The Iguana Den - Iguana Housing

PVC Cage 3

PVC Sun Cage
© 2002 Meredith Martin
PVC Sun Cage

Please feel free to distribute these plans any which way providing © information is included.

Parts List

4 – 6’ Long 1” diameter PVC pipes
4 – 4’ Long 1” diameter PVC pipes
4 – 5’ Long 1” diameter PVC pipes
8 – Schedule 40 Outlet Elbow PVC connecters 1 x 1 x ½
8 – Schedule 40 Male Adapters (PVC) ½ x ¾
8 Schedule 40 PVC 1” Couplings
3 – 40” x 25’ green plastic Multi-Net garden fencing
1 – 6’ x 12” plastic coated pantry shelving
1 – 24” plastic coated hanger shelf
1 – 1000 ct bag of plastic self-locking cable ties, 7” length – I used the white ones because they were a few $$ cheaper, but was later told that the black ones hold up better in the sun and weather outside, so next time I would probably spend the extra $2 or so for the longer lasting ones!
2 – 6 count packages of Velcro cable ties (I would have bought more since these weren't enough to really secure all the gaps in the door area, but hubby got me extra from work. I’d suggest at least 4 packages total.
1 – ball Masons Twine (rot and mildew resistant!)
A roll of indoor-outdoor carpeting.

Assembly

Assemble the PVC corners – screw the male adapters into the top arm of the elbow connectors. Then connect the couplings to the top of the male adapter. (This sounds confusing because it is! It took me 3 trips to Home Depot to figure out all the parts I needed to make it work. Basically you’re making a 3-way connector for the corners. The only 3-ways the Depot had were 1’ connectors on the 2 ends forming the ‘V’ and the connector coming out the top was a ½” female connector. So I had to buy a male adapter to screw into the female end, but they only had ½” to ¾” adapters, thus I ALSO needed to get the 1” couplings to bump the ¾” adapter up to 1” so the pipes would fit in! If you can find 3-way connectors that are 1” all the way around you won’t have this hassle!)
Assemble the top and bottom frames: use the 5’ and 4’ pipes and your 3-way connectors to make the square frames.
On the bottom frame, attach the 6’ upright pipes to the couplings on the corner adapters.
Have a friend help you lift the top frame up and attach it to the 6’ uprights. This completes the frame! You can use PVC cement to permanently fuse the joints, or just leave them plain so the cage can be disassembled.
Next, wrap the plastic garden mesh around the frame. Use the plastic cable ties to attach it to the PVC frame. Start at the PVC pipe on one side of the ‘door’ end (I used one of the 5x4 sides as a door area) and attach all the way around until you get back to the door side. Leave the last end unattached so you can fold it back and use as a door.
The garden mesh will only go up halfway on the sides, so you will need to repeat the last step to cover all of the sides.
Drape the garden mesh over the top (you will need 2 pieces again) and attach to the frame.
Do the same for the bottom.
I was a moron and went around connecting tons of cable ties to each piece as I did it. That meant when I attached the top and bottom pieces, I ended up doubling up cable ties along the top and bottom edges of the frame. If I’d thought it out, I would have just attached each piece with 4 or 5 ties just to hold it in place, and then went back and added all the extra cable ties once I had all the mesh in place.
For the ‘door’ section of mesh, I used cable ties about ¾ of the way across the top and bottom, and left the last ¼ unattached. For this section I used the Velcro cable ties so I can get in and out and still have it secure.
Because you used 2 sheets of garden mesh on the cage, you will need to ‘sew’ the pieces together. Use the masons twine to weave through the cells in the mesh and attach the sheets together. Don’t forget the top and bottom!
Your cage is now finished! Now all we need to do is add the basking shelf and ramp.
I used cable ties to attach the hanger shelf up near the top and side of the cage. I attached it both to the PVC pipes wherever I could reach, and to the garden mesh. I looped several cable ties together to make a ‘chain’ so I could reach more of the pipes.
Then I slotted the ends of the 6’ shelf into the bottom of the hanger shelf and used cable ties to attach it both to the hanger shelf and the sides of the cage.
I went back after finishing the cage and added a 2 foot tall strip of indoor-outdoor carpeting around the bottom edges of the walls. Mo was rubbing her nose raw trying to get out at the bottom, and the strip of carpeting prevents that, as well as providing her some privacy and shade down at the bottom. I just poked holes in the carpet and attached it to the mesh with cable ties.
Presto, we’re done!

If I could do it over again:

I’d use the black cable ties

I’d attach all the mesh temporarily and then go back and make permanent connections after it was all set up

I’d get some PVC ‘T’ connectors and some extra pipes and add side braces to the cage – it’s pretty sturdy as it is, but if I had more bracers I could add more logs and stuff!

It's important to keep in mind that this cage is designed for either outdoor sunning, or for a dedicated reptile room where it is easier to control heat and humidity. If you are planning to have this as an indoor cage, it is best to enclose the cage to keep in heat and humidity. Plywood, plexiglass, or even cheap shower curtains can be used to modify this cage for use in a normal household setting.

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