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I'd like to improve my bearded dragon set-up, perhaps building a vertical stack of 4x2x2's that open in the front with a drop down door?. Does any one know of any plans on-line for such a structure? Would melamine be the lightest material to work with or is there something more suitable?

We had a great conversation about this recently maybe a couple weeks ago or a month. It is still on the first page. Scroll near the bottom and look for

OK, new question about materials

This is great information. You seem to be on the right track. I know you are looking for information on how to do the front door and i believe there are some pictures of this from a few of the guys. The board you mention is a great way to go but is a little more heavy and you must pre drill holes before putting screws in. I have been looking to do this as well. I found Home Depot has this board pre cut as if they knew what we wanted to do. If you cannot find it ask someone because all their stores carry the same stuff so they do have it. Also they will be able to help you find correct screws and along with that ask them about the door and they will give you great insight on what you can do. I know if you take a drawing of what you want they will help you all the way through it. Good luck and if you do it please put some pics up of it.

Thanks, I looked a bit before I posted, but apparently I didn't scroll far enough down, or "new materials" didn't trigger a response in my brain.

I have three 5'x2' cages stacked, one is 2' high, the other two are 18" but all three are the same length and width. I used a frame setup with 1/4" floor inlay type plywood...sealed with a clear varnish. Much lighter cage, much more work to build (and I suck at carpentry, so it looks like crap..but the inside looks nice as the wood has white paint sealed with a clear flat finish.)

Melamine is a great material to use but it is heavy. I was going to use that then realized I live alone, and there was no possible way I could lift a 5'x2'x18" cage ontop of another cage by myself. The style I used..I could barely get the cages ontop.

As for plans, there are plenty of good articles on how to's to build enclosures and cages..a google search will help. Even if the cage is not designed with dragons in mind...most terrestrial style cages will work for them, just remember for a single adult dragon you want the 4'x2' of floor space. Next is deciding how to mount your lights...I use shop light double florescent tube style fixtures that have their own plug (some are meant to be connected directly to household wiring..not useful in a cage...) and a ceramic fixture for basking light, also mounted inside. I drilled holes so I can wire the ceramic fixture and a hole for the plug of the florescent fixture. (It hangs on hooks so I can easily adjust the height of the fixture). To allow access and room for the wires between the cages I just put 'feet' on each cage (basically a length of 1"x4" board that runs the width of the cage). I use a UVB tube that is 4' long (and of course the fixture is also 4' long) in the fixture, and a normal full spectrum florescent tube alongside it. Basking light is an appropriate wattage flood style bulb.

Below are pictures of the three cages and the old bearded dragon cage i used to have before I had to sell it with my first dragon (I had somebody who actually had carpentry skills build it, hence why its so much nicer).

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PHLdyPayne

Thanks, that is very helpful. For some reason I was thinking a thin melamine was lighter than plywood. I can't imagine why since I was two Animal Plastics huge snake cages and they weigh a ton!!!

I tried doing a Google search for plans and couldn't come up with anything at all. Perhaps I'm using the wrong key words. My search returned snake racks.

Just remember if you use plywood make your you put good time in building the frame. That will ensure a long lasting cage.

Oh and you really don't need to see a picture of how to build the cage it will be a nice rectangle and on the front you will want to cut a rectangle size hole out of it, make sure this is the size you would like to work with as a door-way. Then you can get some swing hinges and connect them to a piece of glass or plastic as the window/door. Like I said if your are interested in doing this talk to the guys at home depot assuming you have one near you and they will walk around the store and help you with what you want just let them know the sizes and your idea. They will be able to help you with everything even cutting the pieces for you so you can just put it together. Good luck and hopefully you can take some pics along the way

Ha Ha ha....yes. I. Need. Pictures.

I cannot visualize anything. My husband could picture it, but it will never be what I want it to be and he'll change it at the last minute and then I'll get mad.

trust me...we went through this already with the turtle box....

I used 'How to build a lizard cage', 'bearded dragon cages', 'bearded dragon enclosure' 'reptile cages' as key words and you get alot of hits that way. Also, click in the 'image' section of google search, and you can see just pictures.

below is one link I found that pretty much contains all you need to know about cage building and good pictures and helpful tips.

www.arbreptiles.com/cages/tips.shtml

Basically, large snake cage racks can be easily modified...just terrestrial snake cages need a bit more height.. dragon cages should be between 18-24" high. Heat tape is useless for dragons, so skip that part and mount fixtures inside on the 'ceiling' and cut holes as you need them.

I am no master electrician...but some basic things to keep in mind..is getting fixtures that can handle the wattage/amperage of your lights. Thus ceramic fixtures are good for basking lights and the UVB fixture should be the length of the cage, or at least 2/3rds of the cage length...A double fixture works as you can increase overall light in the cage by having one full spectrum bulb and one UVB producing bulb. The full spectrum light fixtures are cheap...maybe $5 or less. (for a 4' long one)

If you have to attached wires directly to the fixture...make sure you use electrical tape to cover the exposed wires...or those twisty cap thingies...or use the metal' box you can get to go around the fixture to protect/cover the wires.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks...I simplified my search and it helped,lol!

I think I was googling "bearded dragon rack" or something crazy like that.

My husband thinks I'm insane. I was thinking of four cages and he thinks I want two...I better be extra special nice.

Four cages high may be a bit impractical..unless they are less than 2 feet high each. Keep in mind you need to be able to reach the top cage comfortably and most homes only have 8' high ceilings.

What may work better is extra wide, so its only two cages stacked but two cages per level. Or reduce the height of each cage to 18" instead of 2'.
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PHLdyPayne

Yes, you're right about the height. I saw some pre-fabs that were 18" and were thinking of those. I was also wondering if I could get away with 3x2 instead of 4x2 if my beardies come out to a 4ft basking cage and also have some living room exercise time.

Personally, I say 4'x2' is the minimum...period. For a single adult dragon. To get proper temperature gradients, have room for a proper wide and sloping basking spot to provide various areas of temperatures the dragon can lie in (with most of his body in that temperature zone, you need the extra foot of length. More would be better.

Bearded dragons can be very active if they have space to move about. Once you get basking sites, a hide or two there isn't alot of room to move in a 3'x2' cage. I keep my dragon in a 5'x2'x2' cage and she romps about quite extensively.

As a compromise you can put your dragon in a 3'x3' cage.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks for all of your input!

I'll keep with the 4x2

The problem with any 3' long cage is there just isn't enough distance to get a good range of temperatures between the hot and cool sides.