DIY bredli enclosure! w/pics! dial up warning!

[foxysnake]

And I'm making sliding doors, thanks to sliding tracks and perspex from bunnings.

[olivehydra]

Hey Slackra,
Looks like a good start youve got. Just a few points that may be of interest ....
The center dividing blade looks to finish flush with the front so it will need to be cut back to allow for application of sliding doors, otherwise you will need two sets of doors(4 panels) if you are to keep it as is. If you do this the four doors will then be taller than wider and wont slide easy. I would cut the blade back to allow for two doors only. Exposed edges can be finished in preglued edgetape (available in rolls ) and ironed on to activate the glue. A base rail is a good idea to prevent substrate clogging up the sliding door track but must be thick enough to mount the base track on top. Also if you are using sliding doors for a hatchling you should consider siliconing a strip of acrylic or glass to the inside panel to close the gap between the two doors. I hope I'm making sense, I can post a sketch if not. Also joinery factories and kitchen manufacturers are a great source for off cuts and edgetape, and its amazing what they will do for a case of beer.
Ps it is difficult to tell if your cabinet is constructed of HMR (high moisture resistent) but it is a good idea to seal any exposed mdf as it is usually bonded using urea formaldehyde which isnt good for your snakes.
Cheers.

[SLACkra]

The center dividing blade looks to finish flush with the front so it will need to be cut back to allow for application of sliding doors

once i do get the sliding door pannels and glass i would see how much more it will need to be cut back and cut it back acordingly.

Exposed edges can be finished in preglued edgetape (available in rolls ) and ironed on to activate the glue.

will look into this if nessesary.

A base rail is a good idea to prevent substrate clogging up the sliding door track but must be thick enough to mount the base track on top.

actually it will be more like glass sliding doors then inside of the cage a edge bit to hold substrate in etc.

Ps it is difficult to tell if your cabinet is constructed of HMR (high moisture resistent) but it is a good idea to seal any exposed mdf as it is usually bonded using urea formaldehyde which isnt good for your snakes.

ok no exposed MDF in the enclosure, can do that.

also little update! got my heat mat, dual location thermomter and t-shirt from the herpshop. testing everything out atm. and if trader or her hubby read this i will be sending out the cheque tommorow

going to pickup a 2ft tank asap, preferably a 2ft x 12 x 16 as a 20g would make a better fish tank!(more room for a deep sand bed! i so wana upgrade my salty!)

cheers

andrew

ok set up everything on the click clack to see if it all worked. got the warm side of the click clack at about 26'C and the cold at 20'C. i am happy to say everything is working properly!

andrew

[SLACkra]

Little update,

the diy enclosure has been cleaned, bleach did the trick. also found out how to tell the water resistant stuff from the non water resistant stuff. the water resistant stuff has a green tinge on the exposed board and there is a way to test it to see if it is water resistant. cut off a peice stick it in a glass of water, if it swells up its not the stuff you want. well the shelf i got has teh green tinge and a bit i put in water was fine when i took it out of the water (24hours later).

going to find out if my teacher has any sekaflex today. going to take a shopin list to bunnings for things i need to buy,

Sekaflex-white
preglued edgetape-white

cheers

andrew

[craig.a.c]

Don't forget to post some more pics when it's all done.

[SLACkra]

also trying to get my design and construction teacher to allow me to build a melanime reptile enclosure. i want to use water restistant melanime and he as far as i can see would prefer if i used something else. He also said that you need a "special" saw to cut water resistant melanime and he would have to get it pre cut to the sizes i need... well we'll see what happens but if he dosen't let me build what i want i can go from good student to lazy, destructive student

[ether]

Just build it out of ply and/or pine, they look good, and in some cases better then melanime.

Cheers

[SLACkra]

ok but water resistant melanime is the better stuff right? its easy to clean, dosen't need to be painted etc...

andrew

[ponybug]

hi andrew,
i use lino on most of my enclosures now as it seems to be easier to clean, so in my opinion if you want to use it, go for it, as for the best between ply and/or pine and water resistant melanime, i prefer the ply, i paint it and feel that it is easier to build with, but thats only my opinion, i have enclosures made from both and also turn pine cupboards in to cages, and all work out great,

cheers,
steve..........

[SLACkra]

what type of paint do you use? so do you put lino as the bottom to make the bottom part water resistant?

andrew

[The Rock]

Personally I would steer clear of sliding doors and just make some real doors. I used to make tanks with sliding doors but never will again. In fact the remaining sliding doors will all end up being replaced at some stage. You will find that know matter how you put them in your snakes will always find a way to crap in the tracks, and is a pain in the bum to clean, plus they make for an easy escape if the doors arnt shut propaly. The crap factor is the thing that I dont like about them thou. Normal doors are just so much better and easy to make.
Rob

[Gilleni]

The special saw your teacher is talking about, i think it scratches through the plastic surface as it cuts, to avoid chipping the white plastic...

So you get a nice cut edge... But i dont think it is essential..

[OuZo]

I've never had a snake crap in the glass tracking Rockhead lmao . And if you make sure you shut them properly they're good I reckon . But each to their own hey.

Good luck with it Andrew!

[SLACkra]

i think i will stick with my teachers idea of a sliding door (up and down) , think his idea was ok with that. also inside the sliding track is going to be a little barrier to hold substrate in so i don't think it would be terribly easy for the snake/lizard to crap in the tracks!

i will see if i can get him to get the pieces pre cut, i want melanime just seems like the best stuff!

andrew

[africancichlidau]

Oh Dear, there is no such thing as waterproof melamine and I have serious doubts about the manufacturers claims of water resistant. In a damp environment melamine will allow moisture to pass through it and it is only a matter of time before you get swelling. A front bund rail, in my opinion, is essential if you are going to be using a substrate of loose consistency such as sand, B.C. etc. Time spent on getting the enclosure right in the beginning will save you a lot of headaches in the future.