My cage build. 38x22x18

First day on the boards as a member, but I did lurk on here to get some info before diving into the world of bearded dragons. Wanted to give back so here is my cage build. I picked the dimensions of the cage because of the location it was supposed to go in. I'm going to skip some of the things I would assume a person who is taking on this project already knows how to do, like figure out measurements and make cuts. Basically this is my take on the sliding glass cage everyone seems to make...

First I needed a 4x8 sheet of wood. melamine is basically junk in my opinion and super hard to work with. I found this already finished birch plywood at my local big box lumber store.


I cut the plywood to correct dimensions and then used some mahogany 1.5" x 1.5" that I had scrap for the top and bottom rail along the front. Instead of glass sliders I opted for a hinge down Plexiglass door and simple twist locks you can find in the screen window section of your home depot. The Plexiglass door is 36" by 15". It was very easy to cut and just sand the edges. I drilled through for the hinges with a plain drill bit. I used stainless hinges and hardware



I installed a Sunblaster T5 fixture with a Reptisun 10.0 T5 34" bulb


http://amazon.com/gp/product/B005A7XEYW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQU8HKO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also wired in a regular light fixture for the heat bulb. After installing I bought a bunch of bulbs till I found the one that created the right basking temp and ambient temp.



I ran both cords out through a hole in the top corner.


I cut three 3" holes for vents along the back and installed plastic vents.


http://amazon.com/gp/product/B000KKI8A4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cost: Wood $45, Plexi $25, Hardware $10, Light fixure's and bulbs $70, Vents $10...Total: $160
Not sure what else to share. If there are any questions I will try to come on and answer. Here are some more pics. Sorry for the lighting. For some reason my iPhone struggles with finding balance with the lights in the room and in the cage.

That's a great looking enclosure and helpful guide. Thanks for sharing it =)

Excelent craftsmanship and what a cute baby! I'd love it if my stores had finished plywood like that!

One thought, I'd suggest putting a reflector on the sun-blaster and/or raising the basking area a bit more.

Thanks for the compliments! The store I got the finished plywood from is called Menards. I believe they are located in the midwest only. It was SUPER nice to not have to finish the wood (except for the cut ends on the outside). I hear you on raising the basking spot. We are still trying out different combinations of wood and rocks that look nice. Do you have experience with the SunBlaster reflector? I know it will focus more light down, but I was worried that it would direct it in a more narrow path as well.

BrianDallek":2nu2jtz7 said:

Thanks for the compliments! The store I got the finished plywood from is called Menards. I believe they are located in the midwest only. It was SUPER nice to not have to finish the wood (except for the cut ends on the outside). I hear you on raising the basking spot. We are still trying out different combinations of wood and rocks that look nice. Do you have experience with the SunBlaster reflector? I know it will focus more light down, but I was worried that it would direct it in a more narrow path as well.

Click to expand...

Menards is a bit of a drive but I'll check it out if I end up being another wood viv!

I have two sunblasters, I like them a lot. The reflector doesn't go all the way around the bulb (probably about midway around) I've not had a problem with the beam being too narrow, it's still got decent spread and the UV index is improved quite a bit vs a naked bulb.

http://static.greenhousesensation.c...8b1/1/2/1281_sunblaster_-_all_diagrams_1.jpg