I just finished drawing up the scale plans for my ig enclosure! I plan to use tempered glass for the walls, and plastic covered screening for the door to provide some airflow. Tell me what you think!
Looks good to me. What are you planning to use for framing? I’m using metal corner guars for my enclosure. Jadelizard
yep looks good. i would have a bit less glass and a bit more wood, though. what is the width of the wood frame? like, 3"? i'd make it 4" or 5" wide. also, you're gonna need at least 8 wheels/legs. that thing is so long that if you put wheels/legs only at the very ends, it's gonna bow in the middle.
I plan to use 2x4's for framing, and I probably should add two more in the middle just to be safe. I wont be really moving it around much, so those are just there to make moving it arouind easier. This thing is going to be heavy! I am planning to paint the frame black, and seal it of course. Also, I was just thinking of changing it so that the sides are doors. Do any of you have a suggestion as to that? Thanx in advance
it doesn't matter what he puts under it, if he only puts them under the ends it WILL bend/bow in the middle. he'll need something on all four corners AND at least one on each side of the center (a total of 6). i would recommend 8, though (one every 2 feet along the front and along the back). 2x4's sound good. 4" would be an okay frame width. as for side doors - i do like the idea, but keep in mind that it will be harder to reach the back middle of the cage for cleaning and such. can you fit through a 2' opening and walk through the tank to the middle, turn around, and come back out the 2' door?
I can do that fairly easily. I am a stick ;-) I think it will be easier to keep the design as I had it. I think I will use good old fashioned glass for the bottom two panels in the front, so that he doesnt scratch them, and then use plexi for the top two rows and the sides. I will use plastic-covered hardware cloth for the screen in the door, and either chicken wire or something else you guys (and girls) would suggest. Can you recommend a type of bulb to use as a basking light, and around four other bulbs that will light the rest of the enclosure during the day and night (nighttime bulbs, of course) Also, has anyone here used a portable baseboard heater (like the ones in older houses) to raise the ambient heat in an enclosure during the colder months. It gets cold at night where I will want to keep him/her and want to keep it as comfortable as possible. Thanks!
i wouldn't use a baseboard heater - just get an under-tank heater. don't let it touch the wooden bottom, but it would work fine. another great way to heat it night and day is by using the red or purple nocturnal/night heat bulbs 24 hours a day. for the basking light, do you mean the uv or the heat bulb? any incandescent (pear-shaped) blue or white day heat bulb would be fine. as for uv, you'll need a fluorescent tube-type uv bulb about a foot away from the main basking area. these things lose the ability to put out the proper wavelengths pretty rapidly, so they must be changed at least every 6 months. the ReptiSun 5.0 or 10.0 (NOT 2.0) or the Iguana Light 5.0 or ReptiGlo 5.0 or 8.0 or Desert 7.0 are all fantastic.
Alright. I've been doing some research and I estimate that it will take about 700 dollars to build the enclosure, and probably an extra 2-300 to kit it out. I will probably just a ReptiSun 5.0 for the UV because they sell them five at a time at my local pet store. Does anyone have a picture of how they set up their ig on the inside of the enclosure? I just want some Ideas as to set it up.
here's a couple pics of xena's current cage. you can kinda see the shelving and water tub and fake vines and such. Xena Cage 1 Xena Cage 2 Xena Cage 3 Xena Cage 4
