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My custom made viv

D

dpmRail

New member
Wanted something nicer looking and more out of the way than my current setup sitting on my kitchen counter, so here's what I came up. I already had the bookshelf and built the rest, which is just a plexi box sitting on some drawer slides and wood trim. It works out kinda nice because the drawer slides create room for a UTH, along with the middle slide mounted slightly off center. When it's closed there's slightly less than an 1/8" gap between the top of the plexi and the bookshelf. The viv itself is 27" by 14" and 12" or so tall, comes out to just under 20 gallons, so it'll work for awhile. Total was about $100 with the plexi being half the cost. Also by the way the color difference between the real wood trim and fake Ikea bookshelf wood isn't nearly as bad in person.


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thats a brilliant idea but i got a question, how do you stick plexiglass together or did it come like that?
 
Thanks! The slide out idea came from the setup they have at the pet store. Thought it worked really well so I wanted to share what I did with it.

AlexEarl said:
thats a brilliant idea but i got a question, how do you stick plexiglass together or did it come like that?
Click to expand...

To bond plexi together you get the pieces set up how you want them [I used pieces of duct tape to hold the box together] and you apply the glue by running down the seam with a needle size tip on the bottle. It gets "sucked" into the seam and chemically bonds it almost instantly, then takes 24-48 hours to fully cure. It's a bit tricky to get right but it looks really nice if you do.
 
dpmRail said:
Thanks! The slide out idea came from the setup they have at the pet store. Thought it worked really well so I wanted to share what I did with it.



To bond plexi together you get the pieces set up how you want them [I used pieces of duct tape to hold the box together] and you apply the glue by running down the seam with a needle size tip on the bottle. It gets "sucked" into the seam and chemically bonds it almost instantly, then takes 24-48 hours to fully cure. It's a bit tricky to get right but it looks really nice if you do.
Click to expand...

To anyone thinking of using plexi, this is the way to go. I've read you can use MEK, but I've used a plexi bonder from the hobby store. It's not a glue at all, but a solvent. The secret is having clean cuts and a tight joint, then like dpm said, you brush or drip the liquid down the seam and it wicks in and literally welds the plexi together. Judging by the pics, his seams were excellent, and the joints will be as strong or stronger than the surrounding pulex...and perfectly clear with no glue line, since the solvent evaporates off almost instantly.
Nice job!
 
Looks great!

I built a similar cabinet about a year ago to fit some 20L tanks. I'm actually in the process of designing a 3-tier cabinet and was considering placing the slides underneath as opposed to on the sides. Did you use slides specifically designed for that use? Or, did you use regular slides? I sounds and looks like you used 3 slides, is that correct?
 
I did use regular full extension side mount slides, and that's the main reason I used three. The stress on them would only be a factor with it all the way open anyways and even then it's not really that heavy.
 
Also mounting them flat underneath gave a shorter profile and therefore allows for a slightly taller viv for the snake!
 
Thanks for the info. That's exactly why I'm wanting to bottom mount - to allow for more height, and to lessen material and complexity of the build. My other project was a bit nerve-racking, though it's still functioning well. I had read that the max weight load is significantly decreased when using side-mounts underneath. I was debating looking for bottom mount slides, but they're not commonly sold and I know where I can purchase the regular slides.
 
Just a small tip for others thinking of doing something similar, perhaps not a bad idea to secure a small L-bracket to the back side of the shelf and the wall so the unit doesn't tip; either from weight or from a friend who is visiting who decides to lean on the thing when you have it open, etc. Plexi is light-weight, so less likely I would think to tip, but you never know. Thought of having my father (or myself, but he's retired.. :) ) build me a table with a top and a bottom that featured a pull-out drawer as a shelf, but my stand would have two glass tanks on them. In the end, I just found a stand at a store that holds 2 tanks and has room enough to easy access things.

Best of luck, look forward to seeing some updated pics when your snake is settled in.
 
Quick update and funny story, I ended up getting a second snake and I put her in the new viv, so somewhere in the near future I'll be making a second one for the other guy. Because it slides out and is clear on all sides it's always easy to find the snake and personally I think it's interesting to be able to see the bottom and the tunnels she's burrowed. I have the UTH hooked up to a homemade rheostat and I marked the hottest spot on the bottom for quick reference, so I just have to slide it out and hit it with the temp gun to check.

Anyways here's a quick picture all decorated. Snake is in there just hiding, there's a paper towel tube running along the back. Got the plants from a craft store and made the branches myself.


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dpmRail said:
Thanks! The slide out idea came from the setup they have at the pet store. Thought it worked really well so I wanted to share what I did with it.



To bond plexi together you get the pieces set up how you want them [I used pieces of duct tape to hold the box together] and you apply the glue by running down the seam with a needle size tip on the bottle. It gets "sucked" into the seam and chemically bonds it almost instantly, then takes 24-48 hours to fully cure. It's a bit tricky to get right but it looks really nice if you do.
Click to expand...

Where do you get the glue??
Lowes, Home Depot or at a Glass install business??
 
Got it at Tap Plastics which is where I got the plexiglass too. Most of their stores are in California which happens to be local for me, and as the name implies they deal with just about anything you'd use plastic for.
 
Man I really like how that turned out! How tight is the clearence on the top there? Is it tight inside as it looks from the front? I really like the way that turned out.
 
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