Planning enclosure

[Donnie25]

Okay guys so this will be the first enclosure that I build from scratch. Planning to get a B&W tegu in the coming months and I'd like to get the enclosure planned out and started. I have a few questions.

Should I have a sliding door for the front, or an opening lid? No idea how to do this yet, but just getting an idea of what I should go for.

Should/could i have multiple levels? Will they appreciate that extra space going up.

What kind of water bowl/How deep should it be? Do they like soak or just drink? Could it be large enough for them to swim?

Should I give them any plants or will they destroy? I'm doing a bioactive and could add tunnels/logs or whatever a tegu would like to have. I was thinkiing of planting some sort of Bush. Any other features to add in? Hides?

I have a mistking I can run to the cage for humidity.

I've read about the basking, still need to read about the UVB and other specifics. I'm a newb to tegus so if my questions seem dumb that's why. a link to some pictures, guides, or any other info would be very helpful! Thanks

 

[beantickler]

Okay guys so this will be the first enclosure that I build from scratch. Planning to get a B&W tegu in the coming months and I'd like to get the enclosure planned out and started. I have a few questions.

Should I have a sliding door for the front, or an opening lid? No idea how to do this yet, but just getting an idea of what I should go for.

Should/could i have multiple levels? Will they appreciate that extra space going up.

What kind of water bowl/How deep should it be? Do they like soak or just drink? Could it be large enough for them to swim?

Should I give them any plants or will they destroy? I'm doing a bioactive and could add tunnels/logs or whatever a tegu would like to have. I was thinkiing of planting some sort of Bush. Any other features to add in? Hides?

I have a mistking I can run to the cage for humidity.

I've read about the basking, still need to read about the UVB and other specifics. I'm a newb to tegus so if my questions seem dumb that's why. a link to some pictures, guides, or any other info would be very helpful! Thanks

Front opening is the best when dealing with large enclosures.
You could do multi level. I did for a basking spot up higher.
They will most likely destroy plants. Mine certainly does almost immediately. Gotta have a hide or 2 for sure.
Tegus LOVE water.. My guy has his own pond and around 10 koi as pets of his all inside his enclosure... lol

 

[Donnie25]

Thank you for replying! I read someone say they can drown easy, is this a worry at all when having a large dish in the enclosure?(btw the koi pond sounds awesome!)

I'd like to build 2-3(is more than 2 okay?) Hides in the ground and under stuff in the cool and hot parts of the cage.

Would multiple levels take away from any of the space they would need to have, like could you have a 6x3 and multiple levels to make up? Or should it be 8x4 regardless?

What kind of materials do you guys use to build everything? Any pictures out there for me to get an idea of what to shoot for?

 

[beantickler]

8x4 is minimum imo... look in the diy section. I have a 10x4x4 build thread with materials used as do many others.

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[Kay]

Hey..just sharing my idea. I am in the process of my first build as well. I am going to put in a 28 quart plastic container...like those storage containers. It is pretty deep so I just plan to only put a little water in while my Tegu is young and then as it grows increase the depth of the water. Good luck with your build!

 

[Donnie25]

Thanks! I didn't even realize there was a DIY section hah my bad. I was thinking it'd be cool to cut out a little section for a mini pond and even have a little filter/uv sterilizer(I used to do name reefs so I can easily get carried away lol).

 

[Ant]

I'm not a Tegu owner yet, but this is what I've gathered from my research about your water dish question.

What kind of water bowl/How deep should it be? Do they like soak or just drink? Could it be large enough for them to swim?

The water bowl could be used for many things, and it depends on how you care for the Tegu.

The primary function of the water bowl is for drinking. I believe the Tegu should always have access to drinking water even when brumating.
The water bowl can also be used to increase the humidity. The larger the surface area of the water, the higher the humidity level. A shallow wide water dish would be more effective than a deep narrow water dish. This isn't a requirement though. There are other ways to raise and lower your humidity levels (misting, air flow, substrate type, etc...).
If you plan to use the water dish for soaking, then you should add depth to it. I personally would take the Tegu to a separate tub for cleaning and soaking purposes.

For my Tegu, I would try a dog bowl sized water bowl first. Tegus could have a tendency to kick substrate or defecate in the water dish, which would require replacing the water more frequently. Replacing/cleaning a smaller bowl is easier than a larger one (either case shouldn't be difficult though). I think I would prefer misting as the way to control humidity levels since I can change you humidity levels over time based on the Tegu's health (such as shedding behavior). But if I'm going for the small bowl, then I would also need to offer the bath tub for soaking, cleaning, and playing.

