Taterbug
BD.org Addict
After months of work and I'm finally done with my upgraded enclosure. In May I started using soil substrate, my cage at the time wasn't designed for it and I ended up being unhapy with the amount of space. Seeing that my corn snake needed an upgrade anyway I decided to build a taller enclosure for Pepper and give the 4x2x2 to the snake.
This build is a 4x2x4 on a 12" stand, with an 8" waterproof basin.
Stand is Douglas Fir 2x4s
Box is 3/4" maple plywood. Back wall is birch.
At this point I started thinking maybe it was too big.
Assembled. I found maple veneer edging on eBay and used it to plug screw holes and seal the edges.
Stained. The worst part of the project.
FRP shower surround in place for the liner.
Branches and basking spot mocked up. I ended up adding two more basking areas - one bulb doesn't heat the cage enough. Each light is individualy wired and on a dimmer.
In the house... It's huge. I'm a little worried it won't all get used... At this point was pretty sure it was too big. We got rid of a couch for this monster.
Trial Run - I put in the soil and let the lights stay on for the weekend. Pepper got to try it out during the day and I kept an eye on him to make sure it's all stable and he isn't going to fall. I had to change the branches from my original plan - pepper is wider than I though D: He was all over it, up and down, up and down.
Finally! He is moved in, the leaf litter is in place (helps keep the moisture in the soil) and his hide cave setup. The rocks and logs all go to the bottom of the cage or have solid brick footings - no risk of collapse. I thought the three lights would be overkill at first, but at least in the winter they will be needed. The uvb is a T5 reptisun in a sunblaster fixture - basking platform is a UVI of ~5 at 14" away and even 2.5-3' away the UVI is over 1. I am super impressed yet again with the T5 lights. It's hidden from view but there is also a 36" T5 daylight bulb along the front edge.
Happy camper
This build is a 4x2x4 on a 12" stand, with an 8" waterproof basin.
Stand is Douglas Fir 2x4s
Box is 3/4" maple plywood. Back wall is birch.
At this point I started thinking maybe it was too big.
Assembled. I found maple veneer edging on eBay and used it to plug screw holes and seal the edges.
Stained. The worst part of the project.
FRP shower surround in place for the liner.
Branches and basking spot mocked up. I ended up adding two more basking areas - one bulb doesn't heat the cage enough. Each light is individualy wired and on a dimmer.
In the house... It's huge. I'm a little worried it won't all get used... At this point was pretty sure it was too big. We got rid of a couch for this monster.
Trial Run - I put in the soil and let the lights stay on for the weekend. Pepper got to try it out during the day and I kept an eye on him to make sure it's all stable and he isn't going to fall. I had to change the branches from my original plan - pepper is wider than I though D: He was all over it, up and down, up and down.
Finally! He is moved in, the leaf litter is in place (helps keep the moisture in the soil) and his hide cave setup. The rocks and logs all go to the bottom of the cage or have solid brick footings - no risk of collapse. I thought the three lights would be overkill at first, but at least in the winter they will be needed. The uvb is a T5 reptisun in a sunblaster fixture - basking platform is a UVI of ~5 at 14" away and even 2.5-3' away the UVI is over 1. I am super impressed yet again with the T5 lights. It's hidden from view but there is also a 36" T5 daylight bulb along the front edge.
Happy camper