help building jungle enclosure

[Rattler]

I want to build a couple of enclosures for my yearling jungles to grow out in. I am going to use melamine. What i am wondering is how to do the glass or perspex door in a vertical enclosure. Also, do you have any dimension suggestions?
thanks..

 

[saximus]

I'd suggest making your dimensions fit the standard sheet sizes for melamine. It cuts down on the amount of timber you need to cur yourself. For vertical ones (I assume you mean tall thin) you're probably better off with a single swinging door. You can then cut a hole with rebates to put the glass/perspex in

 

[dangles]

for an adult jungle 4ft high 4ft wide 2 ft deep as they are arboreal and like to climb. However some people also keep them in 4ft x 2ftx2ft. depending on size of enclosure u go maybe building with a common wall which will help save on materials. As for the glass you could have the glass permanently fixed, and have doors in the side for access.

 

[Rattler]

...you're probably better off with a single swinging door. You can then cut a hole with rebates to put the glass/perspex in

Yes -better than sliding in tracks which i didnt see how would work in this case. how does the door lock and fit up against the enclosure with this idea. do you suggest any particular type of hinge? and yeah good idea about not cutting , thanks.

 

[saximus]

You can get pretty long hinges (which you'll need with the weight of the glass). I just use latches as locks and the door butts up flush with the front

 

[Wookie]

On this topic how do you think sheets of glass would go in sliders? They'd be 1.5m high, 0.6m wide. And they'd be 6mm for strength

 

[saximus]

I have sliders on one that are about 1.5x1.2 (I think) and the strength is fine. The only issue with one that thin is you wouldn't have much room to get in with half of the opening blocked by the other slider

 

[Wookie]

I have sliders on one that are about 1.5x1.2 (I think) and the strength is fine. The only issue with one that thin is you wouldn't have much room to get in with half of the opening blocked by the other slider

Ah ok thanks mate.

 

[Rattler]

all i have atm for my jungles is a large click-clack each with a heat mat underneath. Now i am building enclosures for them, i am wondering what sort of lighting/heating/thermostat's to rig up.

 

[Virides]

Could I suggest a handle

Virides - Stylish Enclosure Enhancements

 

[dangles]

lighting- i just have some compact fluoro globes for daylight hours,
heating i am currently using 60w ceramics but thinking about going to radiators.
thermostat- up to you personally how much u want to spend, dimming/pulse proportional stats will keep the temp more consistent than on/off style. depending on which heatsource you decide to use can influence which stat to use

 

[1woma]

Could I suggest a handle

Virides - Stylish Enclosure Enhancements

I love them, they'll look great on the final display enclosure i will et around to making one day lol

 

[Rattler]

lighting- i just have some compact fluoro globes for daylight hours,
heating i am currently using 60w ceramics but thinking about going to radiators.
thermostat- up to you personally how much u want to spend, dimming/pulse proportional stats will keep the temp more consistent than on/off style. depending on which heatsource you decide to use can influence which stat to use

so jungles dont need uv -do they? will putting uv help at all?

 

[saximus]

There's no proof uv does anything for snakes. Some people still like to do it to be on the safe side

 

[Rattler]

Here is an update. I have made this out of melamine but am wondering what hinges to use in swinging a glass or perspex door. Also what latch do you suggest? Cheers

 

[saximus]

If you decide on glass it will be quite heavy so you will need some sturdy hinges. Just go to a hardware store and look around to find something that is strong enough to hold the weight. I think you can get long ones that you could cut to the length of the entire door or just use multiple ones.
for the latch I took a photo cause I didn't know how to describe them. These are really cheap and work perfectly well. You might need one at the top and one at the bottom though to make sure you can't push the bottom corner open even when it's locked

 

[Rattler]

thanks saximus, but i dont see how to mount these latches to perspex or glass, you know what i mean?

 

[saximus]

Ah sorry are you planning on a fully glass/perspex door rather than rebating a sheet of timber? You'd probably need a glazier to put all that stuff on for you with glass but with perspex you can just drill and everything to it with screws and nuts

 

[Rattler]

oh cool. can you rebate with melamine?

 

[saximus]

Yeah I did it: http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/diy-zone-5392/just-something-whipped-together-153474/