Spike's New Crossfire Enclosure (Pics)

[iannkt]

Well I finally finished Spike's new enclosure. I had him in a tiny 10 gallon tank for a few weeks since we got him while I built his new home. We love the way it turned out. Spike is exploring away already, climbing the walls and running all around. He seems to love the freedom. Here are a few pictures.

Basking away

Finished Product

Basking rock and Skull

Cave

Basking light and heat lamp (replacing the red heat bulb with a CHE bulb soon)

Log and vent

Spike saying hello while his skin sheds

 

[dckaz]

Nice set up looks like spike loves it

 

[nair88]

that looks awesome! great job!

 

[vallllhalla]

He's very pretty! I like the maroon color by his eye! I have a few questions, because I bought my beardie about a month ago and he's a 10 gallon and my winter break is coming up and I want to take that time to build him an awesome cage. I really like how the lights are in the tank. How did you do that? And what is the purpose of the vent. I have seen that on many cages and I don't really understand why

 

[vallllhalla]

He's very pretty! I like the maroon color by his eye! I have a few questions, because I bought my beardie about a month ago and he's a 10 gallon and my winter break is coming up and I want to take that time to build him an awesome cage. I really like how the lights are in the tank. How did you do that? And what is the purpose of the vent. I have seen that on many cages and I don't really understand why

 

[Livey]

aww this made me smile! hes so small! and i can see him in all the pics just looking out!
its hugeee!
I love it!

 

[kandj1972]

I love it. And Spike looks like he has alot of room to grow to fill this one. I Am going to build Singe one this coming spring. He has alot of room in the 40 gal but i know he is going to outgrow it. Nice Job Setting it up.

 

[iannkt]

He's very pretty! I like the maroon color by his eye! I have a few questions, because I bought my beardie about a month ago and he's a 10 gallon and my winter break is coming up and I want to take that time to build him an awesome cage. I really like how the lights are in the tank. How did you do that? And what is the purpose of the vent. I have seen that on many cages and I don't really understand why

Thanks for the positive posts. I really love the way the tank came out but Spike is actually back in a smaller tank for now. Due to his love for climbing, Spike would always climb the rock walls and sit at the very top of the tank where he wasn't getting is UV rays due to the way the light shines down and he stopped eating and became pretty lethargic so I loved him for now till he gets a little bigger. Plus I think the large size was a bit much for such a little guy. In due time though he will get all the room he needs.

As for the lights, I bought a 36" fluorescent light and wired that up to a light switch along with one of the outdoor lights since those 2 lights will always be on together. So I wired them in line and put them on their own light switch which is mounted on the backside of the tank. The other outdoor light is wired on its own switch and is used as a heat lamp at night if need be. If you need any specific pictures or want to see anything in the tank let me know and I will take pics.

As for the vent, you need to have air circulation in the tanks plus it helps let heat release so it doesn't become too hot in the tank.

 

[vallllhalla]

hmm. I 'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by a light switch. If you could show me some pics that would be great!

And I hope Spike is doing great!

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Questions!! Ok so how big/old is Spike? And how big is his enclosure.... I'm asking b/c i'm getting a new baby and my viv is 4x2x2 and i was going to put a divider in it so the baby wouldn't b so overwhelmed... But yours looks pretty small too and your viv looks pretty big.. Just wondering.. Thanks!

 

[alohareptiles]

Someday, I need to build some of these...If only days were longer!!!

 

[Mavellie]

I love what you did and I want to do something along those lines, could you hit me with a cost estimate?

 

[wckdbtch]

That is very awesome! Job well done He really is so tiny compared to all that space. Is there no way of temporarily blocking off the space he doesn't need yet? It would be such a waste letting all that go to waste until he grows up.

 

[iannkt]

hmm. I 'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by a light switch. If you could show me some pics that would be great!

And I hope Spike is doing great!

I bought a light switch that you use to turn on/off lights and mounted that on the back of the tank. If you still need pics, I can try and grab a picture.

Questions!! Ok so how big/old is Spike? And how big is his enclosure.... I'm asking b/c i'm getting a new baby and my viv is 4x2x2 and i was going to put a divider in it so the baby wouldn't b so overwhelmed... But yours looks pretty small too and your viv looks pretty big.. Just wondering.. Thanks!

Spike is only 8 inches long atm, he is a few months old. The enclosure size is 4x2x2.

I love what you did and I want to do something along those lines, could you hit me with a cost estimate?

Cost can really vary due to the materials you choose when building. If you follow the crossfire guide, you can get away with spending around $150 for materials. I went a bit more with putting tile inside, used birch plywood, bought tempered glass for the front doors, made the fake rock walls/basking area/cave..etc. It really depends.

 

[Mavellie]

Thanks yea that's what I figured, so worth it for my little lady. I'm starting the build after the holidays. Great job