charmander16
Juvie Member
I'm about half way through the build on the new viv for our ~8 month old dragon.
I'm using 1/2" plywood. It's basically a 4'X4' by 2' high cube, but with one corner cut off. Over budget of course. Pics, then I'll discuss more below:
Overall, this gives 16 sqft of living space, by taking the corner off and and using it as a shelf, which serves as a structural support.
I've also put in a two layer floor using 3/4" on the second layer. I debated about doing this, but it ended up that I was going to need another piece of plywood for the roof, so I went ahead and did it. The second layer serves two main purposes. #1 it let's me recess a "feeding pit" into the floor. and #2 it serves as a major structural support along the bottom, with the walls attaching to it via glue and screws. With the floor and the corner shelf, this thing is totally solid.
For glue I'm using a combination of traditional wood glue and LiquidNails for wood. The LN has VOCs in it, but they supposedly all evaporate within a week, so it seems okay.
For the flooring I'm going to be using this cork: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Heritage-Mill-Tea-23-64-in-Thick-x-11-5-8-in-Wide-x-35-5-8-in-Length-Click-Cork-Flooring-25-866-sq-ft-case-PF9826/206668316
I tried seeing if I could get opened or damaged boxes from some place, but couldn't find any, so ended up having to spring for a whole box, which sucks, but, meh. Cork will also make it easy to cut the hole for the feeding pit.
For paint I'm using all no VOC interior paint. The blue is left over from a bedroom and the other colors I was able to pick up from Home Depot for 50 cents each in their opened sample section. If you go there they will have cans of opened paints, etc., and I got lucky and they had the colors I needed. These were all the small sample size containers. Those are typically about $3.00 each, so still not too bad. And I got lucky in that they are Bear Ultra Premium no VOC![Stick out tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I painted the clouds on one side and my 8 year old is doing the rest of the painting. It's "his" pet and he really wanted to do it, so he's having fun with it.
I went to a nursery and got a good bit of flat rocks that I will use to cover the shelf and build a stairway/ramp up to it. The rock is heavy. Overall I got about 75 lbs of rock for about $20. I may not use all of it. Some of it is pretty thin tough so it should be okay. I'm not sure of the best way to affix it however. I've got some high strength cement, or maybe I should use glue and grout? Not really sure. I did some experiments and I'm not too impressed with the holding power of the cement when spread thin over wood. If I use a wire foundation over the wood it may help, but it's gonna be heavy, so still not exactly sure how I'm going to do it. We've also got some driftwood to build a ramp on the other side.
The roof will be plywood, but with holes cot for the lighting to sit on top, using wire mesh over the top. I'm going to use metal screen on the two side windows for ventilation/viewing.
On one side I'm going to make a dig box. I originally planned to recess this also, but then decided against that. The dig box will be a 14"X11" plastic box set in a custom built wood container with a rock entrance ramp.
Some decisions I still need to make:
1) Do I solidly attach the roof or do a drop-in roof? I could basically put a little ledge around the inside 3/4" down to allow the roof to be set in and be removable. I really like this option and am thinking of going for that. I was considering solidly attaching it for support, but really this thing doesn't need the support, it's plenty strong.
2) Do I permanently affix the rocks to the ledge and permanently affix the rock "staircase", or do I try to make those things removable? This thing will eventually need to be moved at some point. The rock will likely add between 50 and 100 lbs depending on how its done. I do want to use real rock, but it's a challenge.
3) Speaking of real rock, do I need to seal the rock? I'm kind of hoping not. This is like flat sandstone type stuff that would be used for pavers, etc. It's got a good bit of character and coloring to it. It's on the tan side with some light lichens and stuff on it. It's about 1/2" thick.
4) Speaking of sealing, do I need to seal the "driftwood"? It's actually an old weathered section from an apple tree. Unfortunately, apple wood is also pretty dense and heavy, but it's the perfect size and shape, so I'm using it (unless anyone knows of a problem with apple wood and dragons). But should I lacquer it?
5) How concerned do I need to be about toxicity with the outside stain? any recommendations?
6) I'm not totally sure how I'm going to do the sliding doors. I'm putting an oak boarder around the front opening. How exactly do I put the door in?
