I need help with a cage plan for a beardie. I want it 4' long 2' high and 18" wide. What material should i use and how should i ventalate it. I would sliding glass doors in front and maybe a screen top to put a light dome on top of and to put a flourescent(sp?). Any help help is much appreciated!
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
Need Help with Cage Plans for Beardie
Leofreak
Oct 02, 2003 05:44 PM
Replies (2)
chris_harper2
Oct 02, 2003 05:54 PM
I built a bearded dragon cage with almost those exact same dimensions. It was longer (49.5"
due to the thickness of the side pieces and just a bit wider. Height was 24".
The 49.5" length is key as it allowed me to fit a full 48" flourescent light fixture into my false ceiling. More on that later.
I used some birch-laminated plywood I had leftover from another project. It was stained and coated with three coats of Polycrylic polyurethane. The floor was covered with a scrap piece of vinyl flooring.
The cage has a solid top which allows me to set things on top, etc., but I still have the entire top ventilated. I did that via my false ceiling design. In other words, there is a 6" x 48" gap all along the back top of the cage. Below that is a pine frame covered with screen.
This allows for an attractive, escape proof cage with easy access to the lights.
Here's a pic of the bearded cage. I'll post a picture of the false ceiling design next.
chris_harper2
Oct 02, 2003 06:01 PM
Here's a picture of the false ceiling in another one of my cages. You can see the 1" pine frame covered with screen. The lights and heating elements are above that in the false ceiling area.
The false ceiling is the length of the cage and the same height of the top front lip. The top lip is also visible in this picture. It's the top part where the glass track runs.
The area behind the cage is open allowing access to the lights.
If this is confusing, maybe the measurements will help. This second cage is 48" tall. However, the back panel of the cage is only 40" tall. Then the pine frame runs from the top of the back panel to the bottom of the front (top) lip that the glass track is on. The the top 8" of the cage is open in the back.
I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you have any further questions.
