Originally I was planning to keep the cage in my room, I'd take it apart to get it through the door. My room is on the second floor, the cage would be 8x5x5 with 3 feet of substrate. Cage would maybe weigh 250 in lumber and at least 300 pounds of substrate. Would my floor be able to support this weight?
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Where to put Monitor Cage?
- Thread starter casey15
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nessanicolle
Member
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- 175
I would think that it would but eventually warping the floor?
larissalurid
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casey15 said:
You are going to need to use a waterproof paint such as drylok (at least 5 thick layers) covering the entire inside of the cage. If the wood gets wet, which it will in 60% humidity conditions that lizards such as a tegu would need or one who needs a large water dish, as well as just the urine and waste that can seep into the wood, it will warp, rot, and fall apart. With the cage I am building I'm doing 5 thick coats of drylok as well as buying aquarium silicone and sealing all the corners. A tarp under the cage will do nothing. Your floor could warp over time due to the weight, but it really depends on how the building is built.
I've thought about this too, but like mentioned above, as long as the cage is sealed properly, you'll be fine. No different than a king size bed with two "bigger" people laying on it I would assume. It's not like it's a small area for the weight. It's distributed evenly over a fairly large space.
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What are you using for substrate?
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NorCalAl said:
This is what I was getting at. Dirt is VERY heavy.
Neeko
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Maybe put your cage on supports then on the floor. I'm sure the people down stairs don't want to have a cage with a tegu come crashing down.
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Neeko said:
How will supports help if the floor can't hold the weight?
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james.w said:
There you go james.w
Always shooting down structual support endeavors with your silly laws of physics
If you think about it, you need two figures: the weight in area, like pounds per square foot and the total weight.
Weight per square foot, even in a cage like this, will be both substantial (perhaps 300lbs/ft) and not much to worry about. If you have a large bookcase, like I do, you can EASILY exceed that loading. My bookcase has a footprint of about six square feet, but has a weight of well over a ton.
Even a 250lb person is exceeding that loading just walking.
Ok, but! If you're talking 2tons of total weight, that becomes the limiting factor. I talked to a structural engineer and he was leery about running that weight in my second story. Part of that was because there's already in excess of 3 tons of books up there, part of it was because of the loading the cage would present - and I wanted no where near the substrate depth you're considering.
There's one other thing - have you considered how difficult it will be, should you place the cage upstairs, to get the initial load of soil up there? And then, when you need to change it out? Like I said, I only have about 15 (now 18) cubic feet of soil in mine and damn it was hard getting it there. I do not look forward to the day when I have to take it out and replace it. And I had a total of three steps to take it up - plus about 55' of hallways. Gonna do it with a bucket?
Just saying...
Weight per square foot, even in a cage like this, will be both substantial (perhaps 300lbs/ft) and not much to worry about. If you have a large bookcase, like I do, you can EASILY exceed that loading. My bookcase has a footprint of about six square feet, but has a weight of well over a ton.
Even a 250lb person is exceeding that loading just walking.
Ok, but! If you're talking 2tons of total weight, that becomes the limiting factor. I talked to a structural engineer and he was leery about running that weight in my second story. Part of that was because there's already in excess of 3 tons of books up there, part of it was because of the loading the cage would present - and I wanted no where near the substrate depth you're considering.
There's one other thing - have you considered how difficult it will be, should you place the cage upstairs, to get the initial load of soil up there? And then, when you need to change it out? Like I said, I only have about 15 (now 18) cubic feet of soil in mine and damn it was hard getting it there. I do not look forward to the day when I have to take it out and replace it. And I had a total of three steps to take it up - plus about 55' of hallways. Gonna do it with a bucket?
Just saying...
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A cage with that much dirt and that large of size is best in a garage, outside or in a mud room. I say this not because they are ugly but because simply put they are messy. Yes it will be very heavy (more on the half ton size) but you also do not want that much dirt being trampled through the house. Monitors will kick it out and it will end up on the floor and one day the cage may crack. Even the best cages can have failing parts so its best to put the cage somewhere where if needed it can be easily swept out or washed out.
yulyani
Member
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chelvis said:
hello Chelvis....very good to hear from you. Yes monitors make messy cages and substrates. I put my indoor cages at the back terrace because it has the access of sunshine....I don't put the big cage inside, because it is not easy to clean....terrace is easier + better water drainage + better air circulation
As a carpenter, I may have a bit to add here. You need to check your floor joist spacing as well as direction in relation to your enclosure direction. You def. want to run perpendicular to the floor joist to carry weight on as many as you can, effectively spreading the weight out. Distance from supporting beams/ walls underneath also detemine alot here. The closer you can get to load bearing structure the better load it can carry. Normal dead/live load floor systems probably cannot sustain that weight over time. Depending on the space underneath, it may be as simple as adding a header beam w/ posts under the tank to boost the floor sytem. It is possible as our 180 gallon salt water tank is on the 2nd floor. Many factors go into the load capacity so getting a qualified engineer or carpenter to verify would be a great idea.
