Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Beginning long research and consideration process...are the big vision cages suitable for a tegu? I was worried that they might not be tall enough...18" is sort of shabby for such an expensive cage! Then there is the 80"x28"x44"...it's 900 bucks though...You guys think it's easier and cheaper just to build the darn thing yourself??

Thanks,
An interested party

you can easily build a Cage 8' by 4' by 4' for only $200-$300 depending on where you live and if you have the materials to cut the wood and have wood working skills.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

Scroll down a bit and you will see several posts about tegu enclosures with some good pics. The vision cages are no good because it makes it really hard to provide the substrate depth they need.
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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.0.1 Axolotl Salamander
0.0.1 Red Flame Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

BoidsNTegus@insightbb.com

18" in height is all you need for an adult tegu since they only use the floor space in their cages . One the benifits from not going any higher in cage height is that you can get away with using a much lower wattage bulb to heat the cage (like 45 watt vs. 100-150 watt when in the average home - this saves a lot in power bills )

Vision and Neodesha cages are not cheap and you can build a custom cage much cheaper depending on the materials that you choose . These cages however are very well designed , are very easy to clean , do not warp when they get wet and generally last forever . They are nice looking , they keep good humidity in the average home that run ac/central heat etc. , and they hold the right amount of substrate needed to keep humidity up .

I have in the past used both these type cages indoors for years for several species of tegus and raised hundreds of all types and sizes in them and yes they do work very well in your average room .(No I don't own stock in either company and no I don't get paid for promoting either . I just think both are very nice cages . For the money they cost you are getting a darn good cage that practically last forever and require almost no maintenance )

Something to think about when planning a custom wooden cage is how you are going to water proof it to keep it from warping over time - melemine(counter top) or plastic linning (shower wall type plastic ) both work very well but are not easy cut /trim fit without a router . A chemical type water proof type sealer such as a polyurathane (with chemical type wood sealer you have to be very carefull choosing one and allow a lot of time for it to dry untill all odor is gone - this can sometimes take months . If you can smell it so can your animal .. you wouldn't want them to get high from constantly sniffing it or get ill etc. from inhaling it ) Personally I prefer plastic cages to any other type cage because of how easy they are to clean and sanatize . We only use plastic or glass cages for our animals . Over the long run I have found that plastic cages end up costing me a lot less money than any other type cage even though the inital investment is usually a little more .

Stella St.Pierre

Stella St.Pierre
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Stella St.Pierre
www.bluetegu.com

Thanks very much for the good advice...I'm actually a high-schooler now...will get some easier herps first...but by golly, I'll work my way up to a tegu! Might as well start researching now...who knows if I'll have such great access to advice later...a lot can happen in a few years...

Thanks and cheers!

The vision cages are 72x28x18 and 72x36x18 (WDH). Neodesha makes one 67x30x18. However, they also make "display cages" 72x33x28. However, the Neodeshas don't have good built-in light-fixture holders. The display cages have slanted roofs...http://www.neodeshacages.com/lrgdisplay.php check it out...

Anyway, just my bit of research for the day...tell me what you guys think of the cages...and which you think is best for an active tegu that would spend daily time OUT of the cage...I know that I hate ceilings right over my head, i.e. eight foot ceilings...Would it be too much to assume that tegus don't like them either?

Thanks!!!