I finally put together a tutorial for how to make the PVC cage I built:

http://justforfuzzies.com/Other_Stuff/Cage/index.html

It's still in the beginning stages, but I'll be taking pics when I build the other cages to make the tutorial easier to understand.

I had alot of people interested in how to build the cage, so hopefully this tutorial will help you guys out. ;)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

BTW, if you didn't see the cage I made, here's a pic of it(it doesn't have handles/latches in the pic):



I hope you all find it helpful! I'd love to see pics that any of you build like it as well! I might make a picture section on my site for people to show of the ones they make.

Looks really nice. Thank you!

Cool! Can you explain the bottom a little bit more? Does the whole thing need to sit in/on a drop pan or does it catch the mess by itself?

You'd have to put something under the cage to catch the stuff. I simply made the bottom pull-out and with mesh so that the gliders wouldn't have to walk on their pee-poo. I simply put a piece of fleece under the bottom and am able to clean up pretty quick. ;)

Oh ok I see it now. I would need to protect the flooring from the urine (it's wood) but I can see making a simple stand for a drop pan.

Well, I just got a PM from a member on GC showing some PVC cages he'd made and one had a wooden platform underneath(made with 2x4s, not a piece of plywood, so the middle was open) with wheels. I think I'm going to make some of those for my cages so that I can put something underneath of them. :) If I can get the made then I'll let ya'll know!

so you put the whole thing together with zipties? how do you get the doors to stay closed? this is amazing way to go!!!

oh wow. you know i wanted to build a cage of pvc. that looks really great!

oh. also. wouldn't they be able to chew through that? i'm not sure what kinda material the mesh is made of. i thought it was plastic? >_<

What a The benefits of having one of these cages? Besides that they are money savers of course. Is this the same thing as a reptarium? Are they just as easy to clean as a bird cage? That cage really looks great and I think I want to make one later on this year!

Yeah, I used zip-ties for everything, lol. I'm going to be trying nuts and bolts once I can finally get to the store(it's been a crazy last couple weeks...) because I think they'd work better, make it easier to take apart, and would cost about the same as Zip-ties.

They COULD chew out, if they really wanted to, but the mesh s the "bars" of the cage and it's not common for a glider to chew the bars. ;) I've currently got a colony of 3(and a joey) in the cage in the pic and a colony of 4 in the first cage I made. So far I've had no problems at all. The mesh doesn't even bend under the weight of 4 gliders in a pouch. It's tougher then it looks.

Also, the cages are big enough and if they have plenty of toys then there's no reason why any glider would just sit there and start knawing on the mesh, lol. If they do, you can "patch" it or can simply use the coated metal mesh instead. ;)

That is great! I can't wait to make one. How much did you spend making this?

Oh yeah, its' not the same as a rept.

Compared to a reptarium this cage is:

*Sturdier
*Lasts longer(because you don't have to replace the entire cover if you get a hole in the mesh)
*You can hang things(nowhere to hand stuff on a rept)
*Fewer escapes because you have doors instead of one big front side that opens
*It's cleaner for the gliders(the mesh is mre breathable and the bottom is mesh so they don't walk on their poo/pee
*You can see and interact(give treats) with the gliders through the mesh, unlike with a rept
*and, in my opinion, it looks nicer then a Reptarium

Those are just a few things that come to the top of my head. ;)

It's also lighter then a bird cage, so it's easier to clean. Also, to buy a cage of equal size would cost at LEAST twice as much! I have the bird.com cages and they're nice, but the paint chips off in places and rusts. So, that's another plus: it will never rust! :)

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Originally posted by kcopeland79

That is great! I can't wait to make one. How much did you spend making this?

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It only cost me about $75(give or take a couple dollars). IF you're making more then one then they end up being cheaper because you'll have a little bit of mesh, PVC, and zip-ties left over each time and can buy less for the next cage.

wow great! I am going to see if I can get one started! That is really nice! thank you for the infor!

That is great! Now maybe I can get my husband to get off his butt and do it! I need 2 of them!

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Originally posted by Tortiebaby

Oh yeah, its' not the same as a rept.

Compared to a reptarium this cage is:

*Sturdier
*Lasts longer(because you don't have to replace the entire cover if you get a hole in the mesh)
*You can hang things(nowhere to hand stuff on a rept)
*Fewer escapes because you have doors instead of one big front side that opens
*It's cleaner for the gliders(the mesh is mre breathable and the bottom is mesh so they don't walk on their poo/pee
*You can see and interact(give treats) with the gliders through the mesh, unlike with a rept
*and, in my opinion, it looks nicer then a Reptarium

Those are just a few things that come to the top of my head. ;)

It's also lighter then a bird cage, so it's easier to clean. Also, to buy a cage of equal size would cost at LEAST twice as much! I have the bird.com cages and they're nice, but the paint chips off in places and rusts. So, that's another plus: it will never rust! :)

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Thank you! I really want to make one now! I bookmarked this page haha. In the instructions do you mention how you made the tray on the bottom?

She doesn't have a tray Reenabee, it's just a mesh piece that slides out. She puts fleece down under it and washes that when it gets dirty. It'd be easy to make a wheeled frame though to put underneath for a drop pan. Heck, that'd be easy enough with pvc and some elbow joints. I'm pretty sure they sell those wheels at Home Depot too!

