Outdoor natural sunlight time

[Spider8ait1994]

Hi everyone.
I figured I’d make a post here about my DIY Outdoor setup I’ve made for my dragons so they can get time in the natural sunlight and stay safe at the same time.
The setup is pretty simple so you don’t need to be extremely skilled.
What you’ll need:
stiff wire mesh panels
A roll of thick wire
A screwdriver
4 wingnuts
4 U brackets
4 bolts

You’ll need to cut the panels to the size you want (ie 2 long side panels, 2 short side panels and 1 top panel.)
Cut lengths of the wire and wrap it around the screwdriver then use this to secure the panels together.
Secure the LONG side of the top panel to the long side of one of the side panels with wire at each corner and 2 wire pieces in the middle.
Repeat on the other LONG side of the top panel securing to the long side o the OTHER side panel.
DO NOT secure the short sides of the top panel.
Secure ONE SHORT SIDE of one of the short side panels to the short side of ONE of the long side panels with a wire piece at each corner and one in the middle.
Repeat with the OTHER short side panel but be sure to SECURE IT TO THE SAME LONG SIDE PANEL AS THE OTHER SHORT SIDE PANEL IS SECURED TO (IMPORTANT)
When you lay this out flat you should now have a T shape with 3 LONG panels and 2 short panels secured together.
Now for the side that isn’t secured. You want to use the bolts, wing nuts and U brackets here. One in each corner of the shirt side of the long side panel and connect it up to the short side of the short side panel.
By connecting it all together this way you have the option of undoing the bolts in these U brackets and being able to fold the entire thing flat for easy transport and storage.
You should now have an enclosure you can set down over the top of your dragon.
Pair this with some astroturf and you can set them up on a back deck or use some tent pegs to secure the enclosure down into your backyard.
I place a rock in there with my dragon to give them a nice warm place to lean themselves up on if they want to and I also put in a pot plant saucer I fill with water. This is great because the saucer it shallow enough they can’t get themselves into trouble but still holds enough water they can sit in it, have a bit of a paddle around and it doubles as a water source if they want to have a drink.
If you have 2 dragons like me you can make two of these and just put up an old towel between the two enclosures to block their view of each other.
I hope I’ve explained this clear enough but I will include photos of the finished product.

 

[AHBD]

Great idea, sounds easy enough to make and then disassemble with relative ease. I have outdoor pens as well, one thing my beardies love is a log that reaches up high where they climb + spend a lot of time. Being outdoors in the sun is just good for them.

 

[kakakanga.kukukungu@gmail]

Great idea, thanks for sharing.

 

[dogndragonmom]

Hi everyone.
I figured I’d make a post here about my DIY Outdoor setup I’ve made for my dragons so they can get time in the natural sunlight and stay safe at the same time.
The setup is pretty simple so you don’t need to be extremely skilled.
What you’ll need:
stiff wire mesh panels
A roll of thick wire
A screwdriver
4 wingnuts
4 U brackets
4 bolts

You’ll need to cut the panels to the size you want (ie 2 long side panels, 2 short side panels and 1 top panel.)
Cut lengths of the wire and wrap it around the screwdriver then use this to secure the panels together.
Secure the LONG side of the top panel to the long side of one of the side panels with wire at each corner and 2 wire pieces in the middle.
Repeat on the other LONG side of the top panel securing to the long side o the OTHER side panel.
DO NOT secure the short sides of the top panel.
Secure ONE SHORT SIDE of one of the short side panels to the short side of ONE of the long side panels with a wire piece at each corner and one in the middle.
Repeat with the OTHER short side panel but be sure to SECURE IT TO THE SAME LONG SIDE PANEL AS THE OTHER SHORT SIDE PANEL IS SECURED TO (IMPORTANT)
When you lay this out flat you should now have a T shape with 3 LONG panels and 2 short panels secured together.
Now for the side that isn’t secured. You want to use the bolts, wing nuts and U brackets here. One in each corner of the shirt side of the long side panel and connect it up to the short side of the short side panel.
By connecting it all together this way you have the option of undoing the bolts in these U brackets and being able to fold the entire thing flat for easy transport and storage.
You should now have an enclosure you can set down over the top of your dragon.
Pair this with some astroturf and you can set them up on a back deck or use some tent pegs to secure the enclosure down into your backyard.
I place a rock in there with my dragon to give them a nice warm place to lean themselves up on if they want to and I also put in a pot plant saucer I fill with water. This is great because the saucer it shallow enough they can’t get themselves into trouble but still holds enough water they can sit in it, have a bit of a paddle around and it doubles as a water source if they want to have a drink.
If you have 2 dragons like me you can make two of these and just put up an old towel between the two enclosures to block their view of each other.
I hope I’ve explained this clear enough but I will include photos of the finished product. View attachment 67864 View attachment 67865 View attachment 67866

