BEST SUPPLIES FOR BUILDING AN ENCLOSURE?

[megasaurus]

Hi guys

To everyone here who has already built a custom tegu enclosure, please share with me your learning curves and recommendations.

I plan to make a wooden box which is part plexiglass and and a 6x3x3 dimension or maybe a little bigger. (I would like as much plexiglass as possible so that he can see me when he is in his cage and isnt just isolated from human interaction) All I am wondering is things like which wood is best, which coating is best and etc. and whether or not I should try insulating part of it? My house gets pretty cold in the winter and I want something that will really keep the chill out. as well as the obvious, holding heat and humidity without rotting or molding or etc.

A side note, I live in western washington.... hit or miss 90 degree weather in the summer with sometimes very snowy winters and rain and stormy weather all year round as a rule.

Also I am a girl and I am saving up extra money specifically for this project, I want it to be something I take pride in when I am done, so I am not looking for the cheapest quickest way, I have no problem paying more for better supplies and I want it (from a womens prospective) to be creative and inventive and to feel luxurious for my boy

I really want to hear opinions before I start so I know what to avoid or hear suggestions i may not have thought of yet.

Thanks!

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PS - I would also like something as realistically convenient to clean as possible.

 

[apocalypse910]

I went through building my first enclosure a few months ago - mine is not the most polished looking thing on earth but I did learn a few important things.

First is to build a blueprint first - I used sketch-up and it really helped me to visualize what I was building. Before you start designing be sure to measure your doors. I didn't realize that the door to my room was only a bit over 2' - that almost made the whole project end in disaster. I ended up making a cage that split into two halves so I could move it reasonably. Also if you are using a frame don't forget that 2x4s are not 2" by 4" - I felt like an idiot and had to adjust my design after the fact because of that.

Remember that the cage and its contents are going to weigh far more than you expect so be sure to build it very sturdy. I believe that the dirt/cage decorations in mine make it around 400 pounds. I used a 2x4 frame and kept the bottom of the cage off the floor so I have storage space underneath, it is easy to see into the cage, and convenient to get into that way. You should also have space in the cage for substrate - the lower half of my cage is bascially a 1' bin for dirt - the top part of the cage has the doors. You'll end up with a lot of substrate so don't forget to account for that in your design.

As for materials you are probably going to want to use decent quality plywood. I'd stay away from melamine as it is extremely heavy and basically handles water as well as cardboard. For the clear sections I'd recommend lexan - it costs a bit more but is basically bullet proof and stands up to tegu claws a bit better than plexiglass. Also stay away from sliding doors - Tegus have a tendency to be able to pop those of their tracks and escape. For my cage I was going to do double layer walls for insulation but between the price, the weight, and the extra complication I decided to do away with the idea.

If you don't have tools stores like home depot will cut wood for you - you'll of course need to know exactly what you need and you should double check that the cuts are right before you leave. I got an entire car full of lumber cut only to find it was all wrong when I got home - it was awful. I also did end up needing to borrow some tools from a coworker as the lower part of the cage that holds the dirt needed to be really precise. The tighter the fit the easier it is to seal - and you definitely don't want it to leak.

To seal the cage I'd recommend using high quality silicone around every seam in the wood and screw - you want to make sure that there are absolutely no gaps. Finally paint the interior with latex drylock. I'd recommend doing two layers. The stuff basically acts like a cage liner to hold water in - it is very tough, and it has a rough texture that my tegu seems to like when shedding. That stuff goes on thick though - so you'll need more than you think to cover the cage.

You have a ton of options for light and heat which can end up making things confusing.

You'll want -
UVA/UVB - Generally this will need to be pretty close to your tegu
Basking Heat - high intensity heat source directed at a rock to help your tegu digest and heat regulate during the day. This should keep the surface temp of the rock at about 110 - 130 f
Ambient Heat - Cage temps need to be about 85 during the day - can go lower at night.

Mercury Vapor bulbs can provide basking heat, ambient heat, and uv, however everything is linked so it can be harder to keep the cage from overheating in the summer or getting too cold at night. You can also use a UV Florescent tube and then use a separate basking bulb. I'm in NY so the temps are such that I did need to get a cage heater as well - The basking bulb does a find job at keeping the cage warm in the summer - but can't keep up in the winter, and of course doesn't help at all at night. If you need nighttime heating you can go with a ceramic heat emitter, radiant heat panel, or heat tape. I ended up getting a radiant heat panel - was more expensive but quite a bit safer than than the heat emitters.

 

[Dubya]

I agree with Apocalypse910 except for the Drylok. Drylok contains silica which could get into tegu's nose and eyes because they scratch and did so much. I used latex porch and deck paint. BTW, Glidden is the cheapest.