| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| kimmeywooo |
Posted - 16/03/2012 : 16:25:11
Okay, first of all I have never made anything useful in my life DIY wise! But I'm determined to do this!
So, would it be possible to buy a nice cabinet, I want an old antiquey fairly large (prob 3ft wide by 1.5/2ft deep by a 3ft high inside) kind of thing. and then I was thinking I could sand it down, make it purty and put a divider in the middle horizontally to make two separate viv spaces. would 1.5ft high each be okay? or should it be a lil higher? I'm terrible at these things.
also, I'd be worried about the wood getting damp so could i seal the whole inside with polyurethane varnish and put aquarium sealant around the edges like a shop bought viv? if that wouldn't work what should I do?
And what else would I need to do to make it safe for my snakeys?
I hope this is not too much of a terrible idea! As I said... Never done this before...  |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Redshift Spec |
Posted - 14/04/2012 : 18:37:26
I'd do it. It sounds like you want the challenge of building converting the vivs yourself. Go for it! I've just converted an old nasty fiberglass viv into a not so nasty looking fake wood looking one and it was fun. I'm useless with DIY and it would have been cheaper to just buy a new viv but i enjoyed the project :) |
| kdlang |
Posted - 14/04/2012 : 12:59:14
I have just made a small viv out of a tv stand. It was really easy as the shelf that was in the middle was the perfect size to become the back piece. All I needed to do was drill some fresh holes for the dowels to go in that fastened it in place. You don't need to pass a plug for the heatmat through any holes, you remove the plug and feed the cable through. Any holes that could pose a risk afterwards, you just fill with sealant. I will get some pictures when it is done with pricings. I just need to drill a hole for the heatmat cable as I forgot it when I was doing the vent holes. |
| a2c7 |
Posted - 14/04/2012 : 10:30:40
I'm fairly sure you can stack the vivexotic vivs as long as it's same size on same size. (edit: Maybe get a wider, lower cabinet from the 2nd hand shop as a base to be sure) They actually sell stackables as well I think - if you're thinking of more than two I'd go this route, but there are some serious reptile room set ups which show multiple vivexotics stacked. I looked into converting some furniture into a viv and I may still do it but for now have given myself the project with a vivexotic, dividing and decoration simply due to cost.
I looked into polycarbonate sheets, pieces of secondhand furniture etc but the cost far outweighed the 'niceness' and practicality wise you can't beat a purpose built viv. The problem with a lot of furniture is holes! Are those doors sealed when they shut? How're you going to get a plug and wire out of it and then reblock the hole?
I know you want this as a project, but you can see what professionals like Ralph's Reptile Vivariums do with custom made vivs. He's very nice if you send him an email as well, I got quotes from him on a project and I think they're very fair but my budget is limited atm. |
| kimmeywooo |
Posted - 17/03/2012 : 13:06:22
Okay but with the vivexotics, can i put one lx36 on top of the other on the matching cabinet? Would it be sturdy enough? that's what i was worried about with buying vivs. my OH has experience in carpentry so i can get lots of advice from him in regards to building, i just wanted to build it myself purely for the experience. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for something i love anyway and i have lots of time, my pair arent gonna be ready to go into 3ft vivs for a while.
What if i got a higher cabinet and had a storage drawer or space in between the vivs? would that be better?
And whether i bought vivs or made them id be very busy making things to make it nice for my snakes lol thank you all for replies :) been helpful! |
| n/a |
Posted - 16/03/2012 : 23:25:46
I adapted this to take a viv
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Corona-Flat-Screen-Plasma-TV-DVD-cabinet-stand-unit-/280679919717?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoom_TV_Furniture&hash=item4159d3b065#ht_3804wt_68
And turned it into this
The unit will take a 3ft viv all I done was remove the centre bar and moved the shelf down the viv just slide in the only thing I found was it hangs over the back so you can't put the back piece on and When you take the centre bar out your left with holes where the dowels are used to be but just cover this with a piece of wood trim
|
| Auld Baldy |
Posted - 16/03/2012 : 22:39:48
To be honest, if you have little or no DIY experience just go for 2 appropriately sized VivExotic vivariums. Making a 'double decker' needs a bit of know how and accuracy. Add in the price of glass, runners, varnish, glue, sealant, tools, general mess plus time to do everything.
I have already built one viv from odds and ends as an experiment. It would have been cheaper buying an LX36.
There is also the fact that you have a male and female, there was a recent topic on trying to keep a determined male from going to party upstairs. 
Buy the vivs and try out your DIY on bits of furniture such as platforms and hides for the snakes. |
| kimmeywooo |
Posted - 16/03/2012 : 21:16:08
I can find cabinets, but would it be worth getting one? i mean is it as easy as varnishing to seal the wood? or would i need to line the inside with something? Or is it a bad idea to use an old cabinet? so many questions lol! i could get a new one but it kinda defeats the point of making it for me, i could just buy some ready made for almost same cost (i only have two snakes so won't be making a big stack or anything) |
| mkmattyk |
Posted - 16/03/2012 : 18:27:09
sorry i use the besta range at ikea, but if you start looking im sure youll get some inspiration |
| mkmattyk |
Posted - 16/03/2012 : 18:18:17
dont worry many people including me do this all the time, but i use stuff from ikea, not exactly old and rustic, but they are really nice and are good to adapt |
