# Wooden Vivs v's Glass Vivs, whats best



## acromyrmexbob (Oct 3, 2010)

I am interested in hearing some opinions regarding what is the better housing unit for keeping reptiles, amphibians and / or inverts at home. 
By wooden, I mean those constructed primarily from wood or a wood derivative such as MDF, chip board etc. By glass vivs I am referring to those receptacles made entirely from glass. 
I have some thoughts on this. I think, in general, there are points in favour and in criticism of both types. 
Wooden vivs are cheaper (normally), are easier to make via a DIY project, the materials are more readily available and the skills to work with wood are more widespread. Without the ability to source and cut sheet glass, wooden vivariums can be modified and designs can be more ambitious. They are easier to move around and can be dismantled entirely (if the joins are not glued). Wooden vivs can be coloured in an endless variety of finished and they can be refinished to freshen them up and changed to match a new decor. Wood is less likely to break than glass and so a wooden vivarium can be more roughly handled, does not necessarily need to be placed on a polystyrene sheet for support and will stand up to transportation from one address to another during a house move, in general, better than one made from glass. It is easier to drill holes and retrofit access points in a wooden vivarium without specialised equipment. Finally wooden vivs are better at retaining heat and maintaining a stable temperature than are glass ones.
On the down side, wooden vivariums made from any wood derived material other than solid wood are prone to water absorption over time, regardless of how well they are sealed. Chip board or composite boards are singularly useless as a material to be exposed to a high humidity. And yet many of the commercially available vivariums, especially the flatpack models that are widely sold, are made from such materials as veneered chipboard. For years Aquarium Cabinets were made from this stuff and became very popular. After a couple of years, with water spillage etc, they just fell apart. Veneered chipboard has the unfortunate property of looking amazing when new and looking utterly horrible when a few years have passed (in the case of commercially sold furniture, when the guarantee has expired). Another poor characteristic of wooden vivariums is that they cannot be properly sterilized if there has been an outbreak of disease or it is being cleaned to remove mites and their eggs. Virtually all wooden vivariums have small to large cracks along the joins which harbour bacteria, mite eggs and other undesirable unwanted guests. If you are able to penetrate these joins with a liquid disinfectant then you are also accessing the inside of a join with a liquid that will swell the wood. Its a lose, lose situation. Wooden vivs are rarely treated with a flame retardant and so, in close proximity to many items of electrical equipment they could theoretically help start a fire.
Glass vivs look very new and modern, even when they are old. They are sleek, fit with any colour scheme and look like the cats nads! A professionally made glass vivarium is, potentially, the centre piece of any room. They can be sterilised and will not react to water. They are the unit of choice for amphibians and will hold water to allow fully amphibious inmates to be kept. Water spills do not affect them. Modern, toughened glass units are fairly durable and will tolerate a degree of rough treatment. They generally come prefitted with holes and access points for all of the commonly used appliances and bits and pieces. 
On the negative side, glass vivs are more breakable than wooden ones, they are normally not adaptable to different configurations of equipment and they are more difficult to repair when damaged. They do not retain heat as well as wooden vivariums and can crack if inappropriate undertank heating or spotlights are used. Many of the other negatives are covered in the wooden vivarium section.
I think, in conclusion, that each type has a use. In commercial displays wooden vivariums are not used as much as glass. In retail settings, glass looks better and makes the inhabitant look more appealing. Most new installs are metal and glass. For home, DIY projects, wooden vivariums will always hold sway but my advice is to use plywood, not composite boards. Lacquer them and them relacquer them. 
There are other materials used in the construction of vivariums and each of them have pros and cons but I think, in years to come, both wood and glass may struggle in the face of better performing alternatives such as plastics and fibreglass.
Just wanted to throw this out and see what you thought.


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

Personally i make all my vivs in a hybrid format now, wooden vivs lined with glass. The best of both worlds! Strong, waterproof, insulative and fit for purpose. Downsides are they're not easily modifiable, and the cost, getting 70mm holes cut is costly, and i'm effectively doubling my materials cost. On the other hand, my vivs should last for many years, despite the high humidity present.

Dave


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## ayrton (Apr 22, 2012)

I use fish tanks for anfibians and wooden for snakes as they look good and are easy to adapt I like plastic but they arnt as easy to change it screw things to I was going to build my viv from plastic and aluminium but it would not have been strong enough or as easy to screw things to


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