Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went over to my dad's friend's place yesterday and we cut up the three sheets of plywood for the three 4'x2'x2' cages we're building. We cut all the floors/ceilings, sides, and backs, and then we put rabbit/dado cuts in specific spots so that the sides fit good with the tops and bottoms, and the back fit in nicely.

They should turn out really nice. The guy helping told me that as far as the flourescent lighting, he might be able to get me a couple of single tube 3' fixtures, which would work out perfectly for the cages. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do the heat lamps though. I'm thinking either a simple incandescent fixture on a wiring box for each cage, or just putting hooks on the ceilings of the cages and hanging clamp lamps in. The first method would probably turnout nicer.

Oh, and he also said that he could get me good quality plexi for the framed front doors. He said that if you go with good plexi it won't scrath easily, so I think I might try it, but I don't think I'd silicone them in. I think since the space for the glass would just be routered into the back of the hinged doors, I might just set the plexi in and screw little tabs on the door to hold it in place, so if it does scratch I could take it out and replace it with more plexi, or just glass.

wow, reading that was like a foreign language however, since it was way over my head, it sounds like they are going to have a really nice home, or was it homes?
we all want pictures when it is done
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vonnie
***There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. Mary Wilson Little ***

Sounds like fun! and like some nice cages going together! Having recently done this myself, I want to warn you that a single incandescent fixture in each cage will not heat the cage up enough for Uros, I wasn't sure if that was what you meant in your post, but it seemed like a possibility. I ended up with a 150w basking bulb, and a 150w heat emitter, in addition to the UVB light fixture, and that is keeping the warm side of the tank in an acceptable range (though I would prefer the ambient a bit hotter), but the cool side (the side with no lights but UVB) is really quite chilly.

I just thought I would share my experience with lighting that size enclosure.

I cannot wait to see the pictures!

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to go with two heat lamps in each cage. How did you do the incandescent lighting for your cages? The idea I'm currently looking into is getting simply little $2 ceramic fixtures (like a lot of people have in basements and closets and stuff), and getting the nicer quality wiring boxes (that are pre painted and stuff), and just wiring a cut off extension cord into that. I'm also not sure what I'm going to use for vents either. I'd like something small and circular because I don't want a whole lot of ventilation....more like just enough. That will also make it easier to keep the ambient temps up.

When I got Turtle and Tank, they came with an enclosure. It's a barf-ugly home-made thing that's actually pretty functional, despite its awful appearance. For ventilation, they used the little round grates that screw in over top of car stereo speakers. It works pretty well, though I have no idea how expensive they are.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

I started out with wiring those ceramic heat fixtures for lighting, I did not use any sort of box between the fixture and the top of the cage, and way too much heat was conducted through the top of the cage, so I am glad you are going to put a spacer in there. I actually ended up using the metal dome clip lamps, without clipping them. The way I built the cage there was a wire "shelf" on the top that could be used to hold the lighting. I just had it there originally because I am paranoid. I am attaching a link to the website with pictures of the cage in various stages, though it still doesn't have the finished one up there. I did not add any ventilation on the bottom of the cage because there was plenty of air flow through the top open space (see pictures) and through the bypass doors.

Let me know if I can be of any help, or if this is unclear.

Elizabeth

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~echarris/archcage/

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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

When I built my first double-decker Uro cage I thought it would be hard to heat. It's dimensions are 4 x 2 x 4 feet. Each cage is 18 inches high, with a shelf on the bottom. I put two rectangular vents on the sides, and two incandescent lights on each side, with the Uvb fluorescent in front. I was surprised how hot the cages got. Finally settled on two 45 watt bulbs for heat, and it is still a bit hot. Ended up cutting out another ventilation rectangle on the back of the top cage.
I am just finishing up my second double-decker cage, this one is 30 inches wide instead of 2 feet. And there will be no shelf on bottom, so each cage is 2 feet high. This time I put three ventilation openings in each, one on each side and one on the back. They really need fresh air! And only two light fixtures, one for heat and one for the UVB coil light.
For the doors on the first one I used Plexiglass, and they have scratched it up so bad you can bearly see through it! So I may just try to figure out a way to use glass for this second cage.

Good luck with yours! Post pics!
Beth