Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what is the best building material (apart from glass)for a desert set-up?

What materials to choose is based on several factors.

The biggest issue is what species will be housed in this cage. Will it be for diurnal species that bask at high temperatures or for nocturnal species that are fossorial during the day? If it's for lizards are they known scratchers?

On a related note, how big of a cage will you need?

What look do you want? Furniture look or what?

Do you want a lot of natural plant growth?

What is your budget?
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

its going to be a 110 gallon long 48×24×24 inches and is going to be housing a pair of chuckwallas adult length up to 17 inches.
they are known burrowers and require lots of rock hides, they are a diurnal speices and come out of their hides in the morning to bask.
the tank will be imitating there natural environment in utah and california. pretty much red sandy hills, in the tank they are probably going to be made of EXCAVATOR sand with a large rock basking area to the far left. the substrate is going to be 3 inches o red sand.
the flora in the tank is going to consist of desert succulents, cacti, desert grasses, and possibly some small shrubs.

my budget is pretty good but i dont want to spend to much.

No Offense...

But I would ditch the aquarium and use it for what its intended....FISH, however that is my OPINION.

I would rather see a metal trough or other durable tank, perhaps an old bath tub.

I would than build a enclosure around that, the tub/trough would be filled with substrate, a mixture of DG.

Above the tub/trough a traditional front sliding display cage of which a faux BG could be built of durable material.

The tub/trough would allow for burrows while still providing strength to a digging lizard and the subsrate weight. While above ground the faux BG would protect whatever material you used to make the enlosure weather it was melamine, stained wood or some sort of creative combination.

I have seen very sucsessful monitor cages done with in same fashion.

Good Luck

Remeber just my OPINION...
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Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

0.1 Snow "Khal" RTB
1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.0 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
3.6 Red Bearded Dragon's
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0.1 Child

Are you converting a 110 gallon aquarium into a terrarium or are you building a 110 gallon sized enclosure from scratch?

If building from scratch, give us an idea of what you would like the cage to look like? Stained wood? Painted wood? Or what?
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

i am building from scratch

i was thinking of having part of the front made out of glass the rest, maybe out of wood.

stained wood

Since it sounds like you plan on at least several inches of deep substrate, I would build the cage from 3/4" plywood with a veneer in the wood species you prefer. Maybe go to a woodworking specialty yard for a greater selection.

I would make sure to seal the first several inches of the cage with something very durable and at least as deep as you plan on having the substrate. This can be strips of thin plastic, epoxy, or even a formic type laminate. I have also used scrap vinyl flooring.

I would then use waterborne stain and polyurethane for all of the visible parts of the cage interior and exterior. One thing to keep in mind is that scratches won't show up as much if don't stain the wood and just clear-coat it with waterborne polyurethane. Some of the heavily grained woods don't show scratches as much either. You can always stain the outside to get a bit of contrast between interior and exterior.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.