Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm starting to save up,for a bigger home for my lizard.(I'm a SAHM,with hubby the only one working,and 2 kids,can't afford to just go buy one. My lizard is now in a 30 gallon tank, but I'm just thinking he'll need a bigger one when he starts to grow. Anyhow,the last few days,I've been searching the neat,for different styles and such. I came across Reptile Haven and I saw they have fairly large cages,made out of what looks like screen. And they don't cost near as much as a tank. But I'm just wondering about holding heat. See, when I bought the tank I have now for my lizard,it didn't have a top,so I had to buy a whole roll of screen,to make a top. I've still got nearly a whole roll. I was thinking,maybe on just having hubby make a a huge cage for him. But I was just wanting yalls thoughts on the matter. Does anyone here have their Collared in a screen cage?
Thanks guys!!

I used a nylon screen cage just for outdoors this past summer. I learned the hard way that crickets chew on them, then the lizards can push their fat noses through. I was lucky and did not lose anyone, but my next cage will have metal screening! I don't know about screen cages indoors, I think my house gets too cold to expect it to stay warm enough.
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Valerie

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--

God bless the USA

vrk.photosite.com

The screen cages don't hold heat at all. For desert species, they are useless unless you live in a very warm climate or heat the entire room they are in.

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1.0 Common Snapping Turtle (Goliath)
1.0 Brown Anole (Anubis)
1.0 Green Anole (Baal)
1.1 Great Basin Collared Lizards (Amon, Amaunette)
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Spiega)
1.0 Chesapeake Bay Retriever (Logan)
0.1 Spoiled Mutt (Storm)

i live in an area that never gets really cold and my apartment never is that cold either and my collareds love their screen cages and freak out whenever i put them in tanks. my guys love them and utilize every single inch of them, including the ceilings. crickets should not really be in the cage beyond feeding time but sometimes stragglers can chew at the sides and it took two years before that happened in my first cage
the main thing is can you maintain their optimal heat?
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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 ***

It doesn't get just freezing cold here,much,but that was really my only concern,was keeping the lil guy warm. My house doesn't stay real warm,so i might better pass on the scren cage.
Guess I'll just have to keep saving my pennies!