# Enclosure Question..I know, More Enclosure Questions :|



## CaterpillarGiraffe (May 15, 2009)

Okay, so I'm going to start building a 5x2x2 for my 19 inch long Tegu.
He has MBD, so I'm not worrying about him outgrowing this enclosure anytime soon, he's pretty stunted.

I know most people have the bulbs inserted inside the enclosure.

I was wondering if it would work if I cut circular holes in the top of the enclosure to the size of a dome lamp. And then put the dome lamps on top of the enclosure.

This would seal off humidity since the holes would only be the size of the dome, no bigger.

I'm just not good electrically and this is the only thing I can think of that I'd be able to do myself. I'm 17 and I have my 2 friends helping me to make this enclosure


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## DaveDragon (May 15, 2009)

How old is the Tegu? Got any pics?

Are you using a Mercury Vapor bulb for UVB? I'd suggest putting a piece of 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth (metal screen) between the bulb and cage, just in case he decides to jump at the light, they be won't burn himself. Also screw the dome to the top of the enclosure (2 screws are fine) so it doesn't get bumped out of place and possibly start a fire.

I don't work about the humidity of the enclosure as much as the substrate being damp, where they spend the most time.


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (May 15, 2009)

I have no idea on the age of him. The horrible people I purchased him from said "8 months". He's really small, but thats because of the MBD that he got under their care. And if he was 8 months when I got him, that makes him 14 months now.

I have a 100w Powersun right now and a Ceramic Heatwave Emitter.

Yeah, I was going to put mesh under the lamp, I just wasn't sure if people agreed with mounting domes on a 5 foot enclosure.

Thanks!

And I have pics up on here somewhere 

Here's another one, though:


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## DaveDragon (May 15, 2009)

You're right, a dome isn't going to light up the enclosure. We use 4ft ReptiSun 10.0's in Home Depot shop light fixtures and 90W halogen bulbs from HD also. That lights up the whole 7ft x 3ft enclosure, and spreads out the UVB. I've read adult don't need anywhere near the amount of UVB since they're done growing.


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (May 15, 2009)

Hm..

I heard what some people do is put a Powersun on the basking spot side and a reptisun tube light in the cool end just to be safe. I know that UVB can be overdone, but I've heard a lot of people on here say this is what they've done.

Powersuns and Mega Rays are one of the best bulbs for Tegus andt they don't come in tubes, so how do they manage to light entire 8 foot enclosures?

With the dome, I figured perhaps it COULD suffice since there is only enough opening for the bulb to shine in and not escape through the top of the enclosure if the dome is screwed down.


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (May 15, 2009)

Haha, bare with me I drew this on Microsoft Pain in 5 second 






Okay, so what I was thinking was if the domes are only open at the bottom where light is shining through, would the light now spread out and shine at all angles?

If not, getting strip lights are no problem, I can always make openings for those aswell


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## DaveDragon (May 15, 2009)

CaterpillarGiraffe said:


> Okay, so what I was thinking was if the domes are only open at the bottom where light is shining through, would the light now spread out and shine at all angles?
> 
> If not, getting strip lights are no problem, I can always make openings for those aswell


No, it will be fairly dark on the other side.


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (May 15, 2009)

Alright, thanks I'll guess I'll get Reptisun 10.0 unless my friends know how to bulb the lights inside the enclosure.

My Dad knows how to do ALL of this, but he's really ill right now.


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## Mvskokee (May 15, 2009)

when i used to have my tegu i used a powersun to a reptisun 10.0 bulb. never had any mbd problem or anything


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## omgtaylorg (May 15, 2009)

On my 4x2x2 and my 8x4x3 I do the powersuns on the basking side, and the reptisun/reptiglow tube lights for the cool side, 18" and 24" varying on cage size...I would highly suggest it just incase your tegu hangs out on the cool side alot so it can always be getting the proper UVB. Hope this helps.


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## Red Earth Exotics (May 15, 2009)

here, check this out. this is how i did my retic cages and how i'm probably going to do my tegu cage lighting.....

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## ReptileFanatic! (May 19, 2009)

Its really simple. Buy some standard bulb fittings.. make sure they're Screw ones.. buy 2 of them

Screw these into the roof of the vivarium.. and make a hole at the back to plug the cable through. ( it would be easier if you cut a 'U' shape at the top of the viv at the back wall, and put the wires through there BEFORE putting the roof on.. ( i found this saved me time) use 2 of them.. your powersun, and your ceramic. the way im planning to do it is, to find out what the Solar Glo temps are ( say 100F) in the day then at night im gonna use a 150W ceramic heat wave emitter on a pulse thermostat. Its really simple to set the light fittings in the viv ( id buy a guard for your lights so he doesn't get burn't)
your tegu is really stunted, mines only a few months old and is about 20 inch snout to tail. 
Hope this helps.


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (May 19, 2009)

What does my Tegu being stunted have to do with this :S

He had MBD. I've said it in all my videos of him that you've watched.


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