I love this. We live in Florida, so we have an abundance of sunshine and while I got him a mesh enclosure I am worried he will hut himself if/when he tries to climb it. Do your dragons try to climb the wire? I think I am going to attempt to make this soon!! Thanks for sharing

 

[Spider8ait1994]

I love this. We live in Florida, so we have an abundance of sunshine and while I got him a mesh enclosure I am worried he will hut himself if/when he tries to climb it. Do your dragons try to climb the wire? I think I am going to attempt to make this soon!! Thanks for sharing

Sorry for the late response. For some reason I didn’t get notified of this.
Yes they both climb the wire on occassion which is another reason that I put down the synthetic turf mats and when I set them up on the grass in the yard I always do a check of the area and remove any pebbles or sticks.
I have watched what they do when they climb and get back down and they seem to ‘slide’ down rather than just let go and fall so. They usually only climb though when they’re ready to come back inside or if the sun has moved and they’re trying to get that last little bit of sunshine before it gets out of reach.
Haven’t had any issues with them hurting themselves but if you are worried you can always decrease the height of the wire panels when you make it just as long as you keep the enclosure tall enough they can bask comfortably.

 

[vegullaaimee]

Hi everyone.
I figured I’d make a post here about my DIY Outdoor setup I’ve made for my dragons so they can get time in the natural sunlight and stay safe at the same time.
The setup is pretty simple so you don’t need to be extremely skilled.
What you’ll need:
stiff wire mesh panels
A roll of thick wire
A screwdriver
4 wingnuts
4 U brackets
4 bolts

You’ll need to cut the panels to the size you want (ie 2 long side panels, 2 short side panels and 1 top panel.)
Cut lengths of the wire and wrap it around the screwdriver then use this to secure the panels together.
Secure the LONG side of the top panel to the long side of one of the side panels with wire at each corner and 2 wire pieces in the middle.
Repeat on the other LONG side of the top panel securing to the long side o the OTHER side panel.
DO NOT secure the short sides of the top panel.
Secure ONE SHORT SIDE of one of the short side panels to the short side of ONE of the long side panels with a wire piece at each corner and one in the middle.
Repeat with the OTHER short side panel but be sure to SECURE IT TO THE SAME LONG SIDE PANEL AS THE OTHER SHORT SIDE PANEL IS SECURED TO (IMPORTANT)
When you lay this out flat you should now have a T shape with 3 LONG panels and 2 short panels secured together.
Now for the side that isn’t secured. You want to use the bolts, wing nuts and U brackets here. One in each corner of the shirt side of the long side panel and connect it up to the short side of the short side panel.
By connecting it all together this way you have the option of undoing the bolts in these U brackets and being able to fold the entire thing flat for easy transport and storage.
You should now have an enclosure you can set down over the top of your dragon.
Pair this with some astroturf and you can set them up on a back deck or use some tent pegs to secure the enclosure down into your backyard.
I place a rock in there with my dragon to give them a nice warm place to lean themselves up on if they want to and I also put in a pot plant saucer I fill with water. This is great because the saucer it shallow enough they can’t get themselves into trouble but still holds enough water they can sit in it, have a bit of a paddle around and it doubles as a water source if they want to have a drink.
If you have 2 dragons like me you can make two of these and just put up an old towel between the two enclosures to block their view of each other.
I hope I’ve explained this clear enough but I will include photos of the finished product. View attachment 67864 View attachment 67865 View attachment 67866

I love it