Bookshelf tank

[Oompa Loompa]

Hi all,

I am planning on building a bookshelf, with the top section being a large enclosure for my leopard gecko pair (there are pics of them somewhere in a thread way back).
I do not want to spend more than $100 on wood for this build - so I'm planning on building it to 60" long, 13" wide, and 48" high - for the entire bookshelf and enclosure part.
Plan is to build a box with the plywood, then add in the supports, cage floor, and shelves. Then I'll use whatever scraps I have to use as supports for the shelves, and lips for the cage (need to look at my diagrams to see what size scrap pieces I will have left over).

My main question thus far - think the ~12" width will be okay for them? I wish I could give them more width but with the bookshelf it would be awkward, and to be fair they are getting 5 feet of length that they can roam through. They are around 8.5 and 10 inches long, if I remember correctly. So, they will still be able to completely stretch out and get around the enclosure if they need to.
This entire thing will be DIY.

I'll be sure to add pics when this is being built. I want to see if I can get the plywood this weekend, which would mean I can get the frame built at the very least. Just cut, screw, and glue.

Drew

 

[Hendre]

Sounds good, but how difficult would it be do add another 6" width to the shelf?

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Sounds good, but how difficult would it be do add another 6" width to the shelf?

Wouldn't be hard per se, but I'd probably need to cut the length to 4 feet versus 5.
My main concern with that is the aesthetics of the bookshelf part - although adding a false back to it wouldn't be hard. Just add in a few 2x4 or 2x6 boards to the back of the shelves and cover with a matching plywood, making a false back and making the bookshelf "thinner".

My cut list would be as follows:

• 47.25" by 46.5" sheet for the back panel
• 46.5" by 18" sheet for the bottom
• (3x) 48" by 18" sheets, one for the top and one for each side
• 46.5" by 17.25" sheet for the cage bottom
• (2x) 30" by 17.25" sheets for supports for the cage

Then whatever I have left will be divided into shelves, then bracing for the whole structure. I am figuring that out now, changed some dimensions with the new width - need to see what cuts I can still make from two 4x8 sheets. I also need a top and bottom "lip" of plywood for the cage.
That doesn't take into account any of the things needed to make the shelves shallower - I'll see what that ends up being after everything's built.

If anyone is confused on what I'm describing - look at The King of DIY's office tank build or something like that - he builds a bookshelf with space for an aquarium on the inside. I'm doing something very similar to that, except instead of an aquarium I'm just sealing the entire thing and using it for reptiles.

Drew

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Shelf in the middle will be 13.5" wide, and the two on the outside shelves will be 15.75" wide. All will be cut to 17.25" front to back.
I'll have enough left over for another 13.5" shelf - we'll see if it's worth adding another one though.

I'll have enough wood to make a 6" by 48" strip as well - so I can cut that in half and use it for the "lip" on the cage to hold substrate in and hide heating elements.

Drew

 

[twentyleagues]

I know the rule if thumb in enclosure sizing is 1.5x the animals length in width and 4x in length. So what Hendre is saying is a good choice or 18" would be even better. I'm sure 12" won't be aweful, but since you are building it why not spend the little extra and make it perfect?