Taco's tank

[ChileanTaco]

This is Taco's tank; a custom-made enclosure.
We're here in Chile and I cannot get the ones recommended e.g. in this forum or anything of a good size. I looked for furniture or (used) aquarium tanks as an alternative for a while, but then decided to inquiry how much it might cost to get one made by a glass company. Price was okay, so here it is.

I added the screen top (made it from wood, two robust hinges, and a wide-mesh screen); the front part of the screen top opens, the back part is fixed.

The background is the typical "foam and tile glue" thing with sand on top.
The sand, also used as substrate, is from here; it's not a "loose substrate" but gets firm when sprayed with water once in a while and let dry.

In the background you can see a window; there is actually a window behind the enclosure and on the right. In the beginning I worried about temperatures, but it's not getting too hot inside. Taco loves sitting up there and looking out of the windows, watching cars, boats and ships going by.

(You might recognize the wilted salad on the right... Here it's about bedtime, so these are leftovers. Taco gets a nice bowl of fresh veggies each day.
The bowl on the left side is to hold a potted basil which I had already removed for the day to water outside of the enclosure when taking the photo.)

The plants are a golliwog and a aloe vera. His favorite sleeping place is in a cave right behind the aloe vera.

During the next day, I will finish with some work on another climbing structure that will go on the left, add a new plant or two and fill up some substrate. Then will post some new photos.

If you have any questions on the enclosure, or some suggestions, don't be shy

 

[xp29]

Looks good, it took me a minute to spot Taco lol

 

[KarrieRee]

Looks good, it took me a minute to spot Taco lol

If the screen is a fine mesh like a screen door it needs to be unobstructed - 12-15 inches basking decor directly under it

 

[ChileanTaco]

Hi KarrieRee,

I know about this issue (and it is important!). No, it is not a fine mesh - it is similar to "chicken wire". Got the extra wide one from the hardware store. His basking spot is directly under it.
Also the distance is correct.

 

[ChileanTaco]

I was reading a lot beforehand to avoid the common mistakes (screen door mesh, small enclosure, coil tubes, dried insects... and such from which some IMHO are obvious (like that something like screen door/ fly mesh filters out a bunch of light) and some not (which lights to use)) and it pays off:
Healthy dragon, happy dragon (I super rarely see any stress marks, and if, just very briefly during shedding, and I see very, very often a white underside and the tail curled upwards ), no behavior issues, not wasting money on things one cannot/ should not use, and not the trouble of time- and cost-intensive remakes.
Regarding this also a big thanks to the forum

 

[AHBD]

You did a great job, one of the nicest ones I've seen ! Lots of room but also the nice elevated areas done to look all natural. The screen you used looks like what we call hardware cloth here and is perfect for letting the uvb through with the large holes, about 1/4 inch I would say. Nicely done !.

 

[ChileanTaco]

@AHBD
Thanks! I had some experience with reptiles (and amphibians) before, but not with a desert-like setup.
(What is a "plus" here is that as we are actually living in a desert town, so when Taco looks out of the window he can see the real desert )
I'm quite a lot into crafts and tinkering which helped for sure with building that and not getting frustrated by something, but really videos on youtube, suggestions here... helped with the small things that might had become annoying if not knowing about it. Like sealing the background against the glass to prevent bugs from crawling behind - I bet I had forgotten that on my own.

As I mentioned "bugs": I bought the typical worm dish and then found that when feeding mealworms they easily escape through the small gap between the bottom and top part. What I then did, and I can suggest that:
Using the glass lid of a typical American(-style) candle-in-a-jar. I removed the plastic part of the lid, cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, and now I have a deep worm dish without the bugs having any chance of escaping. I mean these lids: https://www.american-heritage.eu/me...nd-country-candle-american-heritage-large.jpg
(The former "worm dish" is now used for salads.)

