wood vs glass viv

[laurela]

I initially had my one beardie in a 33 gallon re-purposed fish tank but he's grown to the point where I want to get him in something bigger soon. Right now I have the light fixtures clamped to the sides of the glass and the top of the tank open, which I like for handling, cleaning, and feeding. I was planning on buying a used fish tank but I want something that is at least 36"x18"x18" and I can't seem to find any fish tanks wider than 12" on buy and sell so I was going to make one. I have very limited wood working skills and I saw some helpful youtube videos on putting together glass tanks so I was leaning towards glass. I'm pretty new to this so I was wondering if there was any benefits to wood vivariums, and which type of vivarium would be easier for someone with limited handyman skills or tools to build.

 

[morphmom]

I hope you get many opinions on this as I have limited knowledge, so here's what I know for sure: Wood viv's keep the heat in much better. Glass viv's are super easy to clean if you get a nasty parasite. My Beardie had a Parasite when I adopted her. The battle was so extreme that I vowed to only use glass or plastic enclosures. The cage furniture is also all resin. Pros and cons to both. Good luck :wink:

 

[laurela]

Thanks that is a very good point! I just finished dealing with coccidea a few months ago which he had since I got him and I have nightmares about it coming back, I took everything out but the bare essentials during treatment and I would NOT want to deal with trying to sanitize wood on a daily basis.

 

[morphmom]

Here's a site where every viv is plastic and 2 feet wide. It's just a suggestion to get ideas and weigh your options. http://www.boaphileplastics.com/

 

[laurela]

Interesting! I didn't know they even existed in plastic I'll have to look into it. I definately want to take the time making a nice enclosure for him now that I know it'll hopefully be the last one he ever needs. Also I just bought a kingsnake off a friend and his tank looks amazing with all kinds of drifwood, hides, and plants so now I feel bad for the beardie because in comparison his current enclosure is so dull!