Littlebuddysmomma
Member
Hi everyone! I just received Cookie's new tank! I am moving her from a 4ftx18inx18in Carolina Custom Cages glass enclosure to the 4ftx2ftx2ft Zen Habitats wood enclosure (pictured above). I am BEYOND excited for this upgrade and want to talk out some details with you guys! This will be a lengthy post - so bear with me!
I've heard many BD's get sassy when their environments change. She has not been moved to a new enclosure since she was a baby and I initially moved her from the very small tank to the Carolina Custom Cages one. She did not have any issues at that time, but she has been in her current enclosure for about a year now so I'm worried she may have a harder time with this move.
I have already cleaned out the new tank with chlorhexidine solution, and am now ready to start moving things over. I'm really tired of reptile carpet, and I don't think she's all that fond of it either. So I also ordered a mat from Zen which will fit into the bottom of the new enclosure perfectly, but that will not arrive for a few days, so I have some padded shelf liner to use in the meantime. I cut that to size and cleaned it off (both sides) with chlorhexidine solution as well.
As for setup - I am planning on moving the accessories over in the exact arrangement they are currently in for now. I'm hoping this might help to make her feel like it's not TOO different. Over time, I'll make adjustments and add in some new things one at a time. She's an extremely hyper lizard, and I would like to give her more climbing options. Her tank has been pretty bare-bones due to limited space, and I'd love some suggestions to make things more interesting and enjoyable for her. One thing I plan to do once I have adjusted and perfected the lighting and temps for the new space, is to put her on a soil/sand/clay mixture. She loves to dig and I hate that she has been denied the opportunity to carry out this natural instinct. I'm not quite up for going bioactive at this time, but may change my mind later on down the road.
Speaking of temps and lighting - you may notice in the photo that her inside-mounted UVB is not completely overlapping with her basking area. Just want to mention that I will be correcting this in the new tank. The current tank was not tall enough, so she would have been able to reach the light from her platform if I overlapped.
She currently has a 75w basking bulb with a CHE in her double-dome fixture. This has been a great combo for her temps in the glass tank. Now with her new tank being bigger, I'm wondering if I will need a stronger bulb. The wood enclosures are said to retain heat better than glass, so maybe this will negate the need for a stronger bulb? If anyone has this enclosure, can you tell me what you use for yours? Obviously I will know for sure once I get the lights on the new tank, but just wondering if I should definitely plan to make a run to the store. We live in a very rural area, so there is no such thing as a quick errand around here. I am also wondering if I should get a wider basking fixture?
To sum up, I'm open to hearing any/all thoughts and suggestions. I am really looking forward to improving her setup.
