Turning "junk" into a cage..

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

A friend of my boyfriend's dad just gave me a 100 gallon tank. The catch? The bottom of it is cracked and spiderwebbed out to the edges. It's still sturdy and in one piece aside from some tiny splinters but the cracks need strengthened. It's extremely dirty (still some mulch crumbs! and there are some shards of glass in there too), has calium buildup all over it... It has sat unused for like 10 years. It has a hinged door on one side of the top made of plywood and screen, but there is nothing on the other side. The door is in great shape...

So my mission?
-Clean it up
-seal the cracks in the glass off with epoxy
- adhere a board of some material to the inside to further strengthen it
- Turn the tank on it's side to just about double the amount of floor space, build a hinged door of the exact same dimensions on the other side
- replace the old chicken wire screen with new window mesh screen.
- apply background to the bottom (which will actually be the back) for a finished look

I figured I would allow others to watch my progress with photos... Here is the tank as of tonight:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/b1882ae2.jpg

[Snakers]

gl looks like it could be an awesome cage with work

[guidofatherof5]

It sounds like you have a good plan of action, Shannon.
It will be interesting to watch the progress.

[count dewclaw]

Free cages are so much fun! Yeah, sometimes they require some work to make them functional, but they are still great. That will make a nice large enclosure for some of your snakes. Can't wait to see updates as well as the finished product.

[Mommy2many]

Have fun with your new project! Can't wait to see the progress photos.

[Corinne33]

I have 2 55gallons in my garage and i never would have thought to turn them on their side!! Make sure you post detailed pictures on how you maket the door to it so i can copy what you do.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

no problem! Headed off to the home depot in a bit.

[mustang]

and they said there was no such thing as a girl who likes building and stuff, well for that matter they said no girls love snakes and for that matter i got 5 girls # s beceause of my good looks and my snakes hottness....good luck ;)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Didn't get to work on the cage today, I was too darned busy!

But, It's the other way around as far as I am concerned. I had the HARDEST darned time meeting guys who still wanted to talk to me after meeting the snakes. They were fine with me right up until they learned about the snakes! In High School, I was simply, "that girl with the snakes". Then I met Eddie. We invited his family (they're neighbors, actually), He showed up late, I was drunk, drug him into my snakeroom within 5 minutes of meeting him and we've been inseparable ever since :cool:

...even though he doesn't own any snakes! but he likes them. which is good! MY SNAKES. all mine.

[Charis]

I'm thinking of doing something close to that with a tank I have, so will be really interested in seeing pics of the stages & finished project too! I had a question, though. I've heard you want to keep your snakes away from any part of the cage that has screen, because they can rub their faces on it & hurt themselves. Do you think there is any danger of that happening with this type of configuration? Sorry if this question doesn't make sense, I'm dead & off to bed.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Nope, the snake going in it is close to 7 feet long and the screen I am using is the really really fine mesh kind, like window screen. He's far too large to hurt himself on that. And besides, I have never witnessed Ra trying to get out! :eek: He's so content, he just sits in one of his various hides and peeks out at me.

[drache]

looking forward io seeing the progress on that

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

So we have decided we are definitely ripping off the old door and starting fresh!

[mustang]

Didn't get to work on the cage today, I was too darned busy!

But, It's the other way around as far as I am concerned. I had the HARDEST darned time meeting guys who still wanted to talk to me after meeting the snakes. They were fine with me right up until they learned about the snakes! In High School, I was simply, "that girl with the snakes". Then I met Eddie. We invited his family (they're neighbors, actually), He showed up late, I was drunk, drug him into my snakeroom within 5 minutes of meeting him and we've been inseparable ever since :cool:

...even though he doesn't own any snakes! but he likes them. which is good! MY SNAKES. all mine.
hey u too....all through middle school i was called lizard freak or freak for short....7ft snake!!!!!!!!!!!! what is it?

