Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need to know those small specifics on building custom built enclosures. I here a lot of people talking about drainage? Live vs fake plants? Ventilation? Lighting and heating? Lighting and heating fixtures? Substrate? Measurements? etc....... Any advice would be great.

I woudlnt use substrate at all. Just a easy to clean surface at the bottom.

All screen except maybe the back for support and bottom.
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Gabriel - Montreal - Ding.
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I made Orions cage... I learned quite a bit as far as what I would do differently and what went well.
Her cage is 5' tall, 3' wide, and 2' deep. I find it a little large so when I rebuild it I'm going to make it 2x2x4 instead. I think the size it is now would be good for a male panther.
I used 2x2 pine for the frame. for the door i used 1x2 pine. I used wainscotting for the whole back so it's solid. For drainage i used 4 1x2 with the 1" side facing up on the bottom for support, and screen for the floor. The 1x2's hold up the plants I used, and the screen allows the water to go through to my catch tub in the bottom.
When i "renovate" I'm going to do the screen differently. I had a heck of a time making it taught and nice. I'm going to use more 1x2 pine to build a panel that would fit in the framework for the sides, and then staple the screen to the panel like you would material for a canvas. then, fit the screen panels into the framwork to make screen "walls" . Im going to use this for the left and right sides, and the same kind of idea to build a door.
Also, I stained and varnished all of the wood that I used. It's a dark mahogany colour (verrry nice). If you do this let the stain dry a week before varnishing, and then use a heavy duty outdoor varnish (2-3 coats) and let this dry two more weeks to make sure no fumes are coming off of the wood.

I would not use pine. Ive heard some pretty bad stories about people using pine for reptiles. But it might just be a rumor of some sort.
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Gabriel - Montreal - Ding.
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