Retrofitted Caging

[zamora]

A friend gave us a 100 gallon saltwater setup and since we had nowhere to set the tank up in our current domicile-it stayed in the shed for a year. Well, as boas tend to do--Samora grew and was cramped in her enclosure so we decided to use the saltwater setup and retrofit it into a snake enclosure. The only problem with that is we still had no place to put it so we took apart our entertainment center and now she is our entertainment! Haha! You'll see....

First, we decided to add shelves...



Here is a picture of the stand--it was originally cherry but the salt had torn it up so I decided to paint it


Painting the shelves..


and the inside of the stand...


Moved this monster inside to finish assembly...first the shelves go in

we put braces around three sides to hold the shelf


More to come! Staytuned.....

[MSwift]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

thats a real cool way to recycle it nice idea

[zamora]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

as promised...more of the progression

Installed the hardware for the doors



next, the Flexwatt



testing the Flexwatt and having a brewski (Yes, the man in these pictures is Mr. Zamora--someone had to pose!



We made a frame that we installed all the way around the aquarium to hold the lid and sides on. Gorilla Glue holds wonderfully for this and we also added some brads as extra holding power. We also routed out the frame and slid 1/2" foam board on three sides as insulation.

Close up of the frame and hardware for the lid--we used three hinges on the back and three latches in the front--no need for security locks as Toby doesn't have thumbs! (Toby is the chiweenie)



Pic of the side with the insulation and cover board in place



Don't forget to put the pretty background on the aquarium before installing the foam and covers!

Toby is curious...



Disassembled the entertainment center in the background and moved the new tank and stand there--gotta get a flat screen tv now since we have no place for a tv stand!

Also added trim oround the sides to cover up the insulation that was showing



Still needs some finishing touches but it holds the heat and humidity so much better--I am pleased with it and she now has plenty of room since the thing is five feet long.

Hope you enjoyed!

[Hunglikeafruitbat]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Very nice!

Mat.

[RTB_luver]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

NIce zam bet that was fun lolz

[Atrayu]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Looks fantastic B. Congrats.

[Boa Amarali]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Good Job , somebody has some skills , ha ha

I see you used window latches.

Window latches make a good latching system don't they , I like using them
(especially when you have a big box of them free ha ha )

That worked out pretty slick !!

[bebowebb]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Great work and a great looking cage!

[zamora]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Thanks guys! It was fun--I love doing woodworking so I'll put up more projects as I finish them--next up is the rack system...

[DIRTY SHOOTER]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

WOW! That looks great B! Wicked job on that enclosure!

I can't wait to see the rack system!

[HYPOHADES]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

really awesome job,looks great.......Mike

[atreyu rokks]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

That is very sweet.. Looks very clean... I love it bro. Congrats

[BigPaPaErnest]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Cool beans!..Didn't you say that you had one going on of foam too?

[BigRedIgKid]

Re: Retrofitted Caging

Looks beautiful man. nice work