Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, here's another caging question. I'm trying to decide how tall I want my cages (from cagesbydesign). Initially, I was going to get a 72"x42"x18" cage, then have a hood on it, then another 72"x42"x18" cage on top of that. Which means all the lighting would be external (on top of the wire inserts) but would allow more humidity and heat to escape (and is about $400 more than the next option I will discuss) The next way I was going to do it was get 2 cages that were 72"x42"x30", and stack them on top of each other, and have all the lights mounted internally. Now, the question is; is this really safe? I've noticed Lex jumping and hitting the light on top of my 2' cage as it is, but he's only done it a few times. Would I be better off with the shorter cage and external lights/heating (more expensive) or is it safe to have internal lighting/heating with the taller cage (less expensive and will hold humidity better)?

Thanks!

I'm wrestling with the same problem. I keep drawing and re-drawing plans. It seems to me that either way will work, but the internal light and heat will be more efficient. In order for the internal lights to be safe they need to be protected by a screen. For my round lights (primarily heat) I'm thinking about fabricating "cans" with a 1/2 inch hardware cloth to protect the lizards. With the lights I have now I can mount them to the top with a cuphook, can around it and wire screen. This places light and heat in about the same distance 15 inches as what I have when a light is placed on my 40 gallon breeder. From Home Depot get one or two of the inexpensive 4 foot flourescent lights( 2 bulb). Box down 4 inches or so to clear and cover with hardware cloth or screen. By doing this and building my own out of plywood my plan is to have a large tank that is 8'x 3'x 2' and two more to sit on top that are roughly 48" x 16" x 16. The smaller ones will have lights on top. With things I have laying around the house I'm hoping to build them all for less than $200.00.

I hope this helps. Get out a ruler and draw pictures and look at them until one makes sense to you. I have three or four different ones and I think I'm going with the one above.

Good luck,

Mike