Huge home made viv help?! asap :)

[MarynKoopa]

Hi all!
Im new to all this. And I need some Guidence.
My friend gave me his Dragon because he was moving. His tank is too small for him.
I feel horrible about how he has to live in that
So, Ive got my father to rearange the house so I have the biggest room
Now, I want to build Koopa a Huge home too.
Bascially what I was thinking was a huge "L" shaped, fitting into the corner of the room.
Each of the legs on the "L" being 6ft. long. (if you understand what im saying)
This is going to be a huge job. I know. But I think hes worth it.
I want it to be sticking out from the wall about 4ft. (is this okay?)
and about 2ft. tall (again, is this okay?)
How many light do you think I would need?
Whats the best supplies I could use? Flooring? Glass? or Plexi? Wire? Mesh? (i heard certain wood can hurt him )
If anyone could help me with the plans its self, that would be a big help.
Im totally Lost.
Thanks all.
Mary & Koopa

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4092/picture001x.jpg
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[sixxmum]

He's a cutie! How many lights depends on the heat of your house etc. In a 4 foot enclosure, I have a fluorescent, a basking/heat, a ceramic heater, and a standard light for heat. But, my house is cold. Two feet tall is perfectly fine. It's going to be a BIG enclosure!

 

[MarynKoopa]

thanks.
yea, my room is bascially all of the down stairs basement.
i try to keep it warm, but it is rather cold.

 

[glitch_in_the_system]

thats going to be almost too big. He will never use all that space... It would be cool to build that as 3 separate enclosures and have 3 different lizards in it. That would still be more space per lizard than most people provide.

 

[MarynKoopa]

thats going to be almost too big. He will never use all that space... It would be cool to build that as 3 separate enclosures and have 3 different lizards in it. That would still be more space per lizard than most people provide.

oh no, i didn't think of that.
do you think thats more possible?
im not allowed with more lizards as i already have two dogs, two birds and a frog, plus Koopa...

 

[RedHandFilms]

Yea, that really does seem too big. For the the amount of materials needed and the high cost, it's just not worth it for only one dragon. A very standard size tank we use is 4"x2"x2". That's 8 square feet of floor space and it's enough to keep any dragon happy. Your L tank would be 32 square feet. That's enough for 4 tanks!
You could easily make a 4x2x2 crossfire. It's also cheap for it's size because it can be made from a single sheet of 4x8 plywood. Any larger tank will almost double the cost because it will require at least 2 sheets. Your big L tank could easily take 5 sheets. Personally, I don't think it's worth it for the cost for one dragon. It's overkill. Plus, it's going to be very hard to light and heat a tank that size.
I recommend, before you start buying supplies or building, you settle on a design.
Get Google Sketchup. It's a free, 3D modeling program that's easy to learn and use. It helped me a lot to visualize my design and plan it out to the last detail. I spent months working and reworking my plans until I came up with the perfect design. Trust me, the more time you spend planning and drawing out every detail, the easier it will be to make. Since I had all my designs laid out and new exactly what I needed, I could even get all of my lumber cut for me in the store and had it basically assembled in a few hours (granted, then it took a week to sand, stain, and finish, but you get my point.).

 

[kubie2]

I completely agree. I built a 4x2x2 enclosure for my first dragon and it is more then big enough. I then put one heat lamp and one uv lamp in the cage. I spent maybe $200 total on all the materials. Let me know if you want pics.

 

[MarynKoopa]

Yea, that really does seem too big. For the the amount of materials needed and the high cost, it's just not worth it for only one dragon. A very standard size tank we use is 4"x2"x2". That's 8 square feet of floor space and it's enough to keep any dragon happy. Your L tank would be 32 square feet. That's enough for 4 tanks!
You could easily make a 4x2x2 crossfire. It's also cheap for it's size because it can be made from a single sheet of 4x8 plywood. Any larger tank will almost double the cost because it will require at least 2 sheets. Your big L tank could easily take 5 sheets. Personally, I don't think it's worth it for the cost for one dragon. It's overkill. Plus, it's going to be very hard to light and heat a tank that size.
I recommend, before you start buying supplies or building, you settle on a design.
Get Google Sketchup. It's a free, 3D modeling program that's easy to learn and use. It helped me a lot to visualize my design and plan it out to the last detail. I spent months working and reworking my plans until I came up with the perfect design. Trust me, the more time you spend planning and drawing out every detail, the easier it will be to make. Since I had all my designs laid out and new exactly what I needed, I could even get all of my lumber cut for me in the store and had it basically assembled in a few hours (granted, then it took a week to sand, stain, and finish, but you get my point.).

thanks.
okay, so what about if I just make it smaller..?
I just eally wanted an "L" shaped one.. Theres one corner in my room thats so "blah" lol.
so instead of it being 6ft on each side... make it like 3 or even 4?
what im trying to say is i want something more custom?
i know i could make the inside and stuff custom.. but i wanted the size to be different than just say a crossfire..

 

[MarynKoopa]

I completely agree. I built a 4x2x2 enclosure for my first dragon and it is more then big enough. I then put one heat lamp and one uv lamp in the cage. I spent maybe $200 total on all the materials. Let me know if you want pics.

Hey, yeah. if I could see pictures it would help me out alot

I read about how most people use the 4x2x2 ... but i just have so much space in my room..
ugh lol i just wanted to fill it

Im just gonna have to convince my dad to get me a few more dragons i think. :!:
that should be fun

thanks a bunch.

 

[kubie2]

I made mine with 1x2's and 2x2's for the frame. Covered it will a thin plywood material. Used thick storm door screen for the lid. Any other questions let me know.

 

[MarynKoopa]

I made mine with 1x2's and 2x2's for the frame. Covered it will a thin plywood material. Used thick storm door screen for the lid. Any other questions let me know.

oh thanks!
this helps alot.
but, is that sand in it? cause i was told not to use sand :?
while others say i can... so im so confussed lol.
how long did this take you? cause based on the size of Koopas tank now.. I need to upgrade asfast as pssible!
hes over 16 in. and heres his current tank!

 

[kubie2]

I think it was called VitaSand or something like that. I got conflicting reports of the substrates to use also. My female has been in it for almost two years and I've had no problems. I say do what you want.

It took me and a buddy probably two afternoons to put it together. Another couple days for the stand. All depends how technical you get with building it.

 

[RedHandFilms]

There are many conflicting ideas about all kinds of sand and other loose substrates. The easiest thing to do is just avoid them entirely. There are no safety issues with something like tile.
Anyways. Kubie has a nice looking cage, but you really should not use screen. It's best to use glass. Screen will just not hold in the heat. You'll find it's hard to maintain temps and there can be drafts. Screen can be used on the top, but the four walls should be solid (with the exception of some vents.)

 

[MarynKoopa]

There are many conflicting ideas about all kinds of sand and other loose substrates. The easiest thing to do is just avoid them entirely. There are no safety issues with something like tile.
Anyways. Kubie has a nice looking cage, but you really should not use screen. It's best to use glass. Screen will just not hold in the heat. You'll find it's hard to maintain temps and there can be drafts. Screen can be used on the top, but the four walls should be solid (with the exception of some vents.)

okay, in that case...but wouldn't tile get really hot?
*ouch* :|

 

[RedHandFilms]

Only if you're using it as your basking spot. Then you control the temps to get a surface temp of about 110*F.