Enclosures

[Rhetoric]

I'm really thinking about building a new enclosure for my bigger male tegu. His current enclosure is only about 3.25 ft deep. Guru is currently 41 inches long, hes already longer than the depth of his enclosure. I'm going to assume hes still going to get a bit more length on him, hes not even a year yet. He did not brumate.

Right now I'm just thinking about the doors/windows. I've seen some enclosures with windows for the doors, they slide open, anyone have any experience with this? Pros? Cons?
I might just stick with a hinged door that opens downwards. I'm just not sure! :huh::huh: I know I want to have a larger window on one of the sides of the enclosure.

 

[james.w]

The problem with using "windows" for doors is most windows only half of them open. Meaning you will only have access to one end of the cage. If you can contact a glass company that is local to you, ask them if they can make you a showcase sliding door. They are a little pricey, but the tracks are aluminum and the bottom of the glass has a guide with plastic rollers, so they slide really easy. I have one on my Melinus cage and am super happy I went this route instead of hinged doors or even sliding with the typical plastic track.

 

[Rhetoric]

Is there a way you can post a picture of the door/window? I know theres a glass place less than a mile from me but I'm not sure if they just do windows, I'll have to ask. Do you know of a range they go for? Some pricey is OK if it will hold up and I think it will look nicer overall.

 

[james.w]

This door, glass and track cost me about $250.

 

[Rhetoric]

Ahh I see thats awesome, it looks great! Hopefully its something I can do. Did you just give them the dimensions you wanted? Is this the one with the real glass?

 

[james.w]

Yeah it is glass (not tempered) and I just gave them the dimensions of the opening and they made it to fit.

 

[Rhetoric]

For anyone who knows an answer, I think I might house the 2 males together, if I do that what does the floor plan need to be like? How many sq. ft? I'll probably play around with the numbers, more than likely I'll try to add a semi-second level.
I don't plan on getting rid of either of the enclosures I currently have, I've got a storage room behind the garage where I'll stash the unused tank. This way if there are any conflicts I will already have a back up plan in motion.