outdoor playtime enclosures

[Phoenix17June2009]

ok i have been searching the forums for this but only thing i can find is back from 2009 or 2010 so i'm hoping someone has come up with something different...

what i'm looking for is a DIY or premade outside play enclosure for beardies... now i have something htey can go outside and play in, BUT its mesh, so its filtering out all the good stuff from the sun, so thats not doing any good. i want an enclosure that can protect them as well as allow them natural sunlight...
for example on days like today- first of all i work all week - full time, i hit the gym, get home, bath one lizard each night by alternating nights, feeding after bath time, start my dinner, feed dogs, eat my dinner and shower then bed and repeat. so come the weekends there is housework to be done. i cant just not do it, and unfortunatly i'm lazy and tired during the week and dont do anything so i spend a lot of my weekend doing household stuff BUT Juuji is scratching and wanting out and so is phoenix, well they cant come out together, tehy will mate or fight, i dont want either. lol.... but again its LOVELY outside, 88 degrees and the sun is shining bright, i woudl love something i could put on my deck and leave them outside in it for a while like while i do laundry and of course check on them and make sure everything is good with them and then alternate beardies but again i do want a way for them to get natural rays from teh sun without everything being filtered by glass and mesh and whatever... does such a thing even exist? i can hope lol... well again i dotn have long but i wanted to throw that out there

any guidance is greatly appreciated

ps if time allows i will have TONS of pics of my beloveds!!

 

[LLLReptile]

Mesh Reptariums are actually perfectly acceptable for housing your beardies outdoors, it's what they're designed for! Is that what you've been using? In the Reptile Times magazine coming out the first issue actually features an article exclusively about outdoor housing options for bearded dragons.

If you don't like those, you could use the ZooMed Tortoise House or Tortoise Playpen...the house has a solid bottom, and is somewhat larger than the playpen. The playpen has an open bottom though, and does go up taller, so your beardie could enjoy the grass and have something to climb on within the cage. They both come with a sheltered area so your beardie can stay out of the sun. We carry them on our website, or you can find them on ZooMed's page.

-Jen

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

Jen,
actually i got that screen enclosure from you guys at lllreptiles a long while ago, unforutnatlty i wasnt thinking far enough ahead as far as size and got i think the 40gal one? anyway while it works for keeping them outside safely doesnt the screen still filter out the uvb? that and like i say i wasnt thinking far enough ahead and got one too small so something bigger at this point is needed, or i have to sit outside with them, and well you know how it is... sometimes you just gotta do that stinky old housework :roll:

 

[LLLReptile]

The screen does filter out some UVB, but you have to remember that this is the sun we're talking about - it emits so much UVB that there is still significant measurable amounts of it in the shade. And that's with trees and buildings blocking the sun out! So the minor amount of UV that is being filtered out by the screen is not going to be enough to be an issue.

Check out the Reptariums too, for a low price they offer you a large space to house your beardies outdoors in. One staff member actually houses his colony of beardies outdoors in them for most of the summer, bringing them in at night but leaving them out all day. Works well!

-Jen

 

[Ironisaac]

I found an extra large bird cage with some cinder blocks inside. Randy seems to like it, hes protected and is able to get plenty of sun.

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

also another good idea! actually my vet recommended that too, he said unless i just want to build something then he recommended a large bird cage. he said he watched craiglist and by doing so could find lots of stuff pretty cheap or free, idk why but it competely slipped my mind thanks you guys!