# Homemade VIV



## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

Hey im thinking of making a homemade viv has anyone made a homemade before and got any tips for me please post images of your own viv for ideas please:no1::lol2:


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## bromley (Jan 17, 2007)

we went to b&q for our conti board they cut it to the size you want and if you time it right you can get the board in the sales thats what we did the wood it self cost us £30 for a 4 ft viv including the runners :thumb:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i made a cage out of an old stereo cabinet the other day. i just slapped a piece of peg board on the back and some plexi-glass on the front. cost me under $10. 24"X24"X34". that's how i roll!:lol2:


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

i made an 6ft viv out of a creat that my dad got from work and its a good snake viv 

but i got my bearded dragon about 4 weks ago so i wanna make her a bigger viv

how much is a sheet of wood big enough to make a 4ft by 3ft viv?


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

and can someone post some pics of there viv too please i just need some ideas ect


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## markandwend (Jan 28, 2007)

heres a few ive made:-


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

wow they are great how much did the top one cost to make i like it alot
il post a pic of mine when i get some batterys for my cam


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Dragons current viv









Stack









dragons new home in the stack (when the smell goes)


















Gecko's part of the stack (more hides now he's moved in)









Royal is going to go in the other half of the stack when it's big enough but in a tank at the minute. Prefers hiding behind the exo terra background or at the top than in the cool hide so i put a bigger water bowl in









Left over wood from the stack.








knocked it together on Sunday cos i was bored,


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

wow they are great, i was thinking maybe i could do a deal with someone who wants a baby corn snake

Snake For a VIV  not sure if anyones up for that deal i know haha


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

somebody might do, pretty sure i've seen somebody on this forum or another who's doing the exact thing. 

They've not hard to build though, the white one was my first attempt at anything like it and i had no plans to work from.


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## Gia (Mar 25, 2007)

Here's my hard work ... a 5x2x2. Pic is without glass doors but that was the most expensive part (nearly £50 toughed).










All in all it cost just under £100. It's easy enough to do. The hardest part is probably cutting hole for vents and then lining up runners for doors but even thats pretty simple if you have the correct tools and adhesives. I even added hinges to the top so it lifts up for easy door cleaning/removal and bulb fixture maintance. Nothing worse than straining your neck with a screwdriver x


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## markandwend (Jan 28, 2007)

PM'd u Dragonkeeper, dont mind doing swaps on the vivs i make.
cheers,
Mark.


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

ALright great i PM you back and you Gia:no1:


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

My homemade VIV for my corn snake 









: victory:


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## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

i wish i cud have a viv stack. I odnt have the room in my bedroom. I've 1 48x18x18 slotted into my waldrobe, 2 small vivs that i built in, 1 52x24x24 under my bed and i'm building another one under my bed


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## MissHayho (Mar 17, 2007)

ohhhh i need money so i can build my own vivs - im in desperate need of some new ones - mine are so old and boring  all your vivs look fab!


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

you don't need that much, especially if you make the stack to accomodate the size of vivs you're using now.. Wood = cheap, glass = expensive when making vivs... use the glass out of your existing vivs.


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## DragonKeeper (Jun 30, 2007)

my dad cuts the glass for the viv we dont buy it, we just find some old scrap glass or we buy a small bit, very cheap just gotta know how to cut it


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## Gia (Mar 25, 2007)

Only reason I buy mine is beacuse I like the edges all smoothed. If I'm going all out I get them toughened too to save on breakages x


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## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

looking great gia


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## onlymem8 (Jun 26, 2007)

hi ya here is my one i built about 4 weeks ago i worked out the mesurments for the wood and got BnQ to cut it to size, it only took about and hour and half to build


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## Trice (Oct 4, 2006)

How much did it cost to build?


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## reptiles-ink (Nov 4, 2006)

heres some of mine.
all the wood was from b&q, cut it to size myself.
runners and vents from small diy shop.
glass from local glazers.
some have heat cable on the outside of the back panel set in conti routed out to form a chanel and ducted in through vents.


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## Trice (Oct 4, 2006)

Wow... Theres alot


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## onlymem8 (Jun 26, 2007)

the wood cost about £60 but that was due to the size of mine, i ended up with alot of off cuts, if i had made it a tas smaller it would have only cost about £45 and then i managed to get the glass for £20 from collier row glass, and thats not to far from dagenham.

the vents cost about a fiver from BnQ 
the total cost of the viv and all the lighting and heating and other small bits to make it look nice must have come to about £180


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## Vase (Jul 14, 2007)

Here are my first two DIY vivs. Never made anything like that before. 

