Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, I have taken the next step in the world of monitor keeping. I have the male and female savannahs, each about 2 years old. They are now in enclosures that are about 4' x 4', it's OK, but its not the best.... NOW they are getting the best.

I began building this tonight, I plan to house both of them in it together so I want it to be big enough that they will each have their own territories. It is 8' x 8' x 4' high. This is only phase one, the hardware store was closed so I had to stop : /.

Some questions: I am going to use some type of soil for the substrate, for humidity which I think I have been lacking using the eco earth. what kind of soil? I have heard mixed stories of ambient temps too, what should those be at?

As far as the rest of the setup goes, I am dropping a pond liner in and stapling it up the sides and dumping the dirt into that. the sides will be masonite and i am cutting an entry way to get into the cage. the top will be have covered with plexi glass and the lights will suspend from 2 x 4s. It will be a monitor heaven.

*disclaimer: If this seems like it is too big I may just section it off right down the middle and put my new white throat on the other side ( I have not bought the white throat yet, but if I see that i have space for one I will do it, cause they are awesome.

input/ comments appreciated, updates to come, should be done by the end of this week.

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8x4x4 is not too big for savs...infact it seems just right....especially housing 2. i kept 1 sav years ago in a 8x4x4. also a sandy dirt works well

Make the top and sides from plywood, attach FRP to the insides then seal the corners once assembled. Use a replacement window for a door, and make 1 inch vent holes along the sides up high.
Build the bottom as strong and waterproof as the rest and place the entire cage on cinderblocks to keep the floor temps from effecting it.
Use top soild and mix a pecentage of fine sand in it (long hard job of carrying all of it bucket by bucket). A step in the right direction, keep us posted on how it goes.
Pond liners are not very tough, a good friends argus shredded 2 layers in no time at all. In fact we did not know the bugger was hiding under the liner until we disassembled the cage later on.

What do I gain from using FRP? Can I just get that at the hardware store?

FRP makes a waterproof, solid, armor on the surface of the wood preventing moisture from damaging the wood, and a monitors claws from hastening that damage.
I had a cage made from melamine, I was told it would hold up, the cage swelled in a few years time and was the consistancy of a sponge under the plastic coating. Anywhere the cage did not swell the lizard almost completely scratched through the walls under a few feet of dirt in a short time.
Bare wood will rot without a strong waterproof coating thats sealed. Also it will weaken, the lizard can rip through weakened wood thats uncoated.
FRP is sold at many hardware stores, its a bit expensive, but holds water and is strong when attached to wood with FRP adhesive. When attached properly the stuff seems indestructible.

I'm curious to see what you're going to do next?

When I built my BT enclosure, I built the walls, floor, and top separately, then put them together premade. If that makes sense. That way I was able to keep the framing outside of the enclosure and the inside was smooth and sealed with all the wood on the outside where it won't rot. Each section was lined with a type of FRP then all glued and screwed together, then I sealed all the corners. The door has a large piece of safety glass, and the "light bar" can be accessed from the outside with hinges and a latch. Aside from the door, it is literally water proof. It has survived a couple years now with absolutely no issues.

Here are a few of a 8x4 that I did:

Nice. That seems like it would have too much humidity though, being sealed all the way around...? That is why I plan on having only 50% of the enclosure covered. My thinking behind the idea is that one side will stay pretty humid and one side not as much. Is that a bad idea.

I have 4 regular household heating vents in the top that I can adjust open or closed depending on how much heat/humidity I need for either end of the enclosure. Anything more than that and it all escapes. I live in Utah and our air is very dry so his enclosure has it's own environment to keep the humidity he needs.

In addition to that, the light bar can hold as many as 5 bulbs to adjust for different temperatures depending on what time of year it is, and what watt bulbs I use.

Wow that is solid. Can you explain FRP a little bit more to me?... Is it expensive, where to buy it, what it is, what it does, how to apply it etc...

