# 10ft X 4ft X 4ft build



## beantickler (Dec 6, 2015)

Well... I finally got around to starting my oversized enclosure for my male Red Tegu. The wood I used is from Lowe's and it's garbage. Everything lined up and measured out the same but you can see the twists in the 2x4's. Hopefully the plywood puts it in the right shape.


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## beantickler (Dec 6, 2015)

Forgot the pics...


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## Walter1 (Dec 7, 2015)

Excellent set up for the tegu, and time out spot for kid to boot.


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## beantickler (Dec 9, 2015)

Well... Finally had another day off work so I got a little more done on the enclosure...


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## beantickler (Dec 9, 2015)

I ended up making this a permanent structure in my house. It is bolted to 3 walls and plywood on top... Lol I love it so far!


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## Chris23039 (Dec 12, 2015)

Nice, when do you plan on completing it by?


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## beantickler (Dec 12, 2015)

Chris23039 said:


> Nice, when do you plan on completing it by?


Oh that's anyone's guess... This is a rough time of year for me. I have 2 young kids so my time is taken. I won't be able to work on it for another weekend or 2 as of right now. Hopefully very soon though...


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## Chris23039 (Dec 12, 2015)

Fair enough I'm sure it'll look good when it's done


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## beantickler (Dec 12, 2015)

Chris23039 said:


> Fair enough I'm sure it'll look good when it's done


I will keep up on progress posts...


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## beantickler (Dec 20, 2015)

Here is another little teaser from today's progress... Got 2 costs of primer and paint on it...


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## snibborsirk (Dec 21, 2015)

Sweet enclosure beantickler! How in the hell did you convince your wife to let you make that a gigantic permanent structure in your home????! My wife is terrified of reptiles so I'm lucky to have anything at all inside. I kinda feel guilty though because I'm considering using my wife's fear of reptiles along with her lack of knowledge on them to get a third tegu - hopefully a female blue to produce Chacoan/blue crosses. I'll just tell her the first 2 reproduced and had 1 baby that looks completely different!


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## Walter1 (Dec 22, 2015)

Ahh, blame on the milkman tegu.


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## beantickler (Dec 22, 2015)

snibborsirk said:


> Sweet enclosure beantickler! How in the hell did you convince your wife to let you make that a gigantic permanent structure in your home????! My wife is terrified of reptiles so I'm lucky to have anything at all inside. I kinda feel guilty though because I'm considering using my wife's fear of reptiles along with her lack of knowledge on them to get a third tegu - hopefully a female blue to produce Chacoan/blue crosses. I'll just tell her the first 2 reproduced and had 1 baby that looks completely different!


Lol it didn't take much... I showed her a drawing of it but my measurements originally were only an 8x4x4 and when she came home it was 10.5x4x4... Lol She was a little shocked but i got away with it...


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## beantickler (Jan 9, 2016)

I'm finished with the inside aside from some tile im gonna lay on the floor of it someday... He is in it and happy as far as I can gather. I got a new phone and couldn't figure out how to upload so tomorrow is another day... Sorry for the pictureless teaser... Oh and the outside hasn't been trimmed or painted...


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## beantickler (Jan 9, 2016)

Got it... Here are a few pictures...


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## Chris23039 (Jan 10, 2016)

Looks good, I like the door


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## beantickler (Jan 10, 2016)

Chris23039 said:


> Looks good, I like the door


Thank you. I had to make a door because i wasnt going to be crawling through a sliding window. My wife was taking pictures because of how small I look inside it while I'm cleaning. Those won't make it on here though... lol


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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

I figured I would toss a few new pix up of my boy and his mansion...

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## Walter1 (Nov 28, 2016)

beantickler said:


> I figured I would toss a few new pix up of my boy and his mansion...
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


Bean-I believe that you have created a tegu nirvana! Much to be proud of!


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## beantickler (Nov 28, 2016)

The best feature of his enclosure is the pond by far... He loves to hang out with his little koi friends and watch them swim around... I started with 7 fish and since they have not been eaten Ive added 3 slightly larger koi that he also loves to watch swim with him...


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## solo87 (Nov 30, 2016)

The pond is a great idea!


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## snibborsirk (Nov 30, 2016)

beantickler said:


> I figured I would toss a few new pix up of my boy and his mansion...
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk



Mike - hey man it's Kris that sold you the tegu. He looks great! He growing well and staying friendly for you??? How big is he now? Still hoping to get another one soon but am still too busy at work. Hoping things change after the holidays so I can have time again. Enclosure is still looking awesome. Post some more pics of him if you get a chance.


