Cagemakers Discussion

[liquidleaf]

When choosing sheet glass to use for your cage doors or aquariums, please don't buy plain "float" window glass. This glass is untreated in any way, and very fragile. It works great for picture frames, but isn't suitable for an animal enclosure.

Why? What's the difference? What should you ask for instead?

When struck, it's very easy to shatter window glass. You might think "well, the windows in my house aren't that fragile" - that's true, because most modern windows have two or more layers of glass with a vacuum or inert gas in between them. That makes them more sturdy than a single layer of glass alone.

Also - when twisted or chipped on the edge, window glass can also shatter. This especially matters when any kind of load or pressure is applied to it (as in water in an aquarium, or a snake pushing against its cage walls).

Two better options for glass in an enclosure are tempered glass and laminated safety glass. You can purchase these types of glass cut to exactly the size you need at any glass shop (they cannot be cut easily without special tools by a do-it-yourselfer, so it might not be possible for you to "trim" the glass to size if you make a measuring mistake).

Tempered Glass - This is glass that has been heat-treated to increase the "surface tension" of the glass. This does a few things - makes the glass much stronger and able to absorb impacts. Also, if the glass is distorted to the point that it must break, it breaks into cubelike chunks instead of long, daggerlike shards (like normal window glass will). These chunks are typically less dangerous because they are square-shaped and small, and though they can still cut, the risk of injury is much less. Tempered glass can also withstand higher heat differences than normal window glass can.

Laminated Safety Glass - Another step up is laminated glass. Just like the windshield in a car, this glass is really two thin sheets of glass with a thin piece of clear adhesive sheet sandwiched in the middle. Laminated glass is more suited to cage doors, I'm not sure how well it will take the pressure load of an aquarium use. If laminated safety glass is impacted to the point that it breaks, glass does not fall away. Instead, the pieces of broken glass stay stuck to the sheet of adhesive, reducing the risk of injury.

Just something to keep in mind when choosing glass for your cage applications.