Building a Huge enclosure!

[Mitch123]

I have decided that my bearded dragon deserves a bigger tank then he's in.

Right now he is in a 4 x 1.5 x 1.5

I want this cage to be as big as i could fit and that was 5 x 2.5 x 2.5

My question is, how much would just the wood cost for this cage?

And, would i need to get more heat equipment then i have now? (I have a 100 watt basking lamp and a 100 infer-red lamp)

Thanks, Mitch

 

[Seven65]

First figure out what kinda of wood you're going to use then how much of it then you could just price it out where you buy your lumber. As for heating equipment what you're planning to build has a similar volume to what i have right now and I use a 150w spotlight on a dimmer switch so i can fine tune the heat in the viv according to the heat in the room and the sun coming in from the window. What do you use the infrared for?

 

[Mitch123]

Well, what kind of wood would be best for this type of job and I would be buying from home depot.

I figured that i'll need about a 5 x 10 feet of whatever type of wood i get.

Where do you get a dimmer switch?

I use the infrared for heating the tank because my basking bulb doesn't heat it completley

 

[Seven65]

Well, what kind of wood would be best for this type of job and I would be buying from home depot.

I figured that i'll need about a 5 x 10 feet of whatever type of wood i get.

Where do you get a dimmer switch?

I use the infrared for heating the tank because my basking bulb doesn't heat it completley

I would assume you'd just want to use plywood due to it being inexpensive then paint it. If you're looking to have a stained wood finish you can get plywood with a piece of wood grain laminate on it which is a lot less expensive than buying a solid piece of wood and you can just finish off the edges with a piece of screen moulding.

You can most likely get a dimmer switch from home depot. The way I have it is I've put a power outlet into my viv and wired one side of the outlet to the dimmer and have the other side to a normal switch for my ceramic heater.

If you don't have any experience with electrical you can buy something like this http://www.amazon.com/Lutron-TT-300...f=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1235611454&sr=1-11 it's just a simple dimmer you can put between your lamp and your power outlet. Home depot may have something similar.

 

[Mitch123]

I probably won't get a stained wood finish because im going to make a fake rock wall for the tank.

lol, I just remembered my dad is an electrician :lol: He'll probably have a dimmer switch or can get me one!

 

[Seven65]

I probably won't get a stained wood finish because im going to make a fake rock wall for the tank.

lol, I just remembered my dad is an electrician :lol: He'll probably have a dimmer switch or can get me one!

Well that makes it easier for you. Bug him to put all your lights on exterior switches and dimmers it's really convenient.

 

[Mitch123]

I will, but the only problem now i asking him to make this, I'm not sure what he'll say :?

and uhhh... sorry if I sound really dumb but, a ceramic heater is a heat mat right?

 

[Neromom39]

I would recommend using a good hardwood such as birch or oak. We built ours out of birch purchased at Home Depot. Plywood may warp over time and then you will ind your self building another one. We have two 4x2x2 enclosures that stacks on top of one another and the cost of the wood plus the oak trim for the face was around $200.00. And that was for two enclosures. Since you are building one, it may be a bit less. Just make sure you use a hardwood to ensure durability. As for lighting, we have 160 watt MVB bulbs in each viv with 75 watt bulbs for basking and additional heat. There is a picture of our enclosures on the "Vivs Pics Only" thread, however if you would like to see it for reference and don't want to search for it I will be glad to post another picture for you. And to answer your question about a ceramic heater - it is a heat source that you insert into a fixture just like a bulb, except with no light. You can get them in different wattages as well.

I hope this helps.

-Robin

 

[Buggsy]

A ceramic heat emmiter is a special bulb that emmits only heat - no light! These are great to bump up the ambiant temps but also for night time if your temps drop below 65f because they dont disturb the beardys sleep like other bulbs, which is pretty bad for them!

Hope this helps

I am just building a new viv, i chose conti board, it's MDF coated in melanin, a water and heat resistant coating. It is what the shop bought ones are made from. Im building a 48" by 18" and 24"tall. I had to buy some powertools as well because i didnt have them, but i spent £70. Considering ive got a perfectly good one that i plan to sell on for a little less than that i havnt reall lost anything! As long as you generally know what your doing, just make sure you have a plan, and put a little aside for unexpeteds!

Keep us updated on how it's going!

 

[Mitch123]

Well Robin since my tank is bigger do you think you could give me an estimate of how much it will cost for a 5 x 10 peice of oak?

And, how much did your 160 watt MVB bulb cost? Are those the ones that cost like 70$?

I just asked my dad to make me a bigger tank and he said yess!

 

[ktizzle188]

go to the store and find out for yourself its not that hard to do.

 

[AndyAMP88]

go to the store and find out for yourself its not that hard to do.

Please be respectful. People come on here to learn.

 

[AndyAMP88]

Well Robin since my tank is bigger do you think you could give me an estimate of how much it will cost for a 5 x 10 peice of oak?

And, how much did your 160 watt MVB bulb cost? Are those the ones that cost like 70$?

I just asked my dad to make me a bigger tank and he said yess!

You are correct about the 160 MVB.. you can find them anywhere from 70-99 at some places. HOWEVER. Order from petmountain.com, and get it for $38.95

 

[diamc]

go to the store and find out for yourself its not that hard to do.

This member has now been permanently banned due to language, disrespect for site policies and rude behavior. I know this person has annoyed a lot of members here so wanted to let you know that it has been taken care of.

 

[gregorydragon]

I probably won't get a stained wood finish because im going to make a fake rock wall for the tank.

lol, I just remembered my dad is an electrician :lol: He'll probably have a dimmer switch or can get me one!

Even if you don't get a stained wood finish, you would want to seal the wood. Is your fake rock going to cover the floor too? You gotta clean up the poo and you don't want it soaking into your wood
You might need to order panels that are 5' x 10'. I haven't looked for those specifically, but I can only recall seeing 4' x 8' panels at the Home Depot near me. Of course, I was only looking for 4 x 8 though :|
For the lighting, I have an MVB (MegaRay). If you get an MVB, I would recommend MegaRay. They have spent a lot of time in research on these bulbs. The 160 watt is about $47. Depending on the room temperature where your viv will be placed you may only need a very low watt bulb for a second heat source or none. I have a 4x2x2 with a 100watt megaray. The room temp in that room is about 78 degrees and the viv is nice and toasty! I have a plain flourescent tube and these are MUCH cheaper than a uvb tube. I have a second basking light that is a 35watt halogen, but I don't turn it on because it just gets too hot. One thing to consider on this is if your lights will be inside the viv or on top of the viv. If they are inside, the temps will be higher because there is no place for the heat to escape like it does on top. My bulbs are inside.

I just had another thought. If you get an MVB, you have to be sure that you provide the right distance between the bulb and the basking spot. 100watt megaray = 10-18 inches from tip of bulb to basking spot
160watt megaray = 18-24 inches from tip of bulb to basking spot

You should have room with a 30inch floor to ceiling distance.