I think this summer I'm going to take the plunge. I'm going to get rid of the "lizard lounge" I spent so much money on (which is a badly designed tank), and use the money I get from that, along with b-day money, and money from a summer job (if my parents let me get one this year)...and either buy or build some nice enclosures. I want something that feels a little more open then the standard sizes one usually gets (ex. right now my bearded is in a tank that has a 36"x18" foot print...and my uro is in one that is 48"x13"
...and build cages that feel more open. I think I'm going to make them 36" long, but then make them at least 24" deep, but hopefully more like 30" deep, and about 18-20" tall. I am thinking about the possibility of getting vision cages...the 36"x28"x18" versions. The one major downside I see to them is changing lights, so the heavier cage would be on the bottom. I also would like it better if the size cage allowed for heat lamps larger than 5.5", because 8" fits the larger lights better. If I build my own cages, they are going to have built in 250 watt ceramic fixtures, and 24" flourescents.
Okay...no for the actual interior (which I will be working on starting yesterday). My bearded dragon seems to have a setup that works out great for him, and his favorite basking branch is the perfect size when set on it's side for the new cage sizes I was talking about, so there's really nothing that would be drastically changed with the new cages except that I could put more hides and branches in for him to play around on.
The uro's setup is a work in progress right now. I just got word that her fecal sample was clean, and we got some antibiotics injected into her which has been clearing up the respiratory infection, so it's safe to start using real substrates now. What I want to do for her when I get the new cages, is use either sand or millet for the base substrate, but then have a box about 2'x1'x2.5-4" (possibly longer or wider), with a large hole in the side and a hinged top. Then it would be filled with a dirt mixture once I find the right mixture, and she could make a little burrow in it. I'm pretty sure I'm stealing this idea from someone (georgio?), but the basic idea behind it is that most parts of the tunnel probably won't have a dirt ceiling with how short the box is, so you could open up the hinged top and there she would be. Or i could use the idea deer fern farms uses, or the idea agama international uses for their indoor uro enclosures. It'll be basically trial and error.
I will also want to put more hides in the uro enclosure, as she only has 1 right now (which she only uses at night). That's all I've thought of so far...what suggestions does anyone have? I might use a thin layer of dirt for the uro's enclosure, but it depends. I'm going to try to keep the setups as light as possible while still allowing for good substrates and rocks and stuff.
-ryan
