Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I said ages ago I'd put photos up of Tempest's new cage, and its been months since he's moved in. I figured its about time! The overall cage dimensions are 7.5' high x 5.5' long x 4' deep. The bottom 2 feet are storage, with cupboard doors for access - these came from my parents kitchen, they were getting new doors so I swiped these ones.

On the side, you can see a swinging door held closed by two brass bolts, a small feeding hatch door if he ever gets truely nasty, and the light controls with plug outlets. One switch controls an outlet at the top of the cage, the other switch controls an outlet at the bottom of the cage. There is an additional outlet that is on all the time, that his baseboard heater is connected to. Two of the heating coils of the heater have been disabled, so it never gets hot enough to burn him, but it will pump out enough heat to keep him warm on the coldest of days. The plug outlets on the outside can run my vaccuum cleaner, christmas lights etc. The entire cage is then pluged into a pair of outlets in the wall behind the cage.

You can see Tempest on the top shelf, above him is a series of panels made of aluminum mesh, which protect the lights from him, and him from the lights. The UVB lights are turned on by the outside switch, the heat lamp is on a timer. The flourescent fixture is a 4' cheapie from the local hardware store, permanently attached to the roof, the heat lamp sits on the mesh.

If you look along the front of the cage, you can see my very large, lazy cat in the photo too. Eventually, I plan on doing some more decorative painting and fake plants will be added, in the plans is also a plexiglass panel inset on the solid panel of the side of the cage, similar in size to the swinging door (which was originally a window, again stolen from my parents house renovations).

The windows on the front of Tempest's cage slide, they are my old kitchen windows that I kept when replacing old windows around my house. They also both lift out for cleaning. The bottom grooves they sit in are waxed (candle drippings, one drip at a time with a lit candle, it took me over an hour!) so they don't squeak, jam or ride up. You can see the large top shelf, which curves, and the tree trunk cut from the woodlot that runs from the very base of the cage in the storage area, up to the top of the cage. Its screwed securely at both ends, and is wrapped with sisal rope so he can climb it more easily. The ropes to the top platform add support and stability, he can come right up to the windows and watch TV without the shelves moving even slightly.

All the shelves had sand lightly sprinkled into the first coat of paint, with a second coat of paint overtop, to provide grip and roughness so he can't slip. I plan on adding more lights along the bottom of the top shelf, so the second shelf down is brighter for him. The space heater runs along the front above the storage doors, the bottom of the shelf is roughly half way between the windows and the doors. The second shelf is slightly higher than the bottom of the glass windows, with about 18" of a step down to the last platform.

The very bottom of Tempest's cage is an old darkroom sink, with a wide deck on all sides, which is 18" below the 2nd shelf. The sink itself is about 10" deep. Eventually, I plan on caulking this so he can have a pool, and maybe a waterfall of some sort. The drain is 4" wide and at the end by the side storage door, so it can be emptied through the drain into a bucket. Plans are in the works to grow some grass bins for him to have a bit of lawn, mostly consisting of different lettuces, greens and grasses. Waiting for my parents to get their new greenhouse up and running for that to happen though.

Out the back door you can see 3 of the dogs, one is beside me, Tempest greatly enjoys sneering at them, assuring them of their lower state of being. Plans are in the works for a more stimulating 2nd shelf, I want to fill the empty space with a jungle gym made up of wood from the lot bolted together. All the wood was either soaked in soapy water in a tarp, or baked in an oven to kill off any unwanted buggies. I use newspaper in the darkroom sink, he goes to the bathroom there, and with the doors and siding windows its very easy to pick up and wash down the sink and any parts of the cage that need spot cleaning.

And here's an updated photo of Tempest, it isn't the greatest but the batteries of the camera were starting to go. He's almost tripled his weight since coming home, and is much healthier and friendlier. I don't know that he'll ever be friendly, but he is handleable and most definately happy, he just isn't one for alot of attention. He'll come over for a backscratch if popcorn is involved (plain of course!), and he's quite happy to come out for a sun on the deck when its warm enough in the summer. Right now he's shedding, and could use a good scrub in the tub, he's still not big on baths but doesn't mind them as much as he used to.

Tempest when I first brought him home. He had been dumped, and was found in the parking lot of a factory in October - I live in Canada, not far from Toronto. The temperatures were well below freezing at night, and through the day they were cold. No one's quite sure how he was still alive, he was very thin and close to dead. The people who found him thought he was dead, until he managed to blink, he was too cold to move. I'm so glad someone had the heart to pick him up, and bring him to the petstore, instead of just leaving him to a certain death within hours.

And here's Tempest a week after rescue, in his "new" cage, now his old one. What a difference from when he first came home, to this picture, to now! Thats the same log thing he's on in the most current photo... the one he squishes with his weight! It makes me realize how much he really has grown, I have the urge to go get new batteries and get some really stunning photos of him At least I know he's got a home for life, and a good one, he's not going anywhere!

Wow, that is an awesome story! And congratulations on the new cage, it is beautiful!

We also rehabbed a male iguana, the link below shows some before and after pics. The "after" pics are somewhat outdated, though. He was 2 1/2 years old when we rescued him and he is now nearly 10 years old.

With enough time, you will undoutedly see a lot of changes in your ig. They really do appreciate it when someone cares about them, and they eventually repay you with their trust. It is such a good feeling.

Julie
Pics of Cujo

Wow, did he ever look bad poor guy! Glad to hear he's living a long life, I worry that Tempest's life may have been shortened but I hope not. Love his habitat! I need to get off my backside and spruce up Tempest's, the thing that stopped me at the time was him being in breeding season. I managed to get him in there without being clawed too badly, but he was so territorial that doing more would just be dangerous. I'm looking forwards to many long years with Tempest I hope

Beautiful job on the enclosure! Tempest is a very lucky
Ig to have you

Linda

WOW... What a difference from when he was rescued. Excellent job with him. The enclosure is awesome. He looks like he is deffinately a happy iggy.