This one is for Cresties and measures 18"x18"x24".










Then I built this one for a Yemen Chameleon. 24"x24"x36" Still got some work to do on this one but its nearly done.










I get the wood from B&Q and they cut it. Runners and flyscreen from ebay. The wife gets me 6mm acrylic from where she works


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

Ive posted a few of these before, but I love showing off our vivs! : victory: My boyfriend has built and decorated all of these.
Monkey Tails 4x2x6;









Ages the beardie 44"x18"x24". He even made the "rocks" in the cage.









This is the most recent one, a 4x2x2 viv for my baby red tegu. My boyfriend was quite chuffed, as he managed to pretty much finish the construction in a couple of hours (the painting and sealing took a bit longer )









We also have 2 argentine tegu cages, one 6ft and one 8ft, but they havent been revamped yet  His next project is a permanent cage for my new monkey tails, whose current cage I dont have a picture of yet.

You really can save so much money my building cages yourself...providing you dont mess it up and have to buy all the bits again of course. Based on experience, I would shy away from contiboard for any herps requiring high humidity, particularly very active animals like tegus, as the smooth surface can make it very hard to seal properly...and it only takes a little water to get trapped under the laminate to begin to rot the joins.


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## emma1974 (Jul 3, 2007)

my hubby made this is cost about £46.00 thats with glass i was well pleased when he had finished it and my girls love there new home to


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

I love threads like this, its great to see what people can accomplish using such basic bits and pieces rather than spending stacks of money on a setup from a shop  There are some really nice vivs here!


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## ianyork (Sep 11, 2006)

heres my stack










suppose i should finish it one of these days


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## Vase (Jul 14, 2007)

Thats awesome!

Love how the stats are neatly fitted : victory:


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## goose221 (May 6, 2007)

onlymem8 said:


>


where do you come about such an awesome bit of wood??



Vase said:


> Thats awesome!
> 
> Love how the stats are neatly fitted : victory:


ditto. it looks well posh!!


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## carl24bpool (Oct 26, 2006)

Here is my first attempt.

I used to work for my dad who is a joiner, so it was fairly easy to knock up.


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## Joey (Jul 29, 2007)

Wow, those are some great home made vivs!! For people who had no previous experience, did you read up at all on techiques of making it or did you just guess and wham some wood and nails together?

I feel ashamed I just bought mine!


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## greenlikegecko (May 18, 2007)

nice vivs guys, ill get some of mine up soon, i decided to use perspex for the door on my newest viv and instead of a sliding door am going to have a removable door : victory:


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## Michelle666 (Jul 13, 2007)

Hi Goose221

Im Onlymem8s better half (LOL). We got the wood from our local reptile store (cold blooded, in Rainham) its not the cheapest of things to buy. Onlymem8 is currently building our 3 Beardies a bamboo bridge and resting ledge, as they love to lay up high. Its looking brilliant so far. Will post pictures soon.


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## hermanlover (Jul 8, 2007)

i made 3 vivs from an old wardrobe and an otterman that we were going to throw out. they look pretty cool. will have to post pics when i get some.

lee


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## zoe6660 (Jun 3, 2007)

i love that, it would be nice if my dad help me to make one for my water dragon how much did it cost?


carl24bpool said:


> Here is my first attempt.
> 
> I used to work for my dad who is a joiner, so it was fairly easy to knock up.


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## carl24bpool (Oct 26, 2006)

zoe6660 said:


> i love that, it would be nice if my dad help me to make one for my water dragon how much did it cost?


I think the wood, screws, glass and runners came top about £50. 

You can put it together in about 20 minutes.

I'm gonna start building a few me thinks.


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## goose221 (May 6, 2007)

Michelle666 said:


> Hi Goose221
> 
> Im Onlymem8s better half (LOL). We got the wood from our local reptile store (cold blooded, in Rainham) its not the cheapest of things to buy. Onlymem8 is currently building our 3 Beardies a bamboo bridge and resting ledge, as they love to lay up high. Its looking brilliant so far. Will post pictures soon.


its a cracking piece of wood. ill have to see if i can find any near me. look forwrd to seeing the pics


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