Brand new custom enclosure!

[SamBobCat]

So my dad and I have been talking about this tegu enclosure project for a while and we started officially about a month and a half ago. It started really simple but as my dad, he wanted to go all out so he thought of more ideas along the way. We worked really hard on this and it's amazing how it came out. I'm so glad we did this. It's two 4×4×2 crates side by side. One will house my baby, and one will house my Russian tortoise. When my tegu gets big, we will cut out one side of each crate to make one big 8×4×2 cage. My mattress is on top, and that whole mattress part lifts up, as does a small part that opens for easy access. Enjoy the pics! I will be putting my animals in their new homes soon.

 

[SamBobCat]

"My baby" is my four month old tegu BTW Hahaha I forgot to mention that

 

[jeremy flanagan]

that so cool i want one

 

[SamBobCat]

Thanks! It was fun to build

 

[RickyNo]

Whats the inside look like?
How do you open it?
Are his lights wired in on the inside and come out the back?
What size bulbs are you using?
No room for digging...

 

[SamBobCat]

The inside is coated on the bottom with about 8 inches of non-toxic deck paint

The entire mattress part lifts up for cleaning purposes

Yes, the light wires come out of a small hole in the back of the cage

I have a 120 watt basking bulb and a 26 watt UV bulb.

There is plenty of room for digging, I just didn't have the sub straight in when I took the pictures.

 

[SamBobCat]

Correction to my answer to the first question; the bottom is coated with two coats of non-toxic deck paint and the sides have one layer of the same paint that goes approximately 8 inches up the sides.

 

[SamBobCat]

Whats the inside look like?
How do you open it?
Are his lights wired in on the inside and come out the back?
What size bulbs are you using?
No room for digging...

Here are some attempts to get pics of the inside on both the unfinished tegu side and the tort/ uromastyx side. The tort living outside ATM for the summer weather, but I have my baby Egyptian uromastyx's cage inside the tort section.

 

[Josh]

Looks great! Nice work! Can't wait to see how your guys like it!

 

[SamBobCat]

Thanks josh!

 

[SamBobCat]

Allllrrriiggghhtttt!!!!! Got some nice updates on the cage!! My dad and I spent a couple hours today making some fantastic renovations to my room and the dual terrarium! We only did the tegu side today, but it's awesome! Previously, I had to lift up the whole top where the mattress is which isn't a huge deal, but it's kind of annoying. Now, the front piece opens and when it's free roam time, he can walk out without me having to lift him up. Onto the pics! That's me sitting on the floor there

Overview of the features inside the cage (last picture):
-About 3 inches of cypress mulch (up to 5 in some places because he likes to dig)
-a half log that my dad thought would be nice for him to climb on or in even though he spends all of his sleeping time buried under the mulch
-big Philips brand bulb for heat (112ish°F basking spot)
-UVB bulb that I need to replace in about a month
-a large rock that he enjoys climbing on and filing his nails on
-in the back right hand corner there is a wireless dual thermo/hygrometer that is connected to a main unit outside of his cage
-front left corner is the same thermometer thing as above (comes in a three piece set)
-one happy basking tegu

 

[Tiffany Lebel]

Will you expand the cage when he gets larger?

 

[SamBobCat]

Will you expand the cage when he gets larger?

Yes the wall on that is on the left in the last picture will be taken out when need be

 

[Tiffany Lebel]

Looks pretty awesome. I'm getting ideas to build one for our little guy. He's about 18" right now so I have SOME time... but not much lol. I like the space saving idea that you did.

 

[marydd]

Looks great! You have one lucky gu!

 

[SamBobCat]

Looks great! You have one lucky gu!

Thanks!! He seems to like it quite a bit!! He's calmed down quite a bit too since I'm not coming at him from above

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/natural-vivaria-plant-forum/97041-media-bio-active-substrates.html

Check out this link for an idea for your substrate (never have to clean poop again and your tegu will love it! He will spend hours searching and foraging in his cage instead of looking bored like they tend to when there are no unfamiliar smells in their cages) it really makes a difference in keeping humidity levels high for a longer period of time, no daily misting required more like weekly watering in stead. Also in the 3rd picture it looked like he was laying beside some cinder blocks in the corner? If so you should move these under the basking light, it will raise the basking temp which 112 is a bit low 135-140 is ideal for their digestion, basking in the mulch isn't great as they like to absorb heat with thier bellies on those hot surfaces like rocks (make sure his basking spot is as large or even larger that your tegu you may want to switch to using 2-3 smaller wattage bulbs to spread that heat evenly over his body this is especially necessary when he gets larger) good luck with the big guy!

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

whatcha gonna do with the uro when tegu gets both sides?

 

[SamBobCat]

well in about two to three years she will need to be put into a 4×2 at least, so i will be building or purchasing a separate cage for her and most likely putting it either in my closet or where my dresser is.

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

well egyptians being the biggest need more room than that, its a 5x2x2 minimum that way they can get enough heat too