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## beantickler (Nov 30, 2016)

snibborsirk said:


> Mike - hey man it's Kris that sold you the tegu. He looks great! He growing well and staying friendly for you??? How big is he now? Still hoping to get another one soon but am still too busy at work. Hoping things change after the holidays so I can have time again. Enclosure is still looking awesome. Post some more pics of him if you get a chance.


Lol I wouldn't forget who you are Kris... He is friendly most of the time... haha. Ok so here's the story... About 2 months ago he was out and walking around his room. I was sitting on the floor and he walked right up to me and started nosing my leg... Next thing I knew he had my shin in his mouth... I got a lil scared and jumped up. Well that scared him and he ran back to hos cage... I shut the door and seriously that was the last time I saw him till about 5 days ago... He took a bath towel in with him and took a 2 month nappy... I have had him out every day since but still haven't actually sat down with him. I am thinking he was just being curious because there was no blood and no pain... He just wanted a taste... He did kind of the same thing to my daughter but to her closed fist... Never drawing blood but mouth wide open and around her little fist... lol. I just want to make sure he feels comfortable with me again before I let him crawl all over me again... He gets better looking every day. I still love him so NOOO... You can't have him back... hahahaha. 

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## beantickler (Nov 30, 2016)

I'm happy you all like his home... It is a constant work in progress... Ill get you some new pix too Kris... Just in the past 5 days i swear he grew a few inches longer and wider... He sucks food down like it's about to go out of style... lol

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## Walter1 (Nov 30, 2016)

beantickler said:


> I'm happy you all like his home... It is a constant work in progress... Ill get you some new pix too Kris... Just in the past 5 days i swear he grew a few inches longer and wider... He sucks food down like it's about to go out of style... lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


Bean- he was testing for food. My three live with two adult Redfoot tortoises. They could snap their heads off without hardly trying but they are very gentle. Until my three got to kbow that no part of mexwas food, I would yell NO!! That worked. They are hunters but not imbiciles. They WANT/NEED to learn what works and what doesn't, so you must take the lead. See what I mean?


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## beantickler (Nov 30, 2016)

Walter1 said:


> Bean- he was testing for food. My three live with two adult Redfoot tortoises. They could snap their heads off without hardly trying but they are very gentle. Until my three got to kbow that no part of mexwas food, I would yell NO!! That worked. They are hunters but not imbiciles. They WANT/NEED to learn what works and what doesn't, so you must take the lead. See what I mean?


Ya I have seen it written here multiple times but when it happened I kind of panicked. Now that he's back from his nap i will surely get the chance to teach him right from wrong... Can't wait... lol

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## Walter1 (Nov 30, 2016)

beantickler said:


> Ya I have seen it written here multiple times but when it happened I kind of panicked. Now that he's back from his nap i will surely get the chance to teach him right from wrong... Can't wait... lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


Kick ass, buddy. It'll pay off.


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## beantickler (Dec 4, 2016)

Not sure if this short video works but...

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## beantickler (Dec 4, 2016)

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## Walter1 (Dec 4, 2016)

beantickler said:


> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


I like it because the T seems satisfied.


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## beantickler (Dec 4, 2016)

Walter1 said:


> I like it because the T seems satisfied.


He does the same thing after he fills his belly... crawls up his ramp to bask for the next 30 mins... lol


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## JimB (Apr 3, 2017)

Love the pond! Looks difficult to clean though if the gu does it's business in it???


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## beantickler (Apr 3, 2017)

JimB said:


> Love the pond! Looks difficult to clean though if the gu does it's business in it???


Not as bad as you would think... That pond is around 60 gallons but runs a 2400 gph magdrive pump with filter bags. All ya gotta do is swap out bags weekly and occasionally the pump filter.

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## Walter1 (Apr 3, 2017)

beantickler said:


> Not as bad as you would think... That pond is around 60 gallons but runs a 2400 gph magdrive pump with filter bags. All ya gotta do is swap out bags weekly and occasionally the pump filter.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


Over-engineered. Must be very clean.


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## beantickler (Apr 3, 2017)

Walter1 said:


> Over-engineered. Must be very clean.


Way over engineered... lol Plus My hobby for the past 20 years has been fish... I know a lot about water quality.

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## JimB (Apr 4, 2017)

beantickler said:


> Not as bad as you would think... That pond is around 60 gallons but runs a 2400 gph magdrive pump with filter bags. All ya gotta do is swap out bags weekly and occasionally the pump filter.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk



So frick'n jealous! Ok, you have permission to come our house and set it up! heh heh


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## beantickler (Apr 4, 2017)

JimB said:


> So frick'n jealous! Ok, you have permission to come our house and set it up! heh heh


Funny thing is... I would love to... I enjoy building fun stuff like this. With enough of a budget I can build you a zoo if you want... lol

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## JimB (Apr 4, 2017)

Hey, you could climb Pikes Peak, see Garden of the Gods, and shovel snow today! After you finished of course.


