Converting Dresser to double viv

[Musicmeg]

Hello everyone. I just purchased a second dragon and at the moment the setup is not ideal. They are in separate cages, but the placement of the cages is a bit awkward in the layout of the house. I like the idea of the stack-able viv and feel it is a good use of space that if done correctly is aesthetically pleasing. However, I do not want to spend a lot of money purchasing material to do it myself. It seems the external frame part costs the most so I was thinking I could buy a dresser and re-purpose it. I would plan to buy one large enough to divide into two separate front opening enclosures. I have the tools to cut out the necessary vents and cord holes and think I can spend less than 50 bucks on the dresser. Has anyone else done this? Are there any pitfalls to doing this that I should know about? Thanks in advance for your help and ideas!

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

This sounds like a good idea, and is something I would like to try myself eventually. Hopefully someone has done this and will respond. I am interested in finding out how to do it.

 

[Thades22]

I thought about doing this as well. I would imagine you could do it if you wanted. I would just keep in mind a couple of things.

1. Most dressers and furniture, for that cheap, are made out of particle board. That stuff will expand and break apart when wet very easily. So for cleaning or anything else, I would definitely ensure it's waterproof via some sort of waterproof sealant. Lots of it. Or if you can find a cheap hardwood dresser that would be good too, but those are a little more pricey.

2. Definitely make sure it can support the weight of whatever it is you are going to do. If you start creating rock walls and things with a lot of grout like I did, it will get pretty heavy pretty fast.

In the end, for me, I just built my own enclosure from scratch. I spent a good amount of money though but I did get a little crazy. Especially since its my first time I want to make sure that it lasts a long time. You could do it, I would just keep in mind those things, for sure and probably a few other things I cant think of off the top of my head.

 

[Musicmeg]

Thade22, thanks for your input. I had wondered how important waterproofing would be and now that I think about it, sometimes the beardie poos can be pretty wet so that is something I should be aware of. What do you think of lining it with linoleum and securing it with aquarium silicon? In their currant vivs which are just re-purposed aquariums I have been using shelf liner, but I would like something more permanent and easily cleaned. I don't think I will be doing any fancy sculpting as I want to keep it lightweight enough to easily move with two people. I have also been looking into some shelving units. It seems they are a little cheaper and have less parts like drawers that I don't need.

 

[Musicmeg]

I actually have one concern about doing this that someone who has stackable vivs might be able to help with. I am curious how the heat source is placed. I am not sure where I would put it in the lower viv. Can someone post pics or a link of how theirs is installed? I don't want my beardie to be able to jump on it. Thanks!

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

I actually have one concern about doing this that someone who has stackable vivs might be able to help with. I am curious how the heat source is placed. I am not sure where I would put it in the lower viv. Can someone post pics or a link of how theirs is installed? I don't want my beardie to be able to jump on it. Thanks!

Most stackable vivs I've seen (Vivexotic) have mounts for the lights on the inside of the cage. They are placed in the ceiling.

 

[Thades22]

The linoleum with silicone should work just fine. Also do a lot of research for different ideas and things that would also work or designs you might like. I personally did probably a good 30 hours of research before feeling comfortable enough to begin. Plus I had to save some money. As far as lighting goes you can to one of two things (I think. Someone may know another way to do this. One way that I thought about doing if I wanted to build another enclosure and stack it (because I have my lights on top of the one I have now) is to just space the enclosure so that there is about 18" or more of space in between the enclosures for the lights to go into, making sure there is enough ventilation for the heat to escape. I don't know for sure but it might serve as a heat source for the top enclosure too, like an under cage heat pad. I don't know if anyone has done this or if it will even work, it was just something I thought about trying. Might be hard to do inside a dresser as well. There are ways to mount the lights on the inside but be careful that they are not too close to burn or over expose your beardie. My personal favorite I've seen was done by dragonov. I actually used a lot of his ideas for my own enclosure. You can do it just like him or somewhat like him and then use some 3M Command hooks (you can get them at walmart) to mount a UVB tube to the back wall. Either way its really up to you. It's ultimately your design

But here is the link to dragonov's build. In here you will see how he did that lights for his stackable.
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=182242

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

One way that I thought about doing if I wanted to build another enclosure and stack it (because I have my lights on top of the one I have now) is to just space the enclosure so that there is about 18" or more of space in between the enclosures for the lights to go into, making sure there is enough ventilation for the heat to escape. I don't know for sure but it might serve as a heat source for the top enclosure too, like an under cage heat pad.

