LARGE vivarium sizes

[MCampbell]

I want a front opening vivarium and I really like Exo-terra cages and Zoo Med Naturalistic terrariums, but so far Exo is the only company making one with a foot print as large as 36" x 18" or 34" x 18". Height on both of these is I think either 18" for one and 24" for the other. My local pet store ordered some in and said the pricing for the smaller of the two was $269 while the larger was $289. Yikes! Considering I was able to get 18" Zoo Med cubes for $75 I find it hard to swallow paying nearly two times as much for something equivalent in size to two of the Zoo Med cages. What I want is something 18" deep to take full advantage of my shelf space and it has to be close to 24" high as well. Length could be variable but at least 30" long. The tank also has to be front opening - I simply can't stand top opening enclosures - they're a major pain in the butt considering how I set my stuff up on shelves. So, does anybody know of a front opening enclosure of these dimensions that won't cost nearly $300? I've found some enclosures with smaller foot prints but fairly tall (Glasscages.com), and some with larger footprints but too much screen (Creative Reptile Habitats), but nothing like what I'm looking for. The other issue is getting something that won't need to be shipped by motor freight. Can such a thing be had or am I simply going to have to build this from the ground up?

[tkromer]

A common 50G is 36x18x18. Lay it on its side and there you have it. Similar to a "vert" but more of a horizontal I suppose. You'll just have to make a front cover for it, but that should be pretty simple.

[MCampbell]

I hadn't really thought of converting an existing tank but it'd be doable. My only problem with that is ventilation and condensation issues on what becomes the "front" of the tank. I suppose condensation could be kept down by using a fan of some sort. I really like the Exo and Zoo Med tanks because of the vent below the front doors. If you build a solid top for those tanks and incorporate a narrow vent you can create enough ventilation to keep front pane condensation to a minimum. My only other issue with tank conversions is in case I wanted UV transmission I won't be able to get it unless I remove the "top" pane of glass and replace it with something UV transmitting. I took apart a 30 gallon tank once to see how easy it would be to convert it to a front opening tank. Needless to say it was rather difficult and though it can be done it almost always results in the damaging (beyond repair) of the plastic frames of the tank - at least the way I did it. Another tank conversion issue is also that I may want to have much more ventilation than would be provided with only having vents in one surface, namely the front. I'm specifically looking to move a group of five Theloderma corticale from an 18" cube to a tank about double that size and a group of 8 Agalychnis callidryas from a temporary plastic tote cage to a larger glass tank. The Agalychnis cage would be the one that would need to have high ventilation, the Theloderma not so much. I suppose I could get a large diamond hole saw and cut holes in the sides of the tank to install vents. However, the 18x18 side dimension is good for the Theloderma but I'd want more height for the Agalychnis.

[tkromer]

50G should be non-tempered so you're definitely fine to put a hole in the sides. Converting the front to a cover somewhat like the Zoo Meds is possible, but would take more effort than most people's conversions. As for getting UV through, definitely a pain to remove a side from a tank, but it can be done w/o damaging the frame. Realistically, you shouldn't need the frame since the tank was designed to hold water and now will only have to hold its own weight. If you don't mind hooking up a couple of fans, you don't need a lot of opening to get a lot of ventilation. The 18x18 side dimension is a standard 50G laying on its side, the 18x24 side dimension could be had by laying a standard 65G on its side. They are slightly less common but I have even seen them at Petco on occassion.

[jdogfunk99]

Since it sounds like price is a concern, have you considered building it yourself out of plywood?

[MCampbell]

As tkromer suggested I'm going to adapt a large aquarium. I ended up choosing a 40 gallon breeder which I'll turn on it's side and make it into a front opening tank. I picked up a tank the other day at Petco and only paid $89 (it was $20 off with a "Pals" card). I'm thinking of posting a construction journal when I get started on it.

[tkromer]

You missed out, they were on sale for 69.99 at petco 3-4 weeks ago, I grabbed one