enclosure questions

[Rhetoric]

I'm going to build my first enclosure.. I've lucked out and found my current ones on CL or from a friend. I've never built anything before lol. I'm wondering if it would be better to make it out of 2x4s or 2x6s instead of plywood, I'm not sure what I'll be needing to house in the future or if I'm ever going to stack anything on top if it. I want to make sure I do it right the first time and that it will be something that lasts. If I did plywood I would no doubt make a frame with 2x4s or 2x6s.

Guru's enclosure is made from 2x6s (i think), here are a few pics when I first bought it last year. This things a beast, its suuuuuper sturdy.

The other enclosure is plywood with 2x4s for a frame. Not my pics but the same enclosure.

 

[james.w]

3/4" plywood framed with 2x4's will be plenty strong. Search for Toby_H's enclosure on here, he stacks a large fish tank on top of it.

 

[Rhetoric]

Ok cool. I've seen his but I didn't think about it when I had posted this. Thanks!


Here's another, a lot of you are drylok fans. The second enclosure has drylok. I'm not entirely sure what brand the first enclosure was sealed with but someone told me it was probably a marine sealant. It's at least 8 yrs old and has no sign of rotting or warping. It holds humidity really well, without damage.

 

[james.w]

I need to figure out how to test my enclosure to see how much weight I can stack on top of it. I want to build another enclosure the same size for my Savannah and stack them.

 

[jdpFL]

Is that a BED on top of that enclosure? Wow....how cool!!

 

[Rhetoric]

Yeah the kid I got them from had a smaller room so he made an 8x5' and put his mattress on top of it

 

[herpocrite27]

I used 2x2 poplar for an internal frame on mine and its super strong. Poplar, oak, or ash is much stronger and harder than Pine, so you will not need as much. I have stood in the center of it and no movement at all. It you use 1/2 inch birch or oak ply it will be plenty sturdy. I currently have a ball python cage on top of this cage at the moment. This cage has survived the move from Michigan to Iowa and is about to move into my new house in a couple weeks. I knew I would be moving allot, so I built mine in two pieces so that I could get it through any door or 90 degree stairway. When you are building your cage, make sure you glue all your joints with liquid nails or a good water resistant glue, then screw with appropriate type of screws. Glued Joints are much much stronger than ones with just screws.
As far as sealing the cage there is a product made by PolyGem. Its a two part reptile safe epoxy "Its used by zoo's and museums". I made an oak Ball bython cage sealed with this stuff and my tegu cage. It holds up great to water and long nails. Plus it allows you to use cabinet grade plywood and show off the beauty of the wood.
Just some options, take what you want and leave what you dont. Hope it helps and good luck with your cage, I cant wait to see some pics.

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Pics of my cage along with the plans and dimensions.

 

[james.w]

I partially based my cage off of yours. If you don't mind what was the cost of the materials to build it the way you did? I like the idea, but think it would be rather expensive. I used pine 2x2's and 2x4's along with 3/4" plywood ( not furniture grade) and the cost was very reasonable. I didn't glue the joints either, just screwed and caulked them.

 

[Rhetoric]

Thats awesome. I've seen that first pic before and was wanting to do something similar but wasn't sure how you were able to get the two halves to stay together so well. Definitely something I will be considering. How does it open? Does the glass slide up or something?

 

[Rhetoric]

Soooooo I think I'm going to do a 12'x4'x3' to house 2 males. I'm going to take herpocrites idea and make it in a few sections for easy transport. I had thought about doing "3" 4x4s but after talking to my dad (who's helping me put it together because of my shoulder) he suggested doing "4" 3x4 sections so they would fit in the durango if need be.

If need be, the enclosure can always be split into "2" 6x4x3s. I know the 6' length is short, I prefer 8'. That being said, they are small males and I do have the tegus out for a decent amount of time frequently. I'm also considering doing some kind of outdoor pen for next summer but we'll get to that another day lol.