This had also come to mind. It seems the simplest and perhaps the safest since your beardie isn't exposed to the bulbs. My only concern would be that heat rises. The top vivarium may have excess heat from the bottom that your beardie would not be able to feel. I suppose if you had some sort of cooling system. Maybe a couple of small fans within that space as well? They could be hooked up to a thermostat and only used if this area reaches a certain temperature.

 

[Thades22]

This had also come to mind. It seems the simplest and perhaps the safest since your beardie isn't exposed to the bulbs. My only concern would be that heat rises. The top vivarium may have excess heat from the bottom that your beardie would not be able to feel. I suppose if you had some sort of cooling system. Maybe a couple of small fans within that space as well? They could be hooked up to a thermostat and only used if this area reaches a certain temperature.

I suppose that would help. Its definitely something to experiment with. If anything it might help save on your power bill. LOL If the top cage gets hot enough because of the bulbs underneath, I guess you could get a lower wattage bulb for the top cage, that might help reduce the heat if it gets to hot. I think it wouldn't be a problem to manage just playing with different bulbs at the top (not saying the the OP has the money/time to buy and/or experiment with this, just a thought). Another thing I thought of with that setup, though it may be relatively easy to control the temps due to the lamps underneath the top cage, it may make it more difficult to keep a temp gradient throughout the whole cage (keeping the cool side cool). then again if the heat lamps are all on one side it may not be a problem. I guess when I build my next viv (when my little one gets bigger) I may have to try and see if it works.

 

[Musicmeg]

That is true, it could get a bit warm. I will take a good look at the link you provided and see if I can get some ideas as well. All the input so far has been great. Thanks everyone!

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

This had also come to mind. It seems the simplest and perhaps the safest since your beardie isn't exposed to the bulbs. My only concern would be that heat rises. The top vivarium may have excess heat from the bottom that your beardie would not be able to feel. I suppose if you had some sort of cooling system. Maybe a couple of small fans within that space as well? They could be hooked up to a thermostat and only used if this area reaches a certain temperature.

I suppose that would help. Its definitely something to experiment with. If anything it might help save on your power bill. LOL If the top cage gets hot enough because of the bulbs underneath, I guess you could get a lower wattage bulb for the top cage, that might help reduce the heat if it gets to hot. I think it wouldn't be a problem to manage just playing with different bulbs at the top (not saying the the OP has the money/time to buy and/or experiment with this, just a thought). Another thing I thought of with that setup, though it may be relatively easy to control the temps due to the lamps underneath the top cage, it may make it more difficult to keep a temp gradient throughout the whole cage (keeping the cool side cool). then again if the heat lamps are all on one side it may not be a problem. I guess when I build my next viv (when my little one gets bigger) I may have to try and see if it works.

The problem with under-cage heating is that the dragon cannot tell when it is time to cool off. As far as my knowledge goes, a bearded dragon senses heat from above (not sure if related to parietal eye). That's why it's always better to have heat from above rather than below. Some beardies have been severely burned by heat mats and that sort of thing because they cannot feel it. Also apparent is the issue of heat gradient you mention.

That being said, this is not a bad idea if implemented correctly. Like I mentioned above, it has it's advantages i.e. convenience and safety.

 

[Thades22]

Wow I didn't know that. I thought they knew if they were hot and that's why the go to the cool side. Because people have lights on the cool side in some vivs and they still seem to know its the cool side.... That's interesting I didn't know that I will have to look into that.

And no problem musicmeg, glad to help.

 

[Spike1etta]

One major problem I see is finding anything that is 4' wide, anything smaller will be out grown. I built some enclosures with Melamine and hardboard backs, cost $30 each for frames and they can be moved separately, which is nice when it comes time to deep clean or move.

Styrofoam weighs nothing and adds so much to a plain cage.

 

[Musicmeg]

Spike1etta, I would love to see a pic of your build. How much did they cost in the end? I am also curious about your materials list. It may still be the best option to build myself which is why I am researching all my options.

 

[ILoveLemmonade]

Spike1etta, I would love to see a pic of your build. How much did they cost in the end? I am also curious about your materials list. It may still be the best option to build myself which is why I am researching all my options.

I am also curious about your materials. I found that I didn't want to make my own enclosure since it would be WAY more in price than buying the supplies.