Cats Bothering Lizard

How in the living hell. Do I keep cats away from my lizard tank and off the top screen? My family (despite my arguments) got not one but THREE cats. So now I’ve been sitting next to my lizard tank watching in terror each time the walk into the room trying to keep them off of it. Tired of this. I tried foil but it raises the humidity too high in the tank and the cats aren’t afraid of it. I cant keep the door shut, again because the humidity and temperature in my small room becomes an issue. My babes tank has a screen top that’s slides off. Im afraid the cats will manage to get into the screen. Keeping my door shut for now but it’s really messing with the humidity and temp in my room and it’s not good for my dragon. ANY suggestions would be helpful. Or even a design idea for a built tank that would be cat proof would be amazing.

What is the humidity in the tank ? If its above 70 % I would recommend a small dehumidifier -- if its not above that I wouldnt worry to much about it- keep your door shut - I have 5 cats and two dragons in my computer / office --- they dont bother the dragons - what is your tank sitting on? Can you put it on a dresser w/ nothing around it that they can jump on to get to it ---I have a dresser I am using for one dragon and the other a aquarium stand both are stand alone and the cats cant get to them unless they would jump from the floor and they dont cuz they have no where to jump to --- you need to get onto the cats and if you hold the dragon let them smell the dragon so they can see and get the smell of the dragon eventually it will become old to them -- all my cats now just walk up and smell the dragon when they are out if they even pay attention and smell and walk away --- I of course never leave the room when my dragons are out and always supervise -- but for the most part I have no issues w/ them
Karrie

You will probably need to upgrade your tank lid, or tank. You can build a wooden lid that sits over top of it, or even get a heavy metal wire "shelf" that you use as the lid instead.

Or, you start training the cats that sitting up there is a no-no. Spray bottle full of water and they get sprayed every time they are up there.

When I used to have cats many many years ago, a few of them always wanted to sleep on top of the tanks. I never had any problems even with just the standard mesh lids, but they got shoo'd every time I saw them.

-Brandon

KarrieRee":3gwbsb2a said:

What is the humidity in the tank ? If its above 70 % I would recommend a small dehumidifier -- if its not above that I wouldnt worry to much about it- keep your door shut - I have 5 cats and two dragons in my computer / office --- they dont bother the dragons - what is your tank sitting on? Can you put it on a dresser w/ nothing around it that they can jump on to get to it ---I have a dresser I am using for one dragon and the other a aquarium stand both are stand alone and the cats cant get to them unless they would jump from the floor and they dont cuz they have no where to jump to --- you need to get onto the cats and if you hold the dragon let them smell the dragon so they can see and get the smell of the dragon eventually it will become old to them -- all my cats now just walk up and smell the dragon when they are out if they even pay attention and smell and walk away --- I of course never leave the room when my dragons are out and always supervise -- but for the most part I have no issues w/ them
Karrie

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I just don’t think leaving them be is an option they absolutely want to eat her lol. Got her out around them once and they tried to get her I had to practically punt one away because she tried to bite her. Im not even risking it again to try to get them used to her. I plan to build a custom cage soon anyways I just need a design that will be “cat proof”

Claudiusx":21d0wgom said:

You will probably need to upgrade your tank lid, or tank. You can build a wooden lid that sits over top of it, or even get a heavy metal wire "shelf" that you use as the lid instead.

Or, you start training the cats that sitting up there is a no-no. Spray bottle full of water and they get sprayed every time they are up there.

When I used to have cats many many years ago, a few of them always wanted to sleep on top of the tanks. I never had any problems even with just the standard mesh lids, but they got shoo'd every time I saw them.

-Brandon

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They cats we got are young and though full grown still act like kittens they try to claw there way through the mesh. Can you recommend or maybe post a picture of idea for the lid? Im going to make a custom tank soon so could I maybe make the top lid solid wood in the front with mesh openings for the heat lamp and then maybe make some holes in the side for ventilation instead?

