Hey guys,
My dragon is currently in a 55 gallon enclosure and it's working for him, but I've been considering building a custom Viv that's longer just so he has even more room to move.
My main questions are:
What dimensions would be ideal for an adult dragon?
What type of wood is the safest (considering I'd be putting lights in the enclosure)
And what is the safest way to mount heat lamps inside a wooden enclosure?
I was thinking of doing a large wooden box with glass sliding doors that open in the front but still doing a screen top for ventilation (& lights)
Currently I have a hole cut in my screen top so there is no obstruction between the UVB light & my dragon. I would do a similar set up with the custom enclosure as well.Thoughts?
The 55g is OK but they tend to be pretty narrow. Too much so for an adult in my opinion. If you build one, make it as large as you can given the space you have. I'd say 4'x2'x2' is a minimum for an adult. You can put a ceramic screw socket in the top over the basking area for the basking light and wire that to a dimmer so you can fine tune the output as needed (since you won't be able to adjust height). The UVB fixture can be screwed in next to that. A T5 is best for a large enclosure so I'd move to that if you don't have one already. The front opening doors are great. Either sliding doors or a drop down door with a latch will work. For ventilation I'd put a vent low on the cool side and high on the basking side which will allow air to flow well through the tank.