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Although Beetlejuice is still only 13" I've already begun putting together his "big boy" enclosure.
I made it as big as I could, even though he'll be mostly outdoors when he's big enough. It's mostly gonna be for then entire month of July (when ambient temps can reach up to 110Ã?â??Ã?º :shock: and hibernation) It's roughly 100"Lx42"Wx32"H.
I also chose to go with polyurethane and stain (MinWax Sedona Red), just because it looks way better than paint and drylok. Using MinWax's high-build poly, I put 3 coats on the outside and 5 coats in the inside. Five coats is admittedly over-kill (When I was building my chameleon cages, I cut a piece of wood as a test, stained it and applied 3 coats, then left it in a bucket of water for 3 weeks and it was perfectly fine) but better safe then sorry.
Here's the first photo. Look at that perfect angle! Still not really good at these. Damn things are hard!
Here's the frame with the side panel in:
Same side panel, indoors with flash. I love the polyurethane because when the light hits it just right, it looks like amber.
Inside bottom panel, awaiting another sanding and its five coats of poly:
Outside of the bottom panel. Looks like hardwood flooring! I like to assemble the panels inside (cuz that's where the TV is!) and put it together back outside.
That night it occurred to me that I might not be able to get this thing in through the back! I'd have to carry this monster to the front and bring it in that way. But it barely fit - had a quarter inch on each side!
Finally got this beast in the house. (It's sitting on the front in the pic. The "top" is the back and the "right" is actually the bottom.
And one more of the cool amber effect of the poly:
So there it is. Coming along nicely, I think.
I made it as big as I could, even though he'll be mostly outdoors when he's big enough. It's mostly gonna be for then entire month of July (when ambient temps can reach up to 110Ã?â??Ã?º :shock: and hibernation) It's roughly 100"Lx42"Wx32"H.
I also chose to go with polyurethane and stain (MinWax Sedona Red), just because it looks way better than paint and drylok. Using MinWax's high-build poly, I put 3 coats on the outside and 5 coats in the inside. Five coats is admittedly over-kill (When I was building my chameleon cages, I cut a piece of wood as a test, stained it and applied 3 coats, then left it in a bucket of water for 3 weeks and it was perfectly fine) but better safe then sorry.
Here's the first photo. Look at that perfect angle! Still not really good at these. Damn things are hard!
Here's the frame with the side panel in:
Same side panel, indoors with flash. I love the polyurethane because when the light hits it just right, it looks like amber.
Inside bottom panel, awaiting another sanding and its five coats of poly:
Outside of the bottom panel. Looks like hardwood flooring! I like to assemble the panels inside (cuz that's where the TV is!) and put it together back outside.
That night it occurred to me that I might not be able to get this thing in through the back! I'd have to carry this monster to the front and bring it in that way. But it barely fit - had a quarter inch on each side!
Finally got this beast in the house. (It's sitting on the front in the pic. The "top" is the back and the "right" is actually the bottom.
And one more of the cool amber effect of the poly:
So there it is. Coming along nicely, I think.
