Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi... i was in a store the other day picking up some rubbermaid containers for my snakes... and i passed the rubbermaid garbage cans and i got the idea that maybe they could be converted into arboreal terrariums... so i bought one and cut the top off the lid and put chicken wire over it (secured by machine screws with nuts)... it looks secure and good... i was just wondering if you all thought they would work for cresteds and juvi leachies... it is almost 30 inches tall and about 20 inches in diameter at the widest point... i can post pics if anyone is interested... thanks for the help... i think this would be a novel idea... thanks again

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could you post a pic? it sounds like a good idea

pretty straight-forward design i guess... not the most aesthetically pleasing thing in the world but i figure if its functional then who cares... i used screws and nuts to fasten the chicken wire to the lid... then just duct tape to protect myself from the chicken wire... figure this design could also work for arboreal snakes (tree boas, etc.)... this is the lid view

here's the inside

Ahh, that's not chicken wire...it's hardware cloth. I was wondering how you would keep the gecko in with chicken wire (large roundish openings about one to one and a half inch diameter).

Not a bad ideal, though I would add some fake greenery (silk plants) with the wood.

yeah i knew there was something wrong with me saying chicken wire... also... i just threw some branches in there to make it look more like a terrarium... right now there is a fern in there and i would like to add some epiphytic bromeliads as well for cover... thanks a lot for the positive response though-paul

I have used garbage cans as arboreal enclosures for years. I especially like them for setting up temporary breeding/rain chambers for breeding various species.

I hold the screen on the lids with rivets and hot glue. Hot glue is probably enough for geckos. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of this.

Here's another cage I built along the same lines. Rather than a garbage can I used a 50 gallon Sterilite storage tote.

In this case the tote is mounted onto a face frame built from pine boards. The back of the boards are sealed with epoxy. The tote is attached to the frame with a polyurethane caulk and many tiny screws. The joint is very strong.

The screen is attached with rivets and hot glue. Again, this makes for a very strong joint. You'll see the screen in the next picture.

The door is 1/4" acrylic nested between smaller 1/4" strips of pine.

Sorry for the condition in this picture. A friend of mine had a Corucia zebrata born and needed this cage as temporary shelter for the mother and newborn. The picture was taken later that day and they skinks had messed up the cage pretty good with their initial explorations.

Here's the same cage from the side. Should make it easier to see what I did. The hot glue and rivets should be visible. I plan to attach some large shelf brackets to the back of the face frame so the cage can be free standing.

This style of cage could be done much less fancy than this. It would be very easy to take a sheet of plywood and cut out several appropriate sized holes. They would not need to be cut very straight.

Epoxy is probably overkill for sealing the wood. Plastic sign board or paint would also work. Silicone would work instead of polyurethane caulk.

I don't keep any Rhacodactylus at the moment so I don't check in here very often. If anyone has any questions page me over on the caging forum.

too many branches in my opinion, not enough room for them to jump around. it is a cool idea, I like to see my geckos though so i generally use glass, but your idea is pretty inexpensive and it definitely gives them the heighth that they like.

are you doing the bio-active soil method like Vosjoli talks about in his book?

i just started the soil bed in my tank a week ago, i'm gonna see how it goes.