I also read that when filling the bath tub, make sure the water temperature is the same temperature as the Tegu. That way it doesn't freak out and have a negative association with water when placing it in cold/hot water.

8x4 is minimum imo... look in the diy section. I have a 10x4x4 build thread with materials used as do many others.

Where is this DIY section you speak of?

 

[beantickler]

http://www.tegutalk.com/forums/tegu-enclosures.23/

 

[Ant]

Oh okay, I thought there was another forum section that's about building custom enclosures.

 

[beantickler]

Nope... but there are quite a lot of build threads in there. Some are very detailed

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[Donnie25]

Okay so I'm beginning to write down materials I'll need. I was told treated wood, coated with resin would offer the best protection for a bioactive tegu set up. How do you guys feel about this? With Chams I was generally told not to use treated wood for anything so I didn't consider it before.

Do you use glass or something else for the doors? I see that people put the lights on the inside to keep as much humidity in as possible. Should there be a small vent and/or fan anywhere?

And last question for now, would the mistking hygrostat controller be useful for painting humidity? (It'll mist the cage if humidity drops to a point and stop when it reaches the desired level) I have one of these laying around so it'd be nice to put to use.

I apologize if I have a bunch of dumb questions, I've never done anything significant DIY, I'm creative, but not as experienced with building something like this. Can't wait to learn though... I'd like it to be a nice looking enclosure, as well as do the job of holding tegu(duh).

 

[beantickler]

No treated wood needed. Plywood is fine. Use an outdoor semi or gloss paint and put 3 to 5 coats for water proof wood. Mistking will work just fine for you. I have 1 six inch vent with 600cfm fan that only turns on 3 times in 24 hours just to exchange the air.

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[Donnie25]

Okay cool thanks, just wanted to make sure the soil, bugs, and mistings don't destroy it over time, or leach anything dangerous. I guess I'm over thinking it though.

What kind of lighting do you guys use? basking, uvb, etc?

If I draw up a simple design, would you all critique it for me?

 

[Ant]

Do you use glass or something else for the doors?

It depends on your preferences.
Plastic is lighter. It's also more durable than glass. Plastic is a bit flexible. This may be important if your door frames changes shape overtime. Plastic is what I would pick for my enclosure since I may need to move from place-to-place.
Glass has a nicer look. It's more resistant to scratches. It's probably easier to clean, too.
I would not go for wired meshes/screen doors. Not only those are poor in preserving humidity and heat, but also the Tegu's claws can easily destroy it.

What kind of lighting do you guys use? basking, uvb, etc?

I would go for UVA, UVB, and general lighting (for brightness).
UVA - Some may argue this isn't required, but for monitors, this is good for increasing activity and appetite.
UVB - This is needed to produce vitamin D3, which helps absorbing calcium.
Regarding general lighting (for brightness) - Without sufficient brightness, the lizard may become lethargic, depressed, or begin brumating (brumating isn't always a bad thing). The brightness levels should be similar to the lizard's natural habitat. It is important to distinguish between forest-dwelling species from open habitat species. Forests are relatively dim environments, whereas open plains and deserts are incredibly bright. [1]

For basking or heat, that's a separate element. Light bulbs can produce heat, and there are many other ways to produce heat. I think just reaching the right temperature ranges for the hot spot and cool spot may suffice.

1. Monitor Lizards as Pets by Marvin Murkett and Ben Team
https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensiv...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1910617121

 

[Donnie25]

Thank you, I didn't think to use plastic, does it scratch easily? For the lighting I was wondering if you guys could tell me the specific lighting you use, like type of uvb, basking bulb, and uva. I use Arcadia light fixtures for all my Chams, wasn't sure if you guys ever used those.

On another note I didn't even think of this until now, but is their a material I can use to build the cage to make it lightweight? I planned to have the cage upstairs and the floor doesn't feel as sturdy as I'd like(I rent). Plus I have my chameleons in there which add a lot of weight already.

Side note: the tegu will be quarantined and not in visible sight of the chameleons.

 

[Donnie25]

Btw thank you for the link to the book! Was looking for something like that. I also agree and see how it makes sense to have bright lighting for them.