I'm thinking I'll use Hem-Fir 2x4s for the frame and Oak plywood (8x4) for the rest of it. I would do one light fixture per section, more than likely only one MVB and the other 3 fixtures will have regular bulbs. If it needs more heat somewhere I'd add a low wattage heat bulb or a CHE. I may or may not do tube style UVB bulbs on the end opposite of the MVB.

I am not sure how many vents to do, I was thinking one per section but I'm not sure if that would cause issues with heat or humidity.

I haven't figured out the doors completely, I want at least 2 that open downward (if that makes sense) in the center 2 sections. More than likely I will have 4 opening doors to make it easier to get into the enclosure for maintenance.

Just the wood would be ~$490 for anyone whos wondering. Then there are other costs like light fixtures, finish, drylok, screws, wiring, extension cords, glass, dirt, etc. I'm guessing it'll be $700-800 when its completely ready to be moved into.

Here is kind of a rough idea I made in "paint" so its pretty unporportionate.. After I get off work I'll put it together in sketchup. For whatever reason the smaller pic in the thread cuts off the bottom of where the windows/doors would be but if you click it its all there.

 

[xocrieox]

What are you gonna use to seal the sections together? i really like the take down design of the cage.

 

[james.w]

I would probably put a MVB in both ends, so they can each have a basking spot. They can use the middle as a cool end and the temps will increase outward from there. As far as vents, I don't have any on my 8x3x3.5, so if you put any I would make them with something that is adjustable from fully open to fully closed.

 

[Rhetoric]

I thought about mvb on both ends, do you think 2 - 125w would get too hot?

 

[herpocrite27]

I used 1 full sheet of 1/4" birch ply for the back pannel and i think i used 3 sheets of 1/2" pirchply for the rest. There is actually a suprising amount of poplar in that internal frame. I ended up glueing two 3/4" boards together and once they set up, i ripped them with a table saw so I got 1.5x1.5" strips. I cant remember exactly but i think i probably spent 650 on wood, screws and the 2 part epoxy.
I used a door seal that has one sticky side to keep any debris and heat from excaping out the center. I actually anticipated having to use smapp C-clamps to hold the cage together. But after putting 3 bags of mulch in there, i found out the lizard could never pull them apart, especially since the wheels are on carpet.
The windows on the front slide straight up and out. I did this so they wont be in the way while cleaning.
If you are designing a cage that can be moved consider your door ways. Most door ways are around 28 inches, so I would make your cage no larger than 28"tall. That way you can tip it sideways and fit it through the doorway. Good luck and if you have any more question I will be happy to help.

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Soooooo I think I'm going to do a 12'x4'x3' to house 2 males. I'm going to take herpocrites idea and make it in a few sections for easy transport. I had thought about doing "3" 4x4s but after talking to my dad (who's helping me put it together because of my shoulder) he suggested doing "4" 3x4 sections so they would fit in the durango if need be.

If you are designing a cage that can be moved consider your door ways. Most door ways are around 28 inches, so I would make your cage no larger than 28"tall. That way you can tip it sideways and fit it through the doorway. Good luck and if you have any more question I will be happy to help.

 

[james.w]

I thought about mvb on both ends, do you think 2 - 125w would get too hot?

I don't think it would on a 12' cage.

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If you are designing a cage that can be moved consider your door ways. Most door ways are around 28 inches, so I would make your cage no larger than 28"tall. That way you can tip it sideways and fit it through the doorway. Good luck and if you have any more question I will be happy to help.

How deep is your substrate? I originally had my cage at 28" height for this reason, but as I started adding lights and substrate, I realized it wasn't tall enough and added about 9". It is definitely a pain to move, it is one piece though, not 2 like yours. I had to completely remove my sliding glass door to get it in the house.

 

[Rhetoric]

Right now they're in the garage. If we moved I'd plan on keeping them in a garage, its easier to clean the enclosures and I don't need to worry about any messes. I did think about that though. When I got the 8x5 the kid had to completely take it apart to fit through his bedroom door lol. For me a little taller is better, Guru and Rango like to stand on their hind legs and knock everything around thats within reach. I had to remove things in Gurus enclosure and re-screw others so he wouldn't hurt himself. The bulbs will have some kind of wiring around them but I'd hate for them to stand up against something and cause damage to themselves.

