Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What sort of materials would be ok for high humidity enviroment?

This is somewhat species specific. High humidity is not just one thing, it varies for different species and setups.

Whether you have standing water and/or lots of wet substrate constantly sitting on the bottom of the cage is the biggest concern.

Regardless, almost any material can be made water resistant. I used to work at a zoo where they can plywood boxes sealed with pool epoxy paint or fiberglass resin. Some of them had held saltwater for more than 20 years. And I've heard some of them are still going yet another 10 years later. They held delicate marine invertebrates so toxicity is obviously not a huge concern.

This would be for G. spengleri. So there would be moist substrate all the time. I'm just thinking how i can keep the temp down to about 75 with the humidity up. I have only used rubbermaidsand stocktanks for them. But i want to make a cage.

With a semi-terrestrial such as this you also have to worry about scratching and not just water resistance.

I would build the cage that you like and line the bottom and part of the sides with Fiberglass Reinforced Panel (aka FRP board). This is the textured plastic that often lines restroom walls in restaurants, etc. The edges where the FRP meets should be siliconed. The remainder of the cage could be painted or stained to your liking.

The truely cheapest option would be to paint the floor and part of the cage sides with fiberglass resin. This is a pain to work with and requires a highly ventilated area and preferably a respirator. But super cheap.

Or you could build a cage from glass and have sliding front doors. I don't have any experience with this however.

Were you wanting to build the cage from wood?

How warm is the room where you keep your turtle(s)?

With the moist substrate required by this species you will have a constant evaporative cooling effect that will likely maintain a cage temperature slightly cooler than the rest of the room.

The main problem with a cage vs. an open tank is that the heat from the light ballasts will build up in the cage more than the open tank. You can plan for this with your design by essentially not including a top.

Highest temp in the room barely reaches 80 or so. I was thinking just having a screen lid.

A screen top is probably a good idea if you feed any insects that might climb out.

But I'm not sure if I would make it a "lid". If you're building yourself I really think it's worth the time to make a front opening cage. Just easier to access the cage for cleaning and feeding without messing with the lights.

I do think 75* will be a difficult temperature for you to reach. Check temps around the room and find the coolest area.

Ok. Well, should i use wood? And use the fiberglass resin?

Plywood is probably the easiest route for you to take. I really like the birch or oak laminated plywoods.

Fiberglass resin or Fiberglass Reinforced Panel is up to you. With the resin you have the fumes, with the panel you have the dust from cutting it. Both are a nusance.

Which would be the cheapest route? Also, anyway you know of how to make a cheap misting system for an enclosure like this?

That's a bit vague. The cheapest route would be to use a large plastic box or watering tank of some sort. But it sounds like you're already doing that and want to build a cage.

What exactly do you want from a cage? Maybe I can help more then if I know what you want.

Also, how big?

Probably 4x2x2 or so. A UVB light on one side. A water tub, probably a paint tray. Moist substrate, peat ad topsoil. Also some sphagom moss. And i'll be having a couple plants. So basically i just need a cage that can hold wet substrate and can withstand high humidity.

I guess what I meant is what is it you want from a cage that can't be provided by a tub or tank?

Is it looks, size, or what?

Basically looks.

I do recommend a birch or oak laminated plywood then.

Here's a picture of a cage I built from two $40 sheets of oak laminated plywood. You probably will only need one sheet for your size cage (although it will likely be more expensive nowadays).

The friend I built this applied the stain and polyurethane. I went back and helped him apply the epoxy on the interior. I don't necessarily recommend this epoxy for a Geomyda, however.

Sorry I don't have a better picture of this cage. It's about the size you're looking for. This one is birch plywood with a mahogany stain. Gives it sort of a dark cherry look.

It is actually a very nice color in person.

I like the Birch over the oak for a few reasons ,

I think the oak looks good when building to match exsisting oak furniture or cabinets etc in a home. But i think the birch has more potential to mimic other woods such as cherry , some maple , and has a very smoot finish .this to me is a nice thing as i like for a wood to have a smooth as glass finish when done .Oak can get that but due to the natural hardness of the heart and vein in oak it sands at different rates which is virtually impossible toget smooth as glass. The oak will always look likeoak even if ever painted.The birch can take many stains well when combined with the colors available to mimic other woods as i said.Ill dig up some pics of a few cages for you to see the difference in oak & birch w/ stains
-----
Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....Creating better ideas today then the day before while i dont claim to have invented the wheel... im just making that wheel roll a little better ... Edit this !www.junglehabitats.com and www.junglehabitats.com/forums/portal.php

_____

edited signature file to remove advertising slogan. Please update accordingly. [phw 3/25/04]

That does look nice! Any chance you could email me? kdprice@charter.net the forums are getting hard to follow.