So far I see few problem using some type of liner. I nixed the pond liner idea and bought a gigantic tarp, cause its more durable since SHvar brought up the good point that a monitor can claw right through it, which is still possible with the tarp. I hope to solve this by putting some maybe steel over just the corners, where my monitors usually dig.

My enclosure is 8x8 so its a little bigger area to work with which make things like sealing off the top and putting on some sort of a door a little more tricky. It is 4 feet high, so it pretty much needs to be a big enough slot for me to climb in there to clean and such. As far as the top goes I am thinking about sectioning off 4 4 foot slots with 2x2's and having plexi glass or plywood sit in the slots, so if i need to get in there i can easily pop it up and maneuver about.

I have thought about the lighting and think I am going to hang a bar within the cage for different ranges of heat. How many bulbs do you have in yours?

Put the sides up today.

I generally use 3 100 watt bulbs. I've used 2 100's in the peak of the summer, and 4 90/100 combo's in the winter. I've used other combinations, but those seem to be the best for me. My light bar will hold 5 bulbs, but if I run that many the temperature in the enclusure gets too hot, and his basking spot isn't hot enough. So I've found that fewer/hotter works better.

The lining in my enclosure is Vinyl flooring. It's completely water proof, easily cleaned, and has proven to be extremely durable. Again, after several years, not a single issue.

so do you have that like stapled up the sides to contain the dirt and keep the wood from rotting? so many questions!!!

>>so do you have that like stapled up the sides to contain the dirt and keep the wood from rotting? so many questions!!!

It's applied exactly as you'd apply vinyl flooring. It's glued down and sealed at every edge. There's no wood framing at all on the inside of the enclosure. All the wood is sealed off from the interior of the enclosure.

I actually see where the confusion is... On the enclosure in the pictures I posted the vinyl I used was "wood floor" style, but it's not really wood. It's just a vinyl laminant with the wood appearence.

ah i see... so you pretty much vinyl/sealed the entire enclosure... That seems like a good idea. I could at least vinyl the base and then about 5 inches where the dirt will go and seal it up. That is pretty much what I plan to do with the tarp. I am also going to put 2 inches of insulation underneath to keep the cold floor from being cold on the dirt since it is too big to put on cinder blocks as SHvar suggested.

I hope my monitors can get along in a space this big, they have been separate their whole lives but i am thinking this will be enough room for both of them to live comfortably. And if not I can always just divide the enclosure accordingly.

>>ah i see... so you pretty much vinyl/sealed the entire enclosure... That seems like a good idea. I could at least vinyl the base and then about 5 inches where the dirt will go and seal it up. That is pretty much what I plan to do with the tarp. I am also going to put 2 inches of insulation underneath to keep the cold floor from being cold on the dirt since it is too big to put on cinder blocks as SHvar suggested.
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>>I hope my monitors can get along in a space this big, they have been separate their whole lives but i am thinking this will be enough room for both of them to live comfortably. And if not I can always just divide the enclosure accordingly.

I can't see a tarp as lasting very long. It'll break down quickly, tear easily, and overall just be hard to work with when cleaning or keeping in once piece.

There are several reasons I completely vinyl'd the inside. My substrate is nearly a foot and a half deep. Not only that, monitors will pull up anything that their claws can get under. I didn't want any exposed edges with the vinyl or anything else on the inside. I covered the walls and ceiling entirely which made it very durable, water/moisture resistant, and very easy to clean (smooth, low maintanence surface).

I didn't want to build something I'd have to go back and improve, or replace later. But I planned and built mine for a Black Throat who is huge now with every ability to test whatever weakness my enclosure may have.

The consistant temp all year in my basement.

Taken from about halfaway across Sobeks cage, 3 lightbulbs, her only heat source, all 45 watts.

Checking out whos disturbing her.

Not the safest cage to try to take pictures in, hes hungry, well thats all the time.

Female red ackie, shes making another burrow.

The flaviargus cage, notice the burrow under the back of the log, and one in front of it.

Hungry male red ackie, just before launching at my fingers. Still a 195f basking spot after 2 generations of red ackies.

All other cages range from 135-150f basking temps.