RyuksMama":26rbhwi0 said:

Claudiusx":26rbhwi0 said:

You will probably need to upgrade your tank lid, or tank. You can build a wooden lid that sits over top of it, or even get a heavy metal wire "shelf" that you use as the lid instead.

Or, you start training the cats that sitting up there is a no-no. Spray bottle full of water and they get sprayed every time they are up there.

When I used to have cats many many years ago, a few of them always wanted to sleep on top of the tanks. I never had any problems even with just the standard mesh lids, but they got shoo'd every time I saw them.

-Brandon

Click to expand...

They cats we got are young and though full grown still act like kittens they try to claw there way through the mesh. Can you recommend or maybe post a picture of idea for the lid? Im going to make a custom tank soon so could I maybe make the top lid solid wood in the front with mesh openings for the heat lamp and then maybe make some holes in the side for ventilation instead?

Click to expand...

Wire mesh is no obstacle to a determined cat .
3/4 inch thick plywood lid with lights under the lid ( has to be too heavy for the cats to lift up a corner or slide or they will get past it ).

Cats are hardwired killers. You''ll come home and find a dead or dying and horribly tortured dragon in the tank or on the floor. You'll never be able to "train" the killer out of these cats.

Personally , I'll get rid of the cats.

kingofnobbys":ko1klrgw said:

RyuksMama":ko1klrgw said:

Claudiusx":ko1klrgw said:

You will probably need to upgrade your tank lid, or tank. You can build a wooden lid that sits over top of it, or even get a heavy metal wire "shelf" that you use as the lid instead.

Or, you start training the cats that sitting up there is a no-no. Spray bottle full of water and they get sprayed every time they are up there.

When I used to have cats many many years ago, a few of them always wanted to sleep on top of the tanks. I never had any problems even with just the standard mesh lids, but they got shoo'd every time I saw them.

-Brandon

Click to expand...

They cats we got are young and though full grown still act like kittens they try to claw there way through the mesh. Can you recommend or maybe post a picture of idea for the lid? Im going to make a custom tank soon so could I maybe make the top lid solid wood in the front with mesh openings for the heat lamp and then maybe make some holes in the side for ventilation instead?

Click to expand...

Wire mesh is no obstacle to a determined cat .
3/4 inch thick plywood lid with lights under the lid ( has to be too heavy for the cats to lift up a corner or slide or they will get past it ).

Cats are hardwired killers. You''ll come home and find a dead or dying and horribly tortured dragon in the tank or on the floor. You'll never be able to "train" the killer out of these cats.

Personally , I'll get rid of the cats.

Click to expand...

I wish I could get rid of the cats but unfortunately I won’t be 18 for another few months and can’t get her out of the house until then. I tried to talk my family out of getting them. Is there a way I could build a tank without a lid, and get ventilation through holes in the side too small for the cats? Then I could get front glass doors with a strong lock on it so the cats can’t open it? Could this potentially work?

Yes you could get a different tank or build your own tank.

You can check out the zenhabitat tanks, or the DIY section of this site on how to build your own.

-Brandon

Personally I am not a fan of enclosures with a screen top. They do work fine if properly setup, but there are better options. Check out the post at https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=251291

It has a great example of a good enclosure for purchase. Or if you want to build your own (which is great) you can make something similar (an example of the door tracks is the 4th reply in that post i believe.

I personally built a setup so that each of my beardies has a 4'x2'x2' space with the from doors. With vents up high on the hot side and down low on the cool side. That helps promote some airflow through the enclosure in through the cool side and out through the hot. Mine are a 3 high enclosure but could easily be reworked fora single enclosure. I will grab some pictures when I am able for you and would be happy to help with any questions if you decide you like it.

I also have cats and they like to walk right up to the doors and watch the dragons, but they cant bother them. It seemed like in no time at all they got bored and just leave them alone other than curiously watching.

