Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Right now I have a couple of leopard geckos, a beardie, and a JCP. I measured out one area in my room which can fit 5'L X 30 or 36" Wide X up to 7' Tall. I thought about It and would like to have either one large cage or two medium sized cages on the bottom, then a full length cage in the middle, and then 2 or 3 smaller cages on top that. I'm thinking that the JCP and Beardie will go on the bottom with 2' tall cages, then 1.2 ackies in the middle with the full size cage 2.5' tall, then the leopards in a 2' cage and something else on top. Now my real questions are how could I build this cage system out of wood with sliding front glass, or acryllic panel? How would I heat each cage? Would say the ackies cage being well over 100 F affect the temperatures of each of the other cages? Then how much would I be looking at spending? I wouldn't say that I'm a complete idiot when it comes to building things I am a little capable, and I have an uncle who has been in constuction since he was a teenager so I should be allright in terms of that issue. I appreciate any input you have to help me out, and I'm about to search for DIY threads. I may be changing this around a little and building another 2 tier cage system close to it, but this one is pretty definite, just with maybe a couple of herps switched around in preparation for daytona
Thanks for your input

heating: you could use heat tape. i know very little about this so i wont go into it. i know lots of people use it. another option could be halogen lights.."puck" lights...these guys are about 3 inches in diameter and about an inch tall...i think they are also called under cabinet lights..you can get them at home depot or lowes in the light bulb isle...

temperature: the temperature of each cage will affect all the other cages. temperature of your room will as well. especially with the cages being connected to each other you'll notice a change much faster

Construction: no idea on cost. every time i do a DIY i end up spending some money...but typically it is due to not planning my projects out =errors on my part and the fact i end up buying tools, which is great cause next time i need to do something similar i already have the tools i need..good luck to you

Thanks for the sugguestions with heating I'll keep those in mind and try and plan it out. I might look into pvc cages though. If I do build it I'll keep your comment about extra tools and such in mind. Thanks for the help

I would suggest using heat tape for all the enclosures and adding radiant heat panels to the cages that need additional heat. Of course they need to be run on separate thermostats.

Heat lights tend to get very hot, and personally I don't like the risk (maybe I am over cautious).

There is a posting in the cages section for something similar to what you described. Maybe you can look at it and get some ideas on how it would look.

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=22&de=520461

The website even shows the cage in various stages of construction.

I don't know which is better, since hot air rises- either putting the animals requiring higher temps on top- to avoid over heating the others, or putting the higher temp animals on the bottom so they help to heat the others.

Someone with more experience can help with that.

thanks for the website I sent them an e-mail and may go that route if the price is right. I'm still thinking about that heat issue though. I dont care too much if my room becomes hotter I have a fan in my loft and central air so I could manage. I'm still looking around so if you have any more sugguestions they would be much appreciated. thanks again

First, where possible run the hotter cages higher in the stack, heat does rise and the upper cages will always be warmer anyways. Don't fight the physics, work with them!

second, since you'll have multiple zones to control, consider the herpstat pro thermostat. Four seperate channels each with it's own long probe, I have several and love them, built in night drop, fully programable up and down temp adjustments etc etc etc
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

hmm I was looking at a couple of thermostats, but I cant remember their names. Yea I'm thinking about putting the ackies on top, it will make a lot more sense. I'm going to look into this thermostat now. Thanks for the input

-matt

They're not cheap (~$325ish), BUT, when you add up all it would cost to get 4 sperate t-stats with added night drop features, you actually save a lot!!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

yea I saw that, it was a little more than I expected but then I thought about the having to buy 4 separate therms at ~$100 apiece at least so I do save a fair amount. The only thing I dont like is that the max temperature is 110F. Do they have a model thats goes higher? I'm going to get those ackies which need at least 120F basking spots. I think I'm going to go with this model for my cage. Thanks again

I have kept all the species you are describing with the exception of the JCP. If I were you I would build the largest structure on the bottom for the ackies. They need plenty of room, a diggable substrate, and overhead heat works best. Beardies require a very similar setup, maybe a little less heat but this is debatable.
I use 45 watt outdoor halogen's on my homemade tanks and I can easily reach a basking spot of 130 dg Fahrenheit with no trouble at all. This allows me to keep the other side of the cage much lower in temp, almost room temp. Very little ventilation is actually needed and allows for better control over temp and humidity in your setup.
Build the beardie tank on top of that using a very similar design with overheaqd heat. Another low wattage bulb will get you your desired basking temp of around 110. I use higher and personally feel it's better but that's a different topic altogether.
I would then build the JCP and gecko enclosure above that. They need less vertical space ( not sure about the JCP) and belly heat works great but they still need a temp gradient.

Keep all the heating on one side of the tanks. All to the left or right. You will essentially provide some belly heat just from the lights below. Heat tape or heat mats can be used to suppliment this if needed. They should always be controled with something ( I have a herpstat and they work great).

You will have to monitor your temps and find what works best for you. It's impossible to say without trial and error. You may need higher or lower wattage bulbs etc.

I would frame out the bottom two cages to make it structurally sound. It will be holding lots of weight. Substrate gets very heavy if your using the correct amount.

I hope this gives you an idea to get you started. Personally I havent found any commercial tanks worth keeping a monitor or beardie in. There are plenty that will work great for the geckos and python however.

Rich