The moment has come!

[rrcoolj]

I can't believe it's been almost a year! Well Riley my black and white tegu is 2ft and officially too big for his 36inx18in enclosure so today I went out to gather supplies for his 8x4x3 cage. I still need to get the plywood which I am getting tommorrow morning. I will start cutting tommorrow and start painting probably tommorrow too. It might be awile before he actually goes in considering the megaray bulb I want is on backorder :cry: . Oh well... coulnd't be more than like a month right. Atleast the framework will be done. So I have a few questions.

First I know Toby_H has suggested I use drylock but I bought Killz instead because of parents so I am stuck with that. Will that be alright to use?

Second, do you guys have vents on your enclosures? Should I incorporate those into the cage? Or should I just drill holes?

Third, do you think riley will be okay staying in the 3ft inclosure until I am done which might be a month or so?

And last, how many bulbs do you guys use in your enclosure? I bought two proclein light fixtures and a flourescent(for his current repti sun which I just changed and will be going on the cool side).

I am pondering wheather to make a progression thread or to just post pics of the finished product. What do you guys think?


Ps: the cage is subject to change as time goes on(this might not be the final product)

 

[Herplings]

First I know Toby_H has suggested I use drylock but I bought Killz instead because of parents so I am stuck with that. Will that be alright to use?

Killz is a good water base primer/sealer. Just maker sure, like with any other primer or paint you let it dry and let the fumes wear off before putting your animal in the cage. You should have no problem with that since it is going to be a few weeks before the Tegu goes in the cage. But, Killz is good stuff. I have been using it on out door projects around the farm for years.

Second, do you guys have vents on your enclosures? Should I incorporate those into the cage? Or should I just drill holes?

I personally always use vents of some kind. When using vents thou, be sure and don't mount them to close to your lamps. Heat rises, and if your vents and bulbs are to close, the cooler outside air temp from the room the cage is in will act like a vacuum and pull the rising hot air out of the cage. Not that this would be a massive problem, but it could make for cooler temps and make is a bit less energy efficient because you would have to use high watt bulbs to compensate.
A cage of the size you are building could use a vent like the ones you use in your house for central heat and air. One should do the trick and the other nice thing about them is they are adjustable, so you can open and close them depending on how you want your set up to be.

Third, do you think riley will be okay staying in the 3ft inclosure until I am done which might be a month or so?

He should not have any problems at all. If you are concerned about it, just let him out once or so a day for a nice stretch and walk around the room.

And last, how many bulbs do you guys use in your enclosure? I bought two proclein light fixtures and a flourescent(for his current repti sun which I just changed and will be going on the cool side).

For me this depends on the cage. I use 2 bulbs normally. I use a heat emitter, or heat pannle that runs 24/7 and I use a UV type light on a 12/12 cycle.

I am pondering wheather to make a progression thread or to just post pics of the finished product. What do you guys think?

That is up to you. Cage build threads are always fun to read thou. I have learned a lot by reading about other peoples ideas and the stuff they incorporate into their personal cage builds.

 

[rrcoolj]

Thanks for the replies! I am using one fixture for his megaray, one for his heat which might go somewhere in the middle, and a flourescent on the cool side for his repit sun 10.0 also uvb. I do let riley walk around my room every day so that should not be a problem. I think I will go with the progression thread. Should start it maybe tommorrow

 

[rrcoolj]

One more question. How many support braces do you suggest I use for the top and bottom?

 

[mastroj]

That all depends on how thick of wood you are using and what you are putting on top of it.

 

[mastroj]

When I build mine I am going to be using as cheap of wood as I can get because I will use drylock on the inside, which will add to the structure of it, but then I will have to use a lot more crossbraces, like 1 every 16 inches. If you are using anything over 3/8 plywood and arent baring too much weight then every 24 inches will be plenty.

 

[rrcoolj]

The wood I am buying is really cheap(like 8$ per 8x4 slab). I have seen alot of enclosures and people usually only use like one or two middle braces. I think I will have a total of 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top. I want it too be sturdy because I am putting some leopard gecko tanks and supplies on top of it. All of that though will be pretty light except for the tank/cages.

 

[reptastic]

looks like we aren the same boat lol, im going to start building pyro a 6x3x2 enclosure to hold him util net year, he has grwn out of his 40 breeder very fast, and since i going to be construting a 4x2x2 enclosure for storm and rayne (my soon to be giant and b/w tegus) i figured why not finish his too!im never goin to use tanks for my tegus again lol, to much hassle!

 

[rrcoolj]

looks like we aren the same boat lol, im going to start building pyro a 6x3x2 enclosure to hold him util net year, he has grwn out of his 40 breeder very fast, and since i going to be construting a 4x2x2 enclosure for storm and rayne (my soon to be giant and b/w tegus) i figured why not finish his too!im never goin to use tanks for my tegus again lol, to much hassle!

Me too. tank are for fish lol. I am even building my leos each a 2x2ft enclosure. Goodluck with your build reptastic!

 

[reptastic]

yeah they work for reptiles but tegus dont seem to be one lol, btw im cheating i got a carpenter to help me build mines when im ready hehehe!

 

[rrcoolj]

Your so lucky! I am on my own. I have to buy the tools and everything.

 

[reptastic]

thats what i was afraid i had to do besides i neverbuilt anything only helped my uncle in his construction business and the only thing we really buit were decks and porches but i never built them only assited with getting tools ect. but after talking with my neighbor he said he would help me and he got his own tools so whew that was a big relief!

 

[rrcoolj]

I am not too mad. I would like to be a great carpenter one day and I have to start somewhere. Plus I have always wanted my own tools so it's not too bad but the tools are setting me back financially.

 

[reptastic]

yeah i wouldnt mind geing into carpentry for the sole purpose of building enclosures, but then id be building enclosures then filling them lol maybe thats not such a bad idea!

 

[rrcoolj]

yeah i wouldnt mind geing into carpentry for the sole purpose of building enclosures, but then id be building enclosures then filling them lol maybe thats not such a bad idea!

lol you could build other stuff like furniture etc...

 

[reptastic]

lol now what use would i have for furniture hehehe, probably wouldnt even have room!