As this enclosure has no front door, my experience with that:
It's not a problem. Taco hasn't become shy or showing stress marks from me having to reach in from above. The size of the enclosure also might contribute to this not having any negative effects on him as it barely happens that I really have to reach directly above his head. When he was smaller, he just ignored me opening the lid; as he became a bit older, he started becoming excited when I attempt to open it, that's how it should be
I got me some 21 inch long bamboo tong (like for barbecue) for the cases when I cannot reach something in there with my hands (I'm quite a short person). Decided for the bamboo as I fear I might damage the glass when dropping something made of metal.
So from my experience: If not being able to buy a large reptile enclosure, reusing an aquarium or getting something made by a glass company isn't a problem. If being able to communicate it better (with my limited Spanish here I didn't dare discussing which kind of front door I might have in mind... I just told them the size of the "box", which glass thickness and that it should be like an aquarium but will not actually hold water - mentioned the latter as when they think it's an aquarium some companies refuse), one might even ask a glass company whether it's possible and how much it would cost to get it fitted with a sliding front door. It also wasn't too expensive; it did cost me about $200 (converted amount to USD) whereas the ExoTerra which is smaller they would have charged me three times that. (This can vary by country, I'm aware of that, but just want to say: a custom-made glass tank doesn't need to be horribly expensive just as it's "custom-made".)


I looked up what "hardware cloth" is: Exactly, that's it! I don't remember under which name I bought it here in Chile as I'm an immigrant here with still limited Spanish so I described it as similar to chicken wire.
I used the remaining of that hardware cloth while making another structure for the enclosure using concrete (not shown here yet).

 

[AHBD]

Your English is excellent really, but something like that hardware cloth a lot of people don't know the actual term, it isn't like any type of " cloth " that we know of like a soft cleaning cloth or some type of material to make clothes. English is a strange language !
You came up with some good ideas for the food bowl and the bamboo tongs, I'm trying to picture that.
And my dragons aren't afraid of over head movement either, I raised them in large plastic tubs because most of mine were bred and hatched here in my home. They were also partly raised outdoors since I have a privacy fence around my yard and a variety of cages. Here is a pic of babies outside. They are in a children's plastic swimming pool. Shade is a must even if it's 75 F outside because the plastic heats up. See the little buggers in there basking ?

 

[ChileanTaco]

I now added the new item: A cave with a platform on top.
I made it with hardware cloth, concrete, driftwood (thoroughly cleaned!), and some Excavator Clay (from ZooMed). I added two live plants. The complete setup now has four plants (three aloe, one golliwog).

It took Taco only 20 minutes after I added it until he climbed it

 

[ChileanTaco]

A bit more on that:

I first tried a smaller concrete structure with the "put concrete in a plastic bag and shape it" method (often seen for flower pots; this gives a surface similar to tree bark which I would have liked).
For some reason it failed, the concrete just became crumbly; might also be because I have never used this type of concrete (I used concrete before, but in a different country, a different brand).

This was then version number 2, where I shaped leftover hardware cloth which I fixed to a wooden base (now under the sand) to keep it from tipping over. It was kind of difficult to get the concrete stick to it, but it finally worked.
For the driftwood, I first tried attaching it with wire, which didn't work well enough for most parts (I expect a soon-to-be adult bearded dragon climbing this! so it must be sturdy). I then switched to aquarium-grade silicone.

I like the Excavator Clay which I had used in parts of the enclosure before, especially for covering up areas where the wire and the silicone were still visible, and as well for giving it more structure. Great also for covering the soil of plants, so the soil stays a bit more moist.

 

[xp29]

Looks good

 

[magicmagni]

Nice job. I really like natural setups.

 

[ChileanTaco]

I had some other reptiles before (and I had hermit crabs) and I love natural setups for many reasons.
Wasn't even as difficult to built as it might look like.

What I like especially about it (and Taco also ), but this just depends on our location: Taco can actually see the real desert from two windows. We're here in the Atacama.