Need cage info plz

[fsprm2]

Hi guys it's been awhile since my last post because I've been working construction for the past month. Anyways now that I have a steady paycheck and pretty good building skills the time has come to build cages for my 3 iguanas, Vendrall who is 3" shy of 4ft, Dirt who is I think 27", and Tiamat who is about 11" SVL with only about a 7" tail.
So I've already drawn out the blue prints but I need to know some things:
What materials can I use for the walls? I checked out Menard's(think smaller home depot) and I found a couple things that might work:

Poultry fence - like chicken wire(maybe slightly smaller holes) except it's made completely out of plastic, it seems pretty iguana friendly to me so I'm leaning towards this right now.

Half-inch Mesh - I know small mesh is bad but I found some with half-inch holes which might be iguana friendly?

Plastic Mesh - that small metal mesh stuff but with plastic coating it, I don't really like it because its still so small I can see Vendrall's huge claws still getting stuck/broken in it.

Plexiglass-I doubt I'll use it seeing as it's sooo expensive but I wanted to know how thick it needs to be? 1/8 inch sheet is only $90(hah only) and pretty bendy while the 1/4 inch is a whopping $140 a sheet which is really hard on the wallet.

And a final question: What size does an adult Iguana's enclosure have to be? The cages I'm planning to build are 6X3X3 which is plenty big for them now but are they going to grow out of them? I know Tiamat won't with her stumped tail but it'd kinda suck to have to build Dirt and Vendrall new cages in a few years.

Thanks guys and gals.

[Jen]

Due to humidity requirements my cages have solid walls I used sheets of OSB board sealed very well, our one cage is 7X4X3 and the other is 6X5X4. The bigger the cage the happier the Ig. Any wood used in the cage needs to be sealed very well with polyurethane.

[prism_wolf]

6x3x3 - your igs will definitely grow out of them. Each adult ig will need a 6x6x3 as an adult. the 1/2" mesh would be fine, but even I don't use it that small. I think an inch is the smallest I've used. Plexi is costly and with oil prices always seeming to be on the rise it will only get worse. It's the best option...but you can achieve the same humidity levels using shower curtain or drop cloth to cover the mesh sides for a lot less money.

As jfogle said...all wood...including the simple framing...needs to be sealed with at least three coats of polyurethane...water-based, of course. This will keep any oils away from the igs and keep the smells and bacteria from building up from the igs into the wood.

[Camilo]

is 6x5x3 good enough?

[prism_wolf]

Camilo - 6x5x3 is the minimum I ever consider...and it sure helps if the ig comes out for exercise...

[fsprm2]

So far we have 2 of 3 cages completed - Vendrall and Dirt seem to be very happy with the large amount of space! We ended up going with poultry fence and stapling it to 2X2's we ripped from 2X4's. The cages and the fence are holding up really well even for vendrall who is around 5lb's, though I'm unsure how well they'll be doing a year from now, guess I'll see then and let you guys know.

[prism_wolf]

Would love to see what you came up with!! Post some pics when you get the chance!