Foam cage build?

[chairman]

I've been kicking around ideas for DIY cages and trying to identify solid, light-weight, moisture-resistant and economically friendly building materials. I've built cages using acrylic, lumber, and plywood in the past, but am trying to focus on moisture resistance and weight. I am currently pondering the use of 2" foam as a building material for reptile cages. It seems like if I were to go at the project as though it were a background, gluing the pieces together then coating the whole thing with drylok, that it ought to work. Any fittings that I may wish to install could be handled by installing anchors in the foam with glue pre-drylock so I would have a solid place for a screw to go. My biggest concern is that the cages would lack structural integrity, especially if I was going to build something like a 3x2x2 or 4x2x2.

Future inhabitants would be colubrids or crested geckos, so nothing with claws that would shred the material or an incredible amount of strength to push out. However, all of my setups do contain 3-4" of soil substrate, chock full of isopods and worms (they help keep my reptile room odorless) so there would be a bit of weight in them.

Thoughts?

 

[CJH]

I am currently pondering the use of 2" foam as a building material for reptile cages. It seems like if I were to go at the project as though it were a background, gluing the pieces together then coating the whole thing with drylok, that it ought to work. Any fittings that I may wish to install could be handled by installing anchors in the foam with glue pre-drylock so I would have a solid place for a screw to go. My biggest concern is that the cages would lack structural integrity, especially if I was going to build something like a 3x2x2 or 4x2x2.

Europeans do this a lot and on a larger scale than 4x2x2. I think they call them "Styropor Terrarium". Sometimes two words, sometimes one word. Plural is "Styropor Terraria". I would Google all four variations. And check my spelling - it should be close. Once you find some key words then spend some time on Google's Language Tools for translation.

I don't know if they have or use fire resistant extruded polyestyrene over there but that would be my one concern. The stuff can burn spectacuarly. I'm sure Drylok will provide some degree of fire resistance but I'd price the fire resistant type in your area. And regardless of what you use I'd paint the Drylok on the outside as well.

Some guy here is the US was going to use Dryvit or some other type of faux-stucco coating over foam for a reptile cage. I never heard if he carried through with it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Don't use Bondo or any other type of polyester body filler on polystyrene -- it will melt it. Use thickened epoxy or polyurethane glue instead.

 

[Edwardo]

I dont think you would need to worry about structual integrity as long as you use the correct glue, which would be the key to building the cage.
When you create a box like structure, its incredibly strong.
You could experiment first with scrap pieces of foam and different types of glue, see which one holds best.
As far as the weight of the dirt, as long as the cage is sitting on a solid surface,were it cannot bow, you could probably fill the entire thing with dirt, and you will never compress the foam.
I believe Dow super tuff R is already moisture resistant on either side, it might not look that cool though.

 

[chairman]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't come across any of the european builds in my research... wonder why no one is doing it in the states.

My initial thought is to cut the foam, apply the first coat of drylok to the pieces, glue everything together, then add the remaining coats of drylok to the finished pieces. I shouldn't have to worry about having foam-friendly adhesive. I'm also contemplating corner moulding to make the edges look pretty.

As for heat, I am planning to cut out holes in the top/bottom and inset glass sheets or screen, depending on if I'm going with UTH or a heat lamp. My reptile room is heated to a constant 75-80*, so the animals I will be housing will not require much supplemental heat at all. Also would install vents to let excess heat out and provide air flow.

I was also hoping to stack 2 or 3 cages, but it is sounding like shelving is highly recommended.

 

[CJH]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't come across any of the european builds in my research... wonder why no one is doing it in the states.

My initial thought is to cut the foam, apply the first coat of drylok to the pieces, glue everything together, then add the remaining coats of drylok to the finished pieces. I shouldn't have to worry about having foam-friendly adhesive. I'm also contemplating corner moulding to make the edges look pretty.

I think this style of cage is popular in Europe because 1) many people there are still living in tiny, post-war apartments and 2) parts of Europe have humanitarian laws that require large cages for reptiles. So lightweight panels that can be easily worked with and carried up stairs and around tight corners make a lot of sense.

We don't have these issues to the same degree here in the states so that might be why it hasn't caught on.

As far as the strength issue addressed in the other reply, I also don't believe this is an issue. Extruded polystyrene is quite strong.

If you're worried about the joints you could add some fiberglass reinforcement. There is fiberglass mesh made specifically for EIFS systems that should work great with Drylok. It's a more open type mesh like drywall mesh tape.

I was reading about these types of cages a few years back and found one guy that added a wooden face frame to his cage to cover up the front edges. I'm pretty sure sliding glass track was mounted onto the wooden frame. It looked nice.

As I'm sure you've already found out, most of these cages over in Europe are covered in tinted tile grout. I think Drylok will be a better and easier to work with choice. You sound like you're on the right track. Now get working on a cage so we can see how it works out.

 

[snot]

I used to breed created geckos and colubrids and used rubbermaid storage totes. I housed close to 300 geckos and over 100 snakes.

I've also built 3d foam backgrounds. The backgrounds I've made I used toothpicks and ge1 silicone caulking makes good strong seams. Then painting on a few coats of concrete slurry will add more strength. Finish with drylok tinted to your desires and you should have a good habitat.

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