Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Manny's little 20 gal tank suits him fine for now, but I've got to get him something bigger when he's outgrown his current one. I've looked around at the pre-built ones a bit. The glass ones are way out of my price range, and I read those mesh "reptarium" ones are not really the best way to go. So I'm building my own. My question is: what sort of materials should I use? Plexi-glass? Mesh? Keep in mind I live in Wisconsin, so I want it to be nice and warm for him. And what would be the best size?
Thanks in advance

--Mark

what i used was actually from someone on this site, basically you make a frame of pvc piping like a square and thne you zip tie netting all around the sides and then the bottom, but i wanted to be able to have quicker access to mine and since hes only a foot and a half i made the top so i could take it off {its made of metal mesh because plastic can maely by lamps.) also the one from here was more of a sunning cage, but i made mine into a inside one by buting some real thick plastic sheeting then basically zip tying it into shape aroundthe cage, i can still take it off and its easy to clean, then u can just throw in some plants and such and you got a good cage. mine is actually 5 feet tall 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep. also i make a shelf for him to sit on in thcage out of pvc by making a pipe the width of the cage than putting holes in the end and ziptying to the side of cage, then i put netting from the pole to the wall, so he could sit, then i just covered it with plants and carpet so it didnt looks so bad.

o and for the reptarium you were talking about, i would not get those, they are kinda cool looking on sites and stuff, but there not the easiest to look into, well they seem very dark, and an iquans class can rip the netting around it.

Jeff

Please do NOT get a reptarium. My igs spent a little under a year in a set of two. The zippers are NOT secure and They burn if the lights get too close. EVEN the UVB lights burn the mesh. My iguana Andy clawed his way out of the side and refused to go back in his. Think twice. The reptarium will only last less than a year for your ig. Waste of money. Put it towards building them a full time full grown adult cage.
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Heather, Vern, Andy, Router, April And OODLES of fish

Absolutely. You all have been an immense help.

Hi. My husband built the enclosure for my iggy. The materials we used were wood, plexiglass, and hardware cloth. Ozzys cage is 6ft tall, 4ft wide and 2 1/2 feet deep. And i would recommend going even bigger if you can. This is fine for ozzy now, but i have plans eventually to add on to his enclosure. For the floor we used the peel and stick tiles and that has worked great, makes for easy cleanup. The front is plexi glass doors, the sides are hardware cloth on the bottom and then plexi on the top. I am having a hard time keeping his temps up with this arrangement and am putting some extra plexi on the one side to see if this raises the temps much. Im in Illinois, so similar climate to yours. Hope that helps. Tami

Hi, I live in Illinois and find that open habitats are hard
to keep warm in the winter.

I used oak and plexiglass. I have a vent on each side
panel, one that is low and one is higher (just below the basking
area) This allows for air circulation. I mounted his shop
light inside the cage. It holds 2 UVB lights and it alone
along with the basking bulb keeps the upper shelf at 88-90
ambient. I do use a ceramic heater that has a thermostat
in the winter time. I keep the room at 76-78 degrees with the
heater. With this set-up, I am able to control temps very well

Good luck and have fun with him.
Linda