Creating a "habitat"

[jgilmor]

Hi. We added an addition to our home, which is going to allow me to move some filing cabinets, etc. and will free up quite a bit of space in the bedroom in which Princess' terrarium (cage) is located. She is a large lizard (18 inches, six years), and the cage we have is barely big enough (50 gallon). I'm thinking of creating a "habitat" for her in the corner of the bedroom, which could be about 4 feet square. I was thinking of making an enclosure ("fence") (non-climbable), with a few "bars" across the top on which to set/hang the lights, and some climbing stuff (Princess LOVES to climb!).

One thing that has me worried is that although she likes to climb, she doesn't look that clever at it. She often "falls" (slips/slides) off her basking ramp, although perhaps she does it on purpose - she never looks concerned about it. So, if I give her stuff to climb, and she is uncoordinated, and falls - boom! -- on the floor, that could injure her, right?

Has anyone else experimented with keeping their lizard in anthing except a relatively small aquarium, and if so, can you share some of your experiences, esp. wrt climbing?

Thanks!

 

[RedHandFilms]

I'm glad you're thinking of upgrading. 50 gallons is fairly small for such a large dragon. I'm a bit confused on if this is supposed to be a new cage, or more like a playground to spend some time in. First I'd say to go larger. 4 square feet is not much. That's either 2'x2' or 4'x1' or something. If it's only one foot wide, that doesn't leave enough room for an 18" dragon to turn around. I'd say go for at least a 4'x2', 8 feet squared. Most people then also go 2 foot tall as well.
The fence isn't the best idea. You'd be better going with glass. An open fence won't hold in enough heat.
For climbing. Beardies are semi-arboreal, meaning they spend most of the time on the ground or only a few feet into trees or bushes. Don't give her anything too high to climb. It's best not to have any drops over 2 feet high (even that may be pushing it a bit). They are clumsy climbers. Don't give her anything too steep, and look for branches about the width of her body. These will be easy to climb and lay on.
Your best bet is probably just going to be to upgrade her tank and build her a nice big crossfire enclosure. She'd love that.