I think I'll add this link to the article about making your own cage in the Gliderpedia

We are going to make one of theseWe are planning on making a 84"x34"x36".

I like the tutorial. May I suggest you use a more generic term for "Landware cloth"? I went to Home Depot and they had no idea what I was talking about until I showed them a picture. Apparently they don't carry that brand at my Home Depot or something.

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Originally posted by our2girlz

We are going to make one of theseWe are planning on making a 84"x34"x36".

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We have finished ours and we used a coated hardware clothe that we actually bought from home depot. It cost more than landware clothe, but my husband was so nervous about them chewing their way out. If you hanted to use hardware clothe and they don't know what you are talking about ask for their wire mesh. THey are usually stored with the chicken wire/fencing. Also where I live I did buy some from Menards and they were cheaper there.

just whT I WAS LOOKING FOR MY HUBBY WAS GOING TO BUILD A CAGE FOR MY SUGGIE but money is tight and we didn't want to spend alot on wood. pvc is a good idea. i know my hubbys weekend project lol

here is probally what would be my husband number one tip for building this cage use big pliers and wire cutters he was using a little pair and his hands were completely blistered bless his heart he was determined to get this done, but between cutting the clothe and pulling the ziP Ties his hands were tore up. It turned out great though.

Wow! That looks awesome! Great job! :D

Yeah, I think I'm going to add a "hints and tips" section to my finalized tutorial: 1)use pliers for tightening the zip-ties and 2) use toenail clippers for snipping the "tails" off the zip-ties.

The toenail clippers are curved, so they'll leave a nice, rounded cut rather then sharp corners(which will hurt like the dickens when you try and move the cage and accidentally grab one!).

Oh yeah, I finished putting together the frame for a 6' cage. I'll cut/paste what I posted on a different forum so you guys can see it too. ;)

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Okay, here are some pics... Let me know if I forgot to post pics of anything you guys specifically wanted to see.

*click pics to enlarge them*

Full view


Hook and Eye Latches(I tried the spring-loaded ones and they were WAY too difficult to use, so I switched to 1 1/2" hook and eye latches that I got at Walmart)


Bottom Food Door


I used bolts and nuts to do the "hinges"


I used the same nut/bolt concept for the bigger doors as well, except for the bottom nut/bolt I had to add 2 washers on one of the doors to boost it up a little


Rather then using large zip-ties to hold the cage panels together I used nuts/bolts/washers instead


Sooo...with the new cage I made it bigger, used nuts' bolts to hold it together, used simple hook and eye latches for the doors, and made the hinges with nuts and bolts, so that the doors don't sage over time, like with regular hinges. ;)

With this new design the doors will be better, the frame is a bit sturdier(although, at 6' tall, instead of 5', it's a little bit wobblier), and the cage will be just as easy to disassemble as a store-bought cage! :grin:

Hopefully the pics are helpful!

Once I get the landware cloth on the cage I'll be changing the tutorial to add pics. I'll also be adding the new measurements for a 6' cage in case anyone wants that size as well. Feel free to ask if you would like the measurements for a different-sized cage!

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Oh yeah, and I also made the top and bottom with crossbars going both ways. It'll add additional support to the bottom and extra support for hanging things from the top as well(you can hand toys directly from the cloth or put eyes in the PVC for hanging stuff from. Either way, it should hold up much better then the original design.

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Originally posted by TnS_glider_luv

I like the tutorial. May I suggest you use a more generic term for "Landware cloth"? I went to Home Depot and they had no idea what I was talking about until I showed them a picture. Apparently they don't carry that brand at my Home Depot or something.

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Thanks! I'll be sure to change it when I made the improved tutorial.

I took a pic of the stuff I bought to add to the new tutorial to help clear up any confusion:


Apparently, it's called "hardware net". ;)

I am having the hardest time with this !!! I hope when I get it all together it doesn't look like crap. lol.... I don't think I got all the peices the correct length. Is it going to be a big deal if there are peices off by couple a meeters? I'll be so upset if it doesnt turn out. I spent 98 bucks at homedepo for all this stuff.

I just finished mine 2 days ago. My only concern is that there is that the ends of the zip ties that I cut are kind of sharp, Should I take the time to move them all outwards so Dante doesn't get scratched or will he be fine with them? I kinda screwed up the drop pan thing cause the directions weren't really clear on that part but I moved the entire cage up onto a few wooden blocks and placed 1 underneath. And I think this cage will come in handy when I go and get Dante a friend, after the quarantine I can just split the cage in half with the extra hardwire net and place each suggie in a seperate half until they get used to each other. And oodles of thanks Tortiebaby, this saved me a ton of money and was a lot of fun to build. I am not the most mechanically inclined individual either and I found it very simple to make.

Thanks for the tips. I had bought the pvc, wire, etc around the beginning of the year. Then we've had a "snowball" of situations. Seeing this has put me back in the spirit. I especially like the first pic, with the swing up door at the bottom. My husband bought a couple of spill trays from either Auto Zone or O'Reilly's. By the looks, they would also fit underneath this cage. Appreciate you sharing your ideas.

I would turn the cut ends of the zip ties out AND file them down. They can get really sharp.