amime
Hatchling Member
I'm so excited to get a bearded dragon but I really want to build them a great home first. So I scoured the site and the web and checked out the crossfire plans (among others) and then started designing!
My enormously helpful BF Matt helped with the design and technical details and he's also going to help me build it (is he awesome or what!). Here's a Sketch-Up drawing of the basic plan.
It has a Slate floor, solid wood walls and top with vents (vents are 10" x 4"), and Plexi sliding doors.
The dimensions are 24" x 24" x 48" and will be home to one bearded dragon.
I bought pine board but DON"T WORRY... I know about the potential for fumes if it's not adequately sealed and we will be staining it and then giving it 4-5 coats of Polycrylic from Min-Wax (which seems to be used often by members of the forum). We're staining it a "Brown Mahogany". The slate is BEAUTIFUL! and we got a dark gray for grout. I'll also be building a custom cave/ basking spot using the styrofoam/grout technique.
The Pretty Slate:
The Supplies Pile:
I'm going to have TONS of technical questions I assure you.
I'm definitely going to be posting updates too!
I know it's a bit premature to be posting about it at all I"m just really excited!
UPDATE:
It's almost done! We finished staining and sealing (4 coats of Minwax Polycrylic). The electric is wired, the vents attached (with screen in between for added bug holding ability), the tiles are cut, and last night we layed the morter and started tiling!
All that's left is to grout the tile and seal it, caulk any cracks and glue on the sliding door track! WOOHOO! I'm going to have my little man come home on Thursday and I CAN"T WAIT!
Now for the updated pictures:
The strange blue thing is a tree stump climb that I"m making for the viv. It's just waiting to be coated with grout after we grout the tiles. I also have some LOVELY natural stones to put on the basking side to elevate him to the right distance from the MVB bulb
The electrical. (Has switches inside and it's all wired to one power cord which will be on a timer.)
__________________
Update!
It's DONE! I still need to finish his tree but the viv is done and cozy and my little dude is home and settled in!
Here's the first picture of him taking in his first little bask. The basking spot is a nice toasty 107 and the cool side is 85. He seems to prefer the warm side so far
Here's a pulled back shot of it's location and stuff. The roach bin is on top to take advantage or the ambient heat.
You may notice the absence of a hide... we did this upon recommendation from his breeder so that he doesn't hide all day and not get the sun and heat he needs to digest. I give him a blanky at night and he LOVES to snuggle up to sleep
My enormously helpful BF Matt helped with the design and technical details and he's also going to help me build it (is he awesome or what!). Here's a Sketch-Up drawing of the basic plan.
It has a Slate floor, solid wood walls and top with vents (vents are 10" x 4"), and Plexi sliding doors.
The dimensions are 24" x 24" x 48" and will be home to one bearded dragon.
I bought pine board but DON"T WORRY... I know about the potential for fumes if it's not adequately sealed and we will be staining it and then giving it 4-5 coats of Polycrylic from Min-Wax (which seems to be used often by members of the forum). We're staining it a "Brown Mahogany". The slate is BEAUTIFUL! and we got a dark gray for grout. I'll also be building a custom cave/ basking spot using the styrofoam/grout technique.
The Pretty Slate:
The Supplies Pile:
I'm going to have TONS of technical questions I assure you.
I'm definitely going to be posting updates too! I know it's a bit premature to be posting about it at all I"m just really excited!
UPDATE:
It's almost done! We finished staining and sealing (4 coats of Minwax Polycrylic). The electric is wired, the vents attached (with screen in between for added bug holding ability), the tiles are cut, and last night we layed the morter and started tiling!
All that's left is to grout the tile and seal it, caulk any cracks and glue on the sliding door track! WOOHOO! I'm going to have my little man come home on Thursday and I CAN"T WAIT!
Now for the updated pictures:
The strange blue thing is a tree stump climb that I"m making for the viv. It's just waiting to be coated with grout after we grout the tiles. I also have some LOVELY natural stones to put on the basking side to elevate him to the right distance from the MVB bulb
The electrical. (Has switches inside and it's all wired to one power cord which will be on a timer.)
__________________
Update!
It's DONE! I still need to finish his tree but the viv is done and cozy and my little dude is home and settled in!
Here's the first picture of him taking in his first little bask. The basking spot is a nice toasty 107 and the cool side is 85. He seems to prefer the warm side so far
Here's a pulled back shot of it's location and stuff. The roach bin is on top to take advantage or the ambient heat.
You may notice the absence of a hide... we did this upon recommendation from his breeder so that he doesn't hide all day and not get the sun and heat he needs to digest. I give him a blanky at night and he LOVES to snuggle up to sleep
