# home made vivs



## rox (Dec 21, 2008)

anyone ever made one? could you please post up pics and tell us what you used, cost etc .


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## 15060 (Feb 17, 2008)

We are in Essex and make vivs........ we stock runners, vents and handles and everything u need to make a vivarium.

Ur more than welcome to come over and see how ours are made, we are based in Rainham


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## tortz (Nov 25, 2007)

its dead easy to make a viv!

Loads of people on here have made them, including myself.
Its much cheaper than buying a pre-made.

What size viv you planning on making or what do you want to house in it?


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## rox (Dec 21, 2008)

housing all different snakes (research still in action) as possibly increasing to a nice collection for breeding. Just wanted to know what materials where suitable


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## spenann (Jan 2, 2009)

rox said:


> anyone ever made one? could you please post up pics and tell us what you used, cost etc .


i built my own viv please see posts my viv and my viv 2,just setting my temps to finish it will post more pics when totally finished.the dearest thing i had to buy was dimming stat.2 sheets of conti brd b&q £16 ,the glass was an old fish tank i had,couple of old roof slates,and wood found while out walking.found that pets at home and acorn pets are now selling exo terra stuff at reasonable prices,if there is one near you.happy building.
ps,more fun buiding ur own.:2thumb:


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## stuart89 (Mar 16, 2008)

£120 total cost, excuse the crap underneath (which is build with the vivs). its very cheap to make you own viv and I would suggest people do it rather than buy them. Use the right wood and it can look the bomb too : victory:

Wood used: Beech laminated wood.
Doors: Perspex
Aquarium Sealent
Vents I cant quite remember the name, but they are from screwfix, bag of 10 for £5ish. Ill find them if you want them.
Window + door draft tape used for the door overlaps, keeps it 'sealed'
Thats about it I think?


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## rox (Dec 21, 2008)

was it £120 for the three of them? Ah cheers for the screwfix deal thats mega cheap


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## evilchild (Jul 3, 2008)

this is mine it's a 6' x30" x 2' cost about £110 i think all finished. was my first attempt the viv turned out ok the cupboard however, that's a different story. in process of rebuilding it.

very easy to make, just need to get it square when building. also if you are building a large viv, i would reconmend putting a strut in the middle to stop the top bowing. my next one i'm going to have a solid back.


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## stuart89 (Mar 16, 2008)

rox said:


> was it £120 for the three of them? Ah cheers for the screwfix deal thats mega cheap


Yeh it is all one unit. Found the vents too, called Soffit Vents, they do them in brown and white: Circular Soffit Vent Brown Pack of 10 - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys


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## Sprocket (Apr 21, 2008)

stuart89 said:


> Yeh it is all one unit. Found the vents too, called Soffit Vents, they do them in brown and white: Circular Soffit Vent Brown Pack of 10 - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys


That is a exellent price for the vents, good tip !


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## mark.kelso (Sep 24, 2008)

i've just started building my self a viv as well, i bought a pax frame from ikea, the packaging was damaged so the frame cost me £10. you can't buy the laminated wood that cheap anywhere else


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

would love to know more on how shelves are supported in rack . are u just screwin them in ???


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

stuart89 said:


> £120 total cost, excuse the crap underneath (which is build with the vivs). its very cheap to make you own viv and I would suggest people do it rather than buy them. Use the right wood and it can look the bomb too : victory:
> 
> Wood used: Beech laminated wood.
> Doors: Perspex
> ...


 
are the shelves just screwed in ??


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## Bluejen (Jan 15, 2009)

This is the Vivs my partner built for our lot...

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/habitat/243444-building-vivs.html

The whole room will be Vived out in summer:mf_dribble:

*oh yeah screwfix rocks and got perspex online cheap & cut to size!


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## Hana (Jun 18, 2008)

is perspex better than glass???


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## andy2086 (Dec 26, 2008)

Perspex may be cheaper then glass to get cut to size but glass looks much better, doesn't scratch as easy & is tougher. Helps if you have a local glass shop too. It's glass for my vivs every time!


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## devilchildsmum (Jan 7, 2009)

we was told that it was cheaper to buy a viv, than make one, so we forked out £450 quid buying 2 four foot ones :devil:. we then made one using our old wardrobe for the wood, and it only cost us about £50 quid for the glass, runners, vents, sealent etc. 
its definately cheaper making your own than buying one...........


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## bernards mom (Jan 29, 2007)

this is mine. it cost over £100 for the wood, runners and screws, blocks and sealant (cant remember the exact amount now) got the mdf from B&Q (check it though as they cut it wonky and i had to go back and get it re-cut). the glass cost me the most from a local glass shop as i had it strengthened due to having it low and having young kids and they smoothed all the edges. i got the lino as left overs from my brother who is a carpet fitter. 

the good thing about building your own is that you can make it fit any space you want.


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