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

That would be Ra, my adult male king rat snake. I love him to pieces. He's the guy in my avatar! I also have two others who are growing up FAST!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Well, the cage is done! I simply love it! My dad decided that the way I wanted to do it was too simple, so he decided to get involved and together we turned this old piece of crap into something really nice! First I made brother and boyfriend drag the thing outside for a serious scrub down. Despite being blasted with a hose and scrubbed, the fractured glass still stood as if it were not even cracked. remember, this is what it looked like before:
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/b1882ae2.jpg

I ripped the old door off the top. This involved bending over until I was literally upside down and in the tank while attempting to unscrew rusted corroded screws with a dying electric screw gun. Somehow I managed not to fall over. We got some long planks of wood and my dad brought out his sawblades. We cut the pieces to build a frame to fit exactly flush with the entire top of the tank and then used cabinet-making biscuits and wood glue to put the pieces all together. This is nice because it makes a seamless look without any screws being used. We put them into clamps to let the glue dry overnight. We used the same process to frame the doors themselves. We also cut out grooved in the backs of the door windows to install screen mesh. We used silicone sealant, the wood strips from cutting the grooves and a staple gun to apply that.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/d8a19ab9.jpg

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/5d302164.jpg

Then I lined the cracks with epoxy, and we put a sheet of some white plastic stuff down over the bottom, and glued it down with liquid nails. My dad was kind enough to, instead of just making squiggles... writing my name with the glue!The next day i took all the wood pieces into the field and spray painted it all black. I like black. We attached all the metal parts (hinges handles and deadbolts to hold the doors closed) and the doors and frame were made! We then glued the frame to the tank with some heavy duty construction glue he had laying around and applied buckets of drywall mud overnight. It is some strong stuff. If you tried to pull it off now, the plastic frame holding the tank together would come off first! I once again enslaved boyfriend and brother to lug the thing up the stairs and into the bedroom where it now occupies what once was an awkwardly large empty space against the wall. I applied background to the bottom (now the back since we lay the tank on its side).
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/8a5bb4ee.jpg

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/9ce32492.jpg

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/c0117d04.jpg

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/7c68371d.jpg

I then added aspen, Ra's favorite hideys, a water bowl and plants and a strip light. I then added into the mix, one very angry Ra, my big male king rat snake, who is in shed. He of course showed his gratitude in giving him such a nice new home by turning around and attempting to bite me at least 10 times, pushing his hidey out of it's designated spot, and then flailing rattling, and smacking his huge tail around, shooting aspen all over the place, including, but not limited to, my mouth, the water bowl, and the carpet outside of the cage. The cage's floor space is 4 feet long by just a little over 2 feet wide. I am very pleased with how this project turned out!

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/92f1a2d6.jpg

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/f54fc21d.jpg

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/e3d2a02e.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

That turned out awesome.

[indigoman]

One person's junk is another's treasure! Outstanding job ,give yourselves a pat on the back!

[MasSalvaje]

I need to start looking for cracked aquariums! It looks awesome!

-Thomas

[drache]

that looks really nice - great job, Shannon

[GarterGeek]

Looks great! Lovely work. :)

How much do you estimate the supplies costed? How long did it take you?

[count dewclaw]

Wow! Great job.

[Sid]

Great job, Shannon. The end product looks really great:D. I just picked up two 50 gallons tanks that I am planning to set up like your 100.

[jitami]

Very nice Shannon! It turned out so well!

[Stefan-A]

Very nice indeed, Shannon. :)

[mustang]

WOW jeez u make me feel my 55 is to small there went $80

[charles parenteau]

Wow Shannon you are very good ,its a nice set up!!

[Lovok]

I'd have to say that was a REAL "labor of love". I think if I'm reincarnated, I wanna come back as one of your snakes. I know I'd be loved and live very comfortably! :D

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I'd have to say that was a REAL "labor of love". I think if I'm reincarnated, I wanna come back as one of your snakes. I know I'd be loved and live very comfortably! :D
yes you would, even if you would attempt to bite my face off when you are in shed, even if you were just given a spacious and awesome new home!

[Lovok]

Well, I wouldn't bite hard, cuz ya know, it's hard to pucker when you've got no lips!

[ConcinusMan]

I used cracked bottoms worse than that for many years. Duct tape. Both inside and out. Keeps the pieces together. Worked for desert anyway, and with 2 inches of sand on top, it only needs to stay together and keep sharp edges away from critters.

[Snake lover 3-25]

wow very nice!