Draven88":3n3rk15o said:

Personally I am not a fan of enclosures with a screen top. They do work fine if properly setup, but there are better options. Check out the post at https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=251291

It has a great example of a good enclosure for purchase. Or if you want to build your own (which is great) you can make something similar (an example of the door tracks is the 4th reply in that post i believe.

I personally built a setup so that each of my beardies has a 4'x2'x2' space with the from doors. With vents up high on the hot side and down low on the cool side. That helps promote some airflow through the enclosure in through the cool side and out through the hot. Mine are a 3 high enclosure but could easily be reworked fora single enclosure. I will grab some pictures when I am able for you and would be happy to help with any questions if you decide you like it.

I also have cats and they like to walk right up to the doors and watch the dragons, but they cant bother them. It seemed like in no time at all they got bored and just leave them alone other than curiously watching.

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Thank you SO much. This is the kind of answer I was looking for. I’d would love to see some pictures of your enclosures. If you could give me as many details as possible I’d appreciate that as well. I know that’s a lot to ask but I would appreciate it so much. I haven’t found any design that is very clear on what materials are side or how they did anything. Im a total amateur.

RyuksMama":1r0jgghv said:

I haven’t found any design that is very clear on what materials are side or how they did anything. Im a total amateur.

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That is why I mentioned checking out the DIY section. I created a sticky there full of members builds.
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=253323

-Brandon

Claudiusx":3f1foqhw said:

RyuksMama":3f1foqhw said:

I haven’t found any design that is very clear on what materials are side or how they did anything. Im a total amateur.

Click to expand...

That is why I mentioned checking out the DIY section. I created a sticky there full of members builds.
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=253323

-Brandon

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I’ll definitely check that out! Thank you!

OK so for an idea on building your own I dug up a few pics from just after building where everything is easy to see before adding much decor. Ultimately there are lots of ways to go about a diy enclosure. I plan on putting together a thread in the diy section soon for anyone looking for ideas but this will just be a basic idea.

I used 3/4 inch thick melamine for all walls. 1/8 inch thick acrylic cut to 2 ft x 2 ft for the sliding doors and a sliding track with 2 1/8 rail slots. and for the ventilation I am a fan of vents low on the cool side and high up on the high side to promote some natural airflow. These were cut carefully to protect the melamine surface with a 4 inch hole saw which i then covered with a 120mm computer case fan grill inside and out so that neither side appears like a sunk in hole.

Now mine are a 3 high stack that is 4x2x2 inside each of the 3 it would be much simpler for just a single which could b don with 1 4x8 sheet of melamine 2 doors cut to size (dependant on box dimensions and the rails/vents. I also have display case style siding locks on the doors just as a added safety measure.

First off you need to determine your size (4x2x2 is a great size for an adult) and budget. While I love what I made it is a lot of work. and then comes the inside creating spots to climb bask and relax which of course can be don a multitude of ways. I will say if you have tools on hand already then building is great, but if you need to buy the tools just to do this it can add up to quite a bit in tools and you aren't saving any money.

In the end check out all the diy builds for ideas as well as enclosures you can just buy and youll have what you need to make an informed choice.

For anyone wondering the pics are from introducing them to the enclosure first then adding in more things for climbing basking and such. and sory for still having tools and materials in the shots.

Easier to collect the cats when no one else is home , put them in a sack and "donate" them to a local animal shelter ( they become some else's problem then ) and if it upsets the person who brought them into your house , so be it.

kingofnobbys":2wc0tx84 said:

Easier to collect the cats , put them in a sack and "donate" them to local animal shelter ( they become some else's problem then ) and if it upsets the person who brought them into your house , so be it.

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....I’m a minor, won’t go down so well. Also the cats were a gift to my sister because her Kitty passed away a while ago. She never bothered my lizard though. Though I love my lizard it seems a little unfair to throw away another animal that isn’t even mine. Not to mention I’ll only be in this house with her for another year.