I was wondering for the furture.
1)How easy is it to make your own viv
2)is it better than buying from a shop.
3)how much is it roughly to make a viv
4)what equipment do you need to make one
Any help with be appreciated.
xsachax

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1. How Easy Is It?
How skilled are you at the following:
Drawing up plans including detailed measurements.
Getting materials cut to the right size at the hardware store.
Using power tools.
Cutting, drilling and fixing along straight lines.
Jumping up and down and screaming when you find out your glass is two millimetres too tall for the space you have.
Going out and buying replacement materials and disassembling what you've so painstakingly made.

2. Is it better than buying from a shop?
Do you enjoy doing the things I've listed above?
Do you enjoy smashing your thumb with a hammer, or heavy pieces of melamine?
Do you get a sense of pride when you realise that it doesn't look quite as swish as the ones in the shop - that this edge is just a little wonky, and that the chipboard's ... chipped... where you didn't do your pilot hole quite where the screw wanted to go?

3. How much is it to make a viv?
Depends on the size.
Depends on the materials.
Depends on the glass.
Depends on the time it takes.
Depends on the phase of the moon.
Can be pretty expensive - sometimes more than it would have cost to buy it. Sometimes less.

4. What Equipment do you need?
Patience.
A straight edge. No, a REALLY straight edge, not that sort of straight one.
Graph Paper.
A bunch of measurements.
A supplier of glass.
A supplier of melamine, vents, runners, screws and all the other consumables.
A screwdriver - save your hands, get a ratcheting one or a power screwdriver. Reverse gear is a necessity.
A jigsaw is nice, but not strictly necessary - to put in vents, you could also use a hole saw or just have your back board cut less tall than your viv and attach wire mesh there instead.
Patience
Plenty of time
And last but not least
A sense of humour when it all goes wrong.

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- Ssthisto





Lizards: 2.1 E. macularius1.2 H. caudicinctus1.0 R. ciliatus0.3 A. fragilis1.1 T. merianae1.0 V. niloticus ittibittiusColubrids: 5.8.12 P. guttattus1.0 P. guttatus X E. climacophora1.1 P. o. rossalini1.0 P. o. lindheimeri0.1 E. anomala0.1 C. radiatus1.2 Lamprophis spp1.0 L. g. nigritus0.1 L. g. californiae1.0 H. n. nasicus1.0 P. m. melanoleucusBoids: 1.1 E. c. maurus 0.1 E. conicus12.14.4 P. regius1.1 A. maculosa
We HAD a three-bedroom house... Current lodgers: 1.0 E. c. maurus, 0.1 P. regius

Been there, done that and drilled through my finger although i didn't smash heavy pieces of melamine on my thumb, it landed on my head.





4. What Equipment do you need?
Not that important, i've no patience at all and done a couple

Nah, B&Q will cut the wood for you

where's the fun in that?

definately!!

Although i'm shocked that you missed the important materials out.
1 - alcohol! if you're anything like me you'll need plenty of it when you're attempting DIY
2 - a mobile phone - see point 3
3 - takeaway menus! when its all gone wrong, you've started again, finished it and then realised that i'd have been easier to put the lighting in and attaching the background to the back before attaching the back the the viv..... you won't want to bother cooking.

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im not good at making plans because i find them confusing, i find it easier just to make things from memory and i usually cut things to the right size and for the rest if i struggle ive got my step dad whos a builder to help me if all else fails. and yeh im pretty patient lol i work with kids lol.
xsachax

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I electrocuted myself when a piece of hair drifted into the works of the big power drill - and that SOUNDED and FELT like a heavy piece of melamine hitting me on the head.

I have also:

Cut myself on a hammer (you figure it out)
Used a Dremel wire polishing brush to comb my hair (inadvertently)
Built myself INSIDE of a viv
Donated blood, sweat and tears to every viv I've ever made.

First, you trust the guy at B&Q to do a straight cut? Lemme show you some of my "straight" B&Q cuts!

Second, it's not just to cut the wood you need a straight edge for. It's also for aligning your vents, making sure you've got the wood set where you need it and for smacking people around with when they start giving unwanted advice about how THEY could do it better... while not ACTUALLY helping you do it better!

Eh, I hurt myself often enough when I'm working with tools, I don't need to add alcohol-clumsy to it! As for the phone and the takeaway menus, those are in the house and standard-issue equipment ANYWAY since we have that sort of day when it comes to vacuuming, washing dishes and cleaning out cages, let alone building new ones!

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- Ssthisto





Lizards: 2.1 E. macularius1.2 H. caudicinctus1.0 R. ciliatus0.3 A. fragilis1.1 T. merianae1.0 V. niloticus ittibittiusColubrids: 5.8.12 P. guttattus1.0 P. guttatus X E. climacophora1.1 P. o. rossalini1.0 P. o. lindheimeri0.1 E. anomala0.1 C. radiatus1.2 Lamprophis spp1.0 L. g. nigritus0.1 L. g. californiae1.0 H. n. nasicus1.0 P. m. melanoleucusBoids: 1.1 E. c. maurus 0.1 E. conicus12.14.4 P. regius1.1 A. maculosa
We HAD a three-bedroom house... Current lodgers: 1.0 E. c. maurus, 0.1 P. regius

take your time
measure everythimg twice before cutting or drilling
take it step by step
and you should be fine.

im lucky enough to work for a building suppliers so i get all my stuff from work and if i get any measurments wrong i just take the piece back to the saw shop and re cut it or cut a new one
staff discount is a wonderful thing

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royalsmore than a few