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## Walter1 (Apr 4, 2017)

beantickler said:


> Way over engineered... lol Plus My hobby for the past 20 years has been fish... I know a lot about water quality.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


For many years in the past I kept and bred New World and Lake Malawi cichlids and some catfish!


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## beantickler (Jun 9, 2017)

Walter1 said:


> For many years in the past I kept and bred New World and Lake Malawi cichlids and some catfish!


All I have left is "PIckles" the Fahaka Puffer fish... He is a loner in a 120 gal aquarium cause he ate all of his friends... He is pushing 14 inches now and only about 3 years old... Bright yellow with purple stripes when hes happy... I was a big time SA/CA Cichlid guy. Love Clown Loaches... I had a 120 full of them... Had guys over 15 inches... In 1 night I lost 12 over 10 inches... Thats about 3k worth of Clowns... After that I sold off all my Polypterous and Severums and I was done... So upset for weeks about it. Also got real big into L number Plecos. Had a ton of money wrapped up in them for a long time. Now I like reptiles. Have a Red Nigerian Uromastyx and a baby Sulcata Tort. Obviously have my Tegu also.


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## Guman (Feb 3, 2019)

Beantickler what filter are you running on your pound?


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## beantickler (Feb 3, 2019)

Guman said:


> Beantickler what filter are you running on your pound?


Pond master 2400 gph

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## Guman (Feb 4, 2019)

Bentickler thank you for answering my question. I would like to apologize for asking the specks because I noticed where you gave a clear description.

However, could you please explain why you went with the poundmaster. I have been looking into better filtration for our green iguana. Inside her large enclosure, we have a 50-gallon aquarium and currently run an overhead 60-gallon filter. It is a way to small but was uneducated when we picked the system. No one in our family has kept fish. Nevertheless, I have been trying to learn more to continue to make her system become more self-efficient. Currently, we use a fishnet to scoop large chunks daily.
We have been planning to get a Fluval fx4 canaster filter. Could you please lend any insight into your choice vs. an fx4? If I understand correctly it is recommended for a 250-gallon fish tank running 700 mph. The only math that I could find on the subject of reptiles was for turtles and it recommended 3x's the filtration.


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## beantickler (Feb 4, 2019)

Guman said:


> Bentickler thank you for answering my question. I would like to apologize for asking the specks because I noticed where you gave a clear description.
> 
> However, could you please explain why you went with the poundmaster. I have been looking into better filtration for our green iguana. Inside her large enclosure, we have a 50-gallon aquarium and currently run an overhead 60-gallon filter. It is a way to small but was uneducated when we picked the system. No one in our family has kept fish. Nevertheless, I have been trying to learn more to continue to make her system become more self-efficient. Currently, we use a fishnet to scoop large chunks daily.
> We have been planning to get a Fluval fx4 canaster filter. Could you please lend any insight into your choice vs. an fx4? If I understand correctly it is recommended for a 250-gallon fish tank running 700 mph. The only math that I could find on the subject of reptiles was for turtles and it recommended 3x's the filtration.


What is the 50 gal aquarium inside the enclosure used for? Creating a filter with minimal maintenance is fairly simple if you are able to dedicate some space. A sump system with a constant "drip" and overflow make a permanent fix for ever doing a water change again. The only way to keep the water clean and nitrates under control are to do weekly 50% water changes. Another way is a planted sump that requires a lot more knowledge and dedication to understanding the natural nitrogen cycle to keep plants and fish alive. A drip system will only require filter material changes every few weeks to every month or so...

I chose pond master because they are extremely efficient and reliable. A large reptile will produce 50 times the waste of a fish. Generally you want an aquariums water turn over rate around 10 to 15 times per hour. A 100 gal fish tank would need at minimum a 1000gph pump to turn that water over 10 times in an hour. I run 2400gph pump in a 30 gal pond. No such thing as overkill. 

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## beantickler (Feb 4, 2019)

An fx4 is for a fish tank... with fish in it... A canister filter could work for you but trust me it will require a lot of maintenance to keep it clean. I know how much an adult iguana poops. Almost as much as a tegu. If water quality is your main goal then a canister just wont do. For a reptile... You will need much more surface area than a canister could ever do.

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## AstridTheBlueTegu (Dec 1, 2020)

beantickler said:


> Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


Do you have a crazy good filter on that pond? What are you using? It's really cool! I wanted to do something like this!


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