. Plexi cracks easily when using the wrong tools. I would insert a panel in the middle of the cage and have 2 in one. Depending on the depth, you should be able to have a colony of at least 1:2 (or 0:3 and add a male when wanting to breed) in each side.

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #8

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sacredcreatures

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Wow! I totally forgot how easy plexiglass can crack! That really scares me. Anyways, Here is exactly what my cages look like and the hardware also.These were taking off Jeff's site but they are Boaphiles cages. Thanks, Deb

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #9

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justin-branam

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that actually wouldnt be too hard to section off. You just need a table saw with at least an 80 tooth blade, and some plastic drill bits (a metal drill bit meant for plastic!). you probably dont want to score it with a knife and break it, because the edges will be just as sharp as glass. the drill bit will make the new holes in the plexi for another set of hinges.

plexi dividers can be made fairly easy as well, or you can use abs type plastic (like cutting board material).

check out THIS site for a good "how-to work with acrylic"

 

• Apr 3, 2007

• #10

Haroldo

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Actually to properly cut acrylic or plexiglass of that thickness, having 0* rake or even negative rake is just as important as how many teeth per inch. If you intend to cut it, I'd venture to guess the door is made of 1/4" acrylic--which would equal to about 5 or so "runs" with the cutter--i.e. 5 or 6 scores. "Clearing" edges off acrylic is really no different than "knocking" off the edges on glass...just need some high quality wet/dry sandpaper and a bit of water as the wetting agent.

You can attempt to make the dividers out of ABS or Sintra (not sure of the material of the cage) and chemically or thermally weld them in place. If you intend to use the cage for geckos that need more than say 60% humidity or so for very long, go ahead and rule out the use of any polycarbs. Best of luck on a promising project!

 

Last edited: Apr 3, 2007

• Apr 3, 2007

• #11

PaulSage

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sacredcreatures said:

Thanks Paul, So you didn't use dividers or anything? How many geckos is safe to keep in there together. Do you think each one I could put a colony of say 5 females to a single male? I really am excited about this. I sold many of my snakes and have these available so I need to use them for something. Thanks for the tip on the beardies, it makes alot of sense since they do the clawing in the aqarium. Deb

Click to expand...

My cages actually were divided into 24"x24" sections - sorry I misread your post the first time. I had two groups of four females in both halves of one cage, and a 1.2 in another half next to a pair of fat tail geckos. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to keep a 1.5 in a cage that size provided you follow basic "cohabitation rules" lol. I don't know which heat option you have on the cages, but if you haven't checked to make sure that the surface area is warm enough, I'd recommend doing that. I don't remember which heating option was on my cages, but it was just enough to keep the surface area 20*F above room temperature.

 

• Apr 4, 2007

• #12

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ByRandom

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Instead of using screws to hold the hinges to the glass/cage, why not silicon? That's what I used for a few tanks that I have converted.

 

• Apr 4, 2007

• #13

Haroldo

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ByRandom said:

Instead of using screws to hold the hinges to the glass/cage, why not silicon? That's what I used for a few tanks that I have converted.

Click to expand...

Silicone does not "bond" with plexiglass and other polycarbs. Eventually (And I don't mean very long if used often) the silicone will release and then you have a broken door and hurt or escaped geckos. As far as I know, there is only one consumer available (non-industrial) solvent that claims to work with acrylic and other plastic with "bonding". The only sure way of securing is mechanical fastening, chemical welding, or thermal welding in this case. As a qualifier, this is not heresay, this is years of personal experience as well as the shared experience of a friend of mine with decades of plastic experience...

 

• Apr 7, 2007

• #14

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justin-branam

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Haroldo said:

Silicone does not "bond" with plexiglass and other polycarbs. .......... As far as I know, there is only one consumer available (non-industrial) solvent that claims to work with acrylic and other plastic with "bonding".

Click to expand...

this statement is very true. no way on the silicone. you can buy acrylic hinges and then you need to use weldon #3 or #4 to weld them to the door.

just a note, as far as the rake of the blade goes, if you are using weldon with the acrylic, it isnt too important. while i dont deny it is a factor, most any blade you can buy at home depot with 80+ teeth will work, since you will actually be melting the edge of the acrylic when you bond it. it is a good idea to run some 200-400 grit sandpaper on the freshly cut edge though to get as smooth a cut as possible before bonding it.