I'll let you know when it's done.
I'm using 1/2" plywood. It's basically a 4'X4' by 2' high cube, but with one corner cut off. Over budget of course. Pics, then I'll discuss more below:
Overall, this gives 16 sqft of living space, by taking the corner off and and using it as a shelf, which serves as a structural support.
I've also put in a two layer floor using 3/4" on the second layer. I debated about doing this, but it ended up that I was going to need another piece of plywood for the roof, so I went ahead and did it. The second layer serves two main purposes. #1 it let's me recess a "feeding pit" into the floor. and #2 it serves as a major structural support along the bottom, with the walls attaching to it via glue and screws. With the floor and the corner shelf, this thing is totally solid.
For glue I'm using a combination of traditional wood glue and LiquidNails for wood. The LN has VOCs in it, but they supposedly all evaporate within a week, so it seems okay.
For the flooring I'm going to be using this cork: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Heritage-Mill-Tea-23-64-in-Thick-x-11-5-8-in-Wide-x-35-5-8-in-Length-Click-Cork-Flooring-25-866-sq-ft-case-PF9826/206668316
I tried seeing if I could get opened or damaged boxes from some place, but couldn't find any, so ended up having to spring for a whole box, which sucks, but, meh. Cork will also make it easy to cut the hole for the feeding pit.
For paint I'm using all no VOC interior paint. The blue is left over from a bedroom and the other colors I was able to pick up from Home Depot for 50 cents each in their opened sample section. If you go there they will have cans of opened paints, etc., and I got lucky and they had the colors I needed. These were all the small sample size containers. Those are typically about $3.00 each, so still not too bad. And I got lucky in that they are Bear Ultra Premium no VOC
I painted the clouds on one side and my 8 year old is doing the rest of the painting. It's "his" pet and he really wanted to do it, so he's having fun with it.
I went to a nursery and got a good bit of flat rocks that I will use to cover the shelf and build a stairway/ramp up to it. The rock is heavy. Overall I got about 75 lbs of rock for about $20. I may not use all of it. Some of it is pretty thin tough so it should be okay. I'm not sure of the best way to affix it however. I've got some high strength cement, or maybe I should use glue and grout? Not really sure. I did some experiments and I'm not too impressed with the holding power of the cement when spread thin over wood. If I use a wire foundation over the wood it may help, but it's gonna be heavy, so still not exactly sure how I'm going to do it. We've also got some driftwood to build a ramp on the other side.
The roof will be plywood, but with holes cot for the lighting to sit on top, using wire mesh over the top. I'm going to use metal screen on the two side windows for ventilation/viewing.
On one side I'm going to make a dig box. I originally planned to recess this also, but then decided against that. The dig box will be a 14"X11" plastic box set in a custom built wood container with a rock entrance ramp.
Some decisions I still need to make:
1) Do I solidly attach the roof or do a drop-in roof? I could basically put a little ledge around the inside 3/4" down to allow the roof to be set in and be removable. I really like this option and am thinking of going for that. I was considering solidly attaching it for support, but really this thing doesn't need the support, it's plenty strong.
2) Do I permanently affix the rocks to the ledge and permanently affix the rock "staircase", or do I try to make those things removable? This thing will eventually need to be moved at some point. The rock will likely add between 50 and 100 lbs depending on how its done. I do want to use real rock, but it's a challenge.
3) Speaking of real rock, do I need to seal the rock? I'm kind of hoping not. This is like flat sandstone type stuff that would be used for pavers, etc. It's got a good bit of character and coloring to it. It's on the tan side with some light lichens and stuff on it. It's about 1/2" thick.
4) Speaking of sealing, do I need to seal the "driftwood"? It's actually an old weathered section from an apple tree. Unfortunately, apple wood is also pretty dense and heavy, but it's the perfect size and shape, so I'm using it (unless anyone knows of a problem with apple wood and dragons). But should I lacquer it?
5) How concerned do I need to be about toxicity with the outside stain? any recommendations?
6) I'm not totally sure how I'm going to do the sliding doors. I'm putting an oak boarder around the front opening. How exactly do I put the door in?
I'll let you know when it's done.