Help building new vivarium

I'm going to be building a vivarium out of melamine and I have some questions.

1. The popular size is 4x2x2, but what do you think about making the enclosure 30" to 36" tall for more climbing and still maintaining a good distance from the lighting?

2. Sliding or swinging doors? Glass or plexiglass? I'm leaning towards sliding glass, but I need to price the glass at a local shop.

3. If sliding doors, what is a good track to use?

4. What thickness should the glass be?

5. What door handles should I use?

6. Ventilation? I've seen people recommend a vent low on the cool side and another up high on the hot side. I wonder if it would be best to flip that in order to retain more heat. My enclosure will be in a cold basement.

I have been searching old posts here but I'm running into broken links and missing pictures. If there are some good threads that I'm missing that would be helpful, please let me know. Thanks!
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
Well I decided to go ahead and get started. I went ahead and made the enclosure 30" tall, which meant I had to buy an extra sheet of melamine. This stuff chips very easily, but I managed to get the box together without too much trouble.

Please give me your suggestions! I'm still weighing my options for the glass front and venting. I'm considering this track if I decide to get glass:

https://www.amazon.com/ft-Aluminum-Glide-Tracks-Price/dp/B001DT33L0/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=e-z+glide+track&qid=1616283000&sprefix=e-z+glide&sr=8-5

110702-9710624604.jpg
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Sorry I typed out a big long huge response, and then the post got messed up and I lost it all... Quick response is check out the sticky on the top of this forum, it should help you out a lot.

If I get more time later, I will rewrite my essay of a response to you lol!

-Brandon
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
Claudiusx":3q532ifu said:
Sorry I typed out a big long huge response, and then the post got messed up and I lost it all... Quick response is check out the sticky on the top of this forum, it should help you out a lot.

If I get more time later, I will rewrite my essay of a response to you lol!

-Brandon

Oh no! I'd love to get your opinion. I saw the builds you did and you're very good!

I looked at the other builds in the sticky and was really impressed. There are some things that I definitely want to copy. I like the idea of using the shallow junction box with the porcelain fixtures for the lighting and ceramic heaters. I also like the one build where the lighting sat on top of the viv with cutouts in the plywood. The area with the lights was enclosed and included the power strip and timers too. Very clean!

I'm leaning towards glass doors and will call a local shop in the morning. The track I found should work great and it includes the door handles. I also think I will try a vent low on the cool side and high on the hot side as others have suggested. I can always add more if needed.
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
I just called around to a few local shops and it looks like the price for 1/4" annealed glass is going to be about $45 for each pane. This sounds like the way to go, as the 1/4" thick plexiglass I was looking at was about $65 for a 2'x4' sheet, and I'd need two of them.

So now I need to figure out which track to get. I can get the kind that is just a plastic track with no rollers for about $20 shipped. The track I mentioned earlier with the rollers was $50, but looking at the reviews it does look like it's a bit of a pain to install it. One of the shops I called can provide the tracks and install it for about $150, or $120 if I install it myself.

This looks like it's going to be the most expensive part of this for sure!

Does anyone have any experience with sliding glass doors and the plastic track? My worry is that the glass will be too heavy and will need the kind with rollers.
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
We've only had it for 2 days so far, but we have a 4'x2'x2' custom with 1/4 inch glass doors. It has a plastic track and the doors slide quite smoothly.
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
hdochow":2ephyp7q said:
We've only had it for 2 days so far, but we have a 4'x2'x2' custom with 1/4 inch glass doors. It has a plastic track and the doors slide quite smoothly.

Very cool! Maybe I should start there. What are you using for handles?
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
I'm not sure, they look like they are stick on. We didn't make the enclosure, ordered it from a mom and pop business in Portland, Oregon. Couldn't be happier with the quality.

110661-3324217890.jpg
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
hdochow":1paciek5 said:
I'm not sure, they look like they are stick on. We didn't make the enclosure, ordered it from a mom and pop business in Portland, Oregon. Couldn't be happier with the quality.

110661-3324217890.jpg

That's awesome. Sounds like it works for you so it should work for me too. Thanks for sharing that info with me.
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
No problem. I'm hoping our initial experience with it continues way into the future. If I do run into any problems I'll drop you a message.
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
hdochow":384ls6xx said:
No problem. I'm hoping our initial experience with it continues way into the future. If I do run into any problems I'll drop you a message.

Me too and please do let me know if you run into issues.
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
I made a little bit of progress today. I added a 2" vent on each end of the enclosure along with a grommet for the electrical cables. I'm not sure if this will provide enough airflow to keep the humidity down, but I can always add more vents.

I also ended up ordering the sliding door track with wheels. I started thinking about gluing the plastic track to the melamine and how I'd probably need to buy the glue. I'm not sure how well it would adhere to the melamine either. Rather than worry if the track would fall off and break the glass doors, I decided the sliding door track with wheels that you can screw in would be better and nicer. Once all that comes in, then I can install it and the lighting, add the hammock and other decor, and move Beardsley in. I'll have some work left to do on the edges of the melamine to make it look nice, but that doesn't have to happen right away. I'm considering getting some 1x1 aluminum angle for the corners. I know they make rolls of melamine edge trim that you can iron on, but edges on all these boards are chipped to some degree and the trim wouldn't completely cover it. My wife is also looking into making some things for Beardsley to climb on. So we might add some of that in there later since there's so much more room compared to the 40 gallon tank he's in now.

110702-876881527.jpg
 

indianaryan

Member
Original Poster
More progress. I mounted to porcelain light fixtures to the ceiling and added the hooks that I will use to hang the T5 fixture from. Then I added a shelf and placed some decor around to try to get an idea of how I wanted to organize everything.

On the shelf is a piece of slate to bask on. I have a cord with a dimmer on it that I'm sure I'll have to use to keep it from getting too hot. The distance from the slate to the basking bulb is going to be a little over 12".

I added the hammock as a way to get up on the shelf, as well as the tree branch on the other end of the shelf.

I'll add some shelf liner and bring in the rest of the decor in when I'm ready to move Beardsley into this new enclosure. I'm just waiting on the glass doors now.

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