shelving conversion to caging
Value Shelving - Shelving from BiGDUG UK using model 150C, given the price and their heavy duty build theres no reason these cant make good viv stacks, they do however require significant modification, depending on the species to be housed and the room temp the rack is going in, ie is air heating needed or is the ambient high enough for a local hot spot/pad only.
150C Boltless Shelving, 5 Levels, 1780h x 900w x 600d mm, 200kg UDL, Blue
the walls and sides are a simple addition as there are plenty of fixing points for the shelving positions, they can be any material, chipboard varnished, melamine, foamboard, plywood
given the 600mm width and the material needed u can use a 23x11 but the 17x11 is an easier fit and the design is based around the 17x11
an aluminium sheet fixed over the top and u can put the mat internally as above
you can cut-out for the mats connector block, or route out a space for the block on the shelve below, a chisel will do just as good a job if its sharp (the shelf cut-out is the better design as the mat is completely isolated from the cage with a complete alu sheet)
reptile radiator assembly, 25mm dense craft foam with an aluminum top, this has a specific size, to insulate the radiator from the floor above but also to insulate the mat above from losing its energy thru the floor, so its a combination piece
upper view of complete floor assembly (so the layers top to bottom are as follows alu sheet-heatmat-shelve-25mm foam-alu sheet-rep radiator)
upside down view
one "cage" section
multiples
with glass, simplistic, no substrate barriers but thats a simple addon, i just didnt sketch it
there are much larger shelving units in their ranges, you can also do less cages per shelving unit for higher individual cage height (those unused shelves could become walls or sides). and if you were really ambitious its a cheap base for a single large arboreal unit for a special project. there is also enough room for any lighting u like, from leds to UV.
lastly if you go the metal shelving route
http://www.bigdug.co.uk/shelving-c2/galvanised-shelving-c338 u can make more ambitious designs ie the heat mat could be sandwiched under each floor with the radiator assembly. they have some very large shelving units that can be combined together, so u truly can create considerable sized habitats with these modifications.
rgds
ed
ps the cage height in the design as set out above is @400mm