The sliding (up) glass might work better. I'm pretty little (5ft) so when I clean enclosures I completely climb into them hahaha. It's a lot easier for me to climb in than to try and reach corners. Did you use real glass? I think I'm going to go for tempered glass, the plexiglass on the 8x5 is really bad, its super scratched and warped from being moved and tegus pushing on it.

Have you used drylok before? How much of a difference is there between that and the polygem? I'm not too worried about the inside maintaining the oak look, I was planning to just use some kind of finish on the outside of it. There are also marine sealants, I think that might have been what Gurus enclosure was sealed with. I think those are like twice the price of drylok though. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be cutting corners but if its more of a visual preference I would probably go for something a little less expensive.

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If you are designing a cage that can be moved consider your door ways. Most door ways are around 28 inches, so I would make your cage no larger than 28"tall. That way you can tip it sideways and fit it through the doorway. Good luck and if you have any more question I will be happy to help.

How deep is your substrate? I originally had my cage at 28" height for this reason, but as I started adding lights and substrate, I realized it wasn't tall enough and added about 9". It is definitely a pain to move, it is one piece though, not 2 like yours. I had to completely remove my sliding glass door to get it in the house.

I thought the same thing, once I get the rocks and substrate in there I want there to be a comfortable distance between where the tegus will be and where the lights are.

 

[herpocrite27]

I'm sorry my cage is actually 30 inches wide, I dont know why I had 28 in my head.
So, if your cage is 30 inches high that gives you 29 inches on the inside. If you have 8 inches of mulch there, that still leaves 21 inches. My tegu is not a gymnist nor does he practice his high jump for the lizard olympics. PowerSun says the lizard needs to be a MINIMUM of 12 inches from the bulb to get right amount of UVB.
I do only have about 4 inches of mulch in the immediate basking area. I do this because I have a mountain of large rocks there for him to bask on. He does go in a cave like space under the rocks but never burrys himself there. He sleeps on the cold side when its time to burry himself at night. I have 9 inches of mulch everywhere else in the cage. On the cool side I have large cork bark chunks he also likes to hide under.
I understand you wanting them to have more headroom but aslong as he is the corect distance from the light and has tons of mulch to dig in 90 percent of the 7 ft long cage, you will have a happy lizard. And if you keep it no more than 30" hight you can fit it in your door.
I hope some of you found this helpfull


How deep is your substrate? I originally had my cage at 28" height for this reason, but as I started adding lights and substrate, I realized it wasn't tall enough and added about 9". It is definitely a pain to move, it is one piece though, not 2 like yours. I had to completely remove my sliding glass door to get it in the house.

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I thought the same thing, once I get the rocks and substrate in there I want there to be a comfortable distance between where the tegus will be and where the lights are.
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[Lance]

Just a thought to go along with your design, which is very nice to take down and move it. I am in agreement the 125w should be fine for both ends. I am just now adding a 50w pad heater to the bottom side of my dig box so they have some additional heat with winter coming, and I dont want them to go into hibernation. This will also help keep the humidity up in the overall cage, because I keep there dig box nice and damp. The heater I have found is the oil pan type heater, very small 2"w x 5" long. Should work perfect.

All you guys have great ideas, and put a ton of thought into your designs. Awesome group of people here.

 

[james.w]

Heat pads are a bad idea. You can't stop hibernation, but with a heat pad will make it dangerous as the heat will keep their metabolism up.

 

[Lance]

Heat pads are a bad idea. You can't stop hibernation, but with a heat pad will make it dangerous as the heat will keep their metabolism up.

Our two (Male and Female 3 years old) have never hibernated according to the original owner. They have slowed down a little now as the temp in there dig box has lowered by 5 degrees, but they are still active and the heat pad only increased the dig box area by 5 degrees, just to keep it around 76 F. Even before I put the heat pad under their dig box. Do you think they have to hibernate?

Your thoughts are welcome. My preference is to not have them hibernate as they are an attraction in our store, and the winter is the busy season for customers. They dont seem to mind a bit.