from 10 to 30 to custom enclosure

[johnnytrad]

So my wife thinks im insane now (rightly so).
Ive only has the little guy for approx 2 months.
Started out in the 10 gallon tank and has since moved to a 30 gallon.
I just yesterday started building a custom enclosure based on the crossfire design.
Im using birch plywood and just got the shell together.
Still have alot of work to do such as vents for back wall, fixture mountings on inside top for uvb and basking bulbs, tile floor, tempered glass sliding doors for front etc.

 

[BeardieGrandma]

You aren't crazy. That's going to be an awesome set up for your beardie and good to get started now cause your beardie is going to grow out of that 30 gallon tank fast!

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Looking good so far.. I did the same thing and used Oak.. The only suggestion I could give you is to make sure you have enough vents! I used the crossfire design too and have about pulled my hair out with the whole temp thing it was always too hot... If I had to do it over again I would probably add another vent or two to either end.. Maybe a small skinny one on the bottom of each end under the ones you already have.. Good luck!

 

[Jess]

Nice viv! I bet your little one will love it! Trust me, this is only the beginning of the insanity. The longer you have them, the worse it gets LOL.

I apologize in advance for the hijack about to take place, LOL...
@Ashleigh: I had the same issue with mine, I only have 3 teeny tiny circle vents in the whole cage! (I didn't build it, I bought it) I didn't want to cut more holes in it, because the 3 little vents are fine during the winter, so I just made a screen door for the summer. I got one of those thick poster boards that have foamy stuff in the middle, cut a "window" in it and glued on a screen, and I cut it so that it jams into the tract. It's pretty beat up now, so I'm working on making a better one that actually slides out of this ceiling panel stuff I bought.

I know you don't have sliding doors, but maybe you could take off one of them and replace it with a screen one? Here is mine:

 

[johnnytrad]

i was thinking instead of the pain in the butt circle vents why not just put two or three more of the 8 x 16 vents on the back like i have on the sides?

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

That would prob actually wrk better.. I thought about it after I wrote Tht haha

 

[Trogdorpheus]

Wire in a dimmer to your basking bulb, then no need for the extra vents. Just a temperature solution that doesn't require more woodwork.

 

[johnnytrad]

i have a dimmer ordered already. the issue i can see with not enough venting would be the challenge of maintaining a proper hot and cool side.
Are the two vents in place on the sides sufficient for this or would i need more.
I will try it the way it is (without him in it of course) to experiment.
If needed i can always add more vents to make it right.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Even with a dimmer you still need a way for the heat to escape.. So yes you will need vents for sure... If I were you I would do one vent on each end and then maybe two on each side in the back..

 

[johnnytrad]

ok heres an updated pic on progress.
basically i put in the brown vents on the inside and i have white vents on the outside.
I used mineral oil on the inside to bring out the grain of the birch.
next step is to build the frame for the sliding glass doors.
after that goes the oak molding around the outside perimeter on the face of the enclosure.
next step is to mount and wire up the 36" flourescent housing and the housing for the halogen basking lamp.
floor tiles after that.
wish i had more time to do it but its fun.

 

[johnnytrad]

ok made some more progress.....
need to sand, stain and poly the new frame and molding.
next step is to mount and wire the lighting fixtures and then tile the floor.

 

[johnnytrad]

more progress....
light fixtures in and mounted.
finished inside wood with Polycrylic satin finish.
put handles on outside sides (small white ones that blend in with the white vents)
stained the oak trim

still need to:
poly the oak trim
cut and put in the plexi
tile the floor
buy reptisun 10.0 bulb
wire in the dimmer switch to the halogen fixture
thinking about putting a thermostat on the halogen fixture so it cuts off if temp goes above a certain temp as safety measure



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[MartianMonkey]

Looks really good, I'm hoping to be able to start on mine soon

 

[johnnytrad]

Plexi is in.


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[ra51772]

my husband wanted to build an enclosure similar to this one but I didnt think it was going to be sanitary. the wood is going absorb the urine and smells. what have you done to protect your beardie and yourself from headaches in dealing with these problems. Any suggestions would be appreciated because we have 2 beardies and we thought they were both males but i think we have 1 and 1. the bobbing of the head has been going on as well as the slow motion waving.(pretty cool to watch).we have them both in a forty gallon tank and they are about 2 years old and they arent growing very fast.