DIY Viv/Terrarium

[littleassassin2]

So, my little leeroy is about 5-6inches from nose to tip of the tail, and he's quite content with his 29gal tank atm, however, soon he will be outgrowing his tank and will need a new home!


So, i've decided instead of buying a 40gal breeder to possibly have to move him yet again, i've decided i'm going to convert something into a viv/terrarium.

My question is what to use though? Curio cabinets are more tall and skinny than deep, same goes for china cabinets and they can also run to be a pretty penny. I've looked at armoire's also but the good ones are too much. So far i've liked SOME armoires, and i've recently started looking at hutch's also which seem really viable.

For the people who built your own, how'd you do it? For the people who converted a piece/pieces of furniture into their new beardie home, what did you use?

I'm looking for a minimum of 2 feet deep, length is negotiable, and height, anything over 1 1/2'. Been looking on craigslist and i'm not looking to spend over $80 or i may as well just go buy a regular tank

 

[czuber]

I have been looking at yard sales for a old school TV entertainment center. The kind that were made for the Old style tube TV's I almost took one last week for 35 bucks. I could have made a double stack cage and still had some storage left over. but it was a little taller than I wanted.

 

[ReptileAddiction]

Buy a 36x18x18 exo terra or something instead of a 40 breeder. Same size they just look nicer and are front loading. Look for cabinets. Those should work. You could also buy a coffe table that matches your furniture and convert that into a cage. Then your dragon could live in your living room! A hutch is like 7 feet tall if you have the bottom piece. Like they ^^^^^^^ said look for an entertainment unit. That will be easiest.

 

[littleassassin2]

Idk, i think building one from scratch would be cheapest as it would cost a grand total of anywhere between 90-120 dollars whereas buying a piece of furniture will cost 40-70 and then you have to buy the supplies to convert it such as wood, and then you still need the glass, track, glue/screws, vents, and new light fixtures if you choose to change lights (which i plan to do).

 

[ReptileAddiction]

Mine cost 400 to build but would retail for 1500

 

[jovamabob]

i purchased mine with my dragon, but the guy who made it used an old bedding box - essentially a melamine-made chest. He cut a window with rounded corners in the front and then put a large peice of glass he found second hand on the inside attached with these corner metal things (Measured the hole to fit its size). He then drilled holes in to patterns for ventilation on the front and lid but i intend to put actual vents in the bottom corners at the back so they're hidden from sight. I painted it to look better
A TV cabinet with a glass front also works well or a display cabinet. My friend has a tall display cabinet turned onto its side so it is a front opening viv.

 

[ClydesGirl]

I just finished Stanley's new viv over the weekend. I converted a tv stand/media consol I found on Craigslist for $40. Bert's I did a couple years back for my original bearded dragon, Clyde. It was a MUCH bigger project and was converted from a glass and wood display case I found on Craigslist for $100.

Stanley's is the one on top. Bert's is on the bottom.

 

[littleassassin2]

I told my grandfather today that he's been enlisted in a project i'll be doing in the next month or 2 lol. He has all the tools i'll need so that's good. He built this really nice toy box that i had for years upon years when i was a kid and he's a jack of all trades. You name it and he can do it lol.

I've decided i'm just going to build my own. It's probably going to be a 4'x2'x2' or maybe like a 4.6/4x2.5'x2'.

Deciding on if i want to make it with 1/4" plywood or melamine.