Climate Controlled Enclosure

[Nelson Fearn]

Hey Everyone, I am new to the Tegu world and havent actually bought my Tegu. I have been planning on it for a while and I wanted to build a good home for it. After about 4 months, it is finally done.

I am open to any ideas that anyone might have that will make it a better environment for the Tegu. I plan on buying a black and white Tegu as soon as I get the final testing with the HVAC on the enclosure done (in about 1 month).

I built this cage so that it would make it easier for my wife to care for it properly while I am out. It is 3'x3'x6' on the interior. The outer shell is .125" thick plywood and the interior shell is Plastic sheeting with a vinyl Forrest background overlay. On the bottom portion of the enclosure I put in about 4 layers of 10 mil plastic sheeting as a moisture barrier for the mulch.The frame is composed of 2x2's and was designed in Inventor before I actually built it. It has a recessed light on the top that has a 100W basking bulb in it and on the other side it has a 18" florescent light that has a UVB ultraviolet bulb in it. I haven't installed the HVAC system yet, i plan on installing it today or tomorrow. The HVAC system has a 60W Peltier plate on the cold side and a 120W heating element on the hot side. It uses a micro servo to control the mixer door and there is also a 200 CFM fan to circulate the air. I figured 200 CFM would recirculate the air every 10 minutes or so. Most of the HVAC parts were 3D printed out of a biodegradable plastic. It is controlled by an Arduino Mega. I have a 3" TFT lcd that will allow the useer to control the temperature and humidity set point.

It features a temperature and humidity sensor on the inside of the enclosure as well as on the outside so that it can regulate the climate inside relative to the outside (if it needs to cool down really quickly it will know when it needs to do that). The sensor will be placed on the cool side of the enclosure to ensure there is a warmer portion under the basking lamp.There is also a photodiode that will be able to tell when the sun is out to provide proper light cycling times. To control the humidity there is a humidifier as well a level sensor, that will let me know when the water level is low. If any of the sensors are out of range or are malfunctioning, it will send me an email and shut itself off to prevent damage to the Tegu.

The front plastic is poly-carbonate .25" thick and the electrical box is laser cut acrylic. I am using a 8 relay, relay shield to control the lights, humidifier, Peltier plate, heating coil and fan. I am also using a 400W computer power supply, to supply all the power to the components.

The code is pretty much done so once I install the HVAC ducting today I will upload the code and begin the trials to make sure it is function properly. I will be using calibrated k type thermometers and a infared probe to verify the temperature on the inside, and a calibrated humidity sensor to measure the humidity. This is to make sure the sensors I put in are all reading the proper temps and humidity levels relative to the actual levels outside.

Again, any tips or criticisms I would love to hear because I want to make sure this Tegu will be taken care of.

Future plans include a self cleaning water bath.

I haven't put any substrate or rocks in so I will post pictures once I do that.I also need to put one more layer of exterior paint on it. It currently only has primer.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZFumPWVbJsp4OLNHYvkxlMNo-PzPzOa_
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1y75UbjF4rSdILcibaA76eGefUMHVVXvB
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rQsQ5emVmvcIwsYRudAfj_6Hpxkv4mR6
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BuSMMLh8N23NEmmwQ0uDMuL2FuMQbdQm
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yDMEffYK4RG-Vpd4B-FSWW3ez0uy7k03
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KJpNywXWaL4U5UsRro0qHCrwADNeYqGh
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1miiB_Z2DXRBW_wYjGCvuR4Fog00yV8ie
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DPI6MVNqh9VYLbi2FVf-KIVV2ZWWV0-Y
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U29XINC75gqskVXnOe9xHLXMU3u4te1z
https://drive.google.com/open?id=13xQME-RYppedrRH2ySOlQeOPJD5KrOPR
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1I09eikQOTIHeEv9VYGdtTezCLmWA4bod


Also, if anyone is interested, I can send the BOM, Drawings, arduino code, wiring diagrams and STL files for 3D printing.

 

[Zyn]

Just be ready to build atleast an8x4x4 they grow fast.

 

[EnjoysWine]

Hey. Impressive setup; you must have spent some time on it. What type of humidifier are you using? Also, I'm curious as to what you mean about a "self cleaning water bath"? Would it have a filtration system? It would have to be able to remove excrement.

I agree with Zyn, that you might want to make the footprint of the enclosure closer to 8' by 4' when the animal gets larger.

Do you vary the light level at all, or just turn off the lights at night? I designed a PID controller for my heatlamps, that dims them to control the temperature. I never had a great solution for humidity though.

You should program the thermostat with multiple setpoints or a variable temperature curve to simulate gradual heating and cooling during dawn and dusk .

 

[EnjoysWine]

BTW, yes, I'd love to see your code and design files.