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I'm getting ready to build my first custom enclosure. It is for one male Bearded Dragon. I want to make it 6x2x2. Is that good enough for an adult BD? I am going to make it out of Melamine. I noticed on a post further down the board it was recommended that the vents be near the bottom of the cage. I don't use sand, so I could technically put the vents near the bottom. Where is the best place to put the vents? On the sides or on the bottom back?

Also, how should I do the lighting in the cage? I'm worried about putting the lighting inside the enclosure, because I'm afraid the BD might hurt himself. In his current setup, he is separated from the lights by the screen top on his tank. Is that not a problem? For lighting/heat I have a UVB strip, a Ceramic Heat Emitter, and a regular bulb type of light. Is it better to cut holes in the top of the Melamine and set the lights on top of the enclosure, or is it okay to put the lighting inside of the cage?

Sorry for all the stupid questions, I plan on starting the cage this week and am trying to get it right the first time . Thanks for any help you can give! And if anyone has pics of their BD enclosures to share that would be great.

I'm getting ready to build my first custom enclosure. It is for one male Bearded Dragon. I want to make it 6x2x2. Is that good enough for an adult BD?

I have a fairly large male in a cage with a floor area of 48"x19". I'd consider that a minimum. He spends so much time out of his cage that I don't really worry about it. Nonetheless I do have plans for a larger cage.

I am going to make it out of Melamine.

Good choice if this is the first enclosure you've built.

Where is the best place to put the vents? On the sides or on the bottom back?

Not a huge issues either way. Whichever is easier and/or appeals to your eye.

Also, how should I do the lighting in the cage?

The fluorescent tubes are fine being exposed in the cage. The CHE and the incandescent bulb can be covered with a screen guard of some sort.

Either buy a pre-fabricated product or simply make a frame that can be covered with screen.

If you're taking the time to build a cage I think you'd be happer if the lights were somewhat hidden.

Here is a picture of my bearded dragon cage. It's about 49.5" x 20" x 28", LxWxH.

Sorry for the lousy picture, the cage looks much better in person.

I like the extra height as it allows me near 6" upper and lower lips. This allows me to hide the lights and heaters as well as provide a deep substrate dam on the bottom. If the cage were only 24" tall then the viewing area would only be like 10" which does not look as good, IMO.

The cage uses a false ceiling design. I don't have any pictures of that specifically but can show you on another cage I built.

This one is much larger, here's a picture before the cage decorations went in.

The cage is 49.5" x 30" x 48". If you look at the picture and pay attention to the light coming out of the back you'll see it's a bit brighter on the top 8". This is because the upper 8" of the back of the cage is completely open.

In other words, the back panel of the cage is only 40" tall and stops 8" from the top of the cage. This leaves me an 8" x 48" opening all along the back-top of the cage to insert and access lights and heating elements.

From the bottom of the upper (front) lip to the top of the back panel there is a frame built from 1" pine stock. Here's a picture of that frame.

The frame is covered with screen.

The provides a lot of ventilation but also allows much of the heat to stay in the cage. With my bearded dragon cage I drape Reflectix insulation from the top of the false ceiling over the back of the cage. It's just loosely draped so the ventilation is still there but it reflects most of the heat back into the cage.

It might be more than you want to tackle for your first cage but it is a neat and tidy way to hide lights and heating elements safely from your animal(s). It also hides the ventilation and is remarkably efficient for having the ventilation at the top.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Thanks for all your help. I love the idea of a "faux" ceiling. What if we make it 36" tall instead of 24"?? That would give us space to hide the lights up there and use screen to cover them. It'd be great to hide the lights and protect the Beardie!

36" tall would be nice, but not absolutely necessary.

On my bearded dragon cage the false ceiling ended up being a bit under 6" tall. It's fine for the 60 watt CHE I use and the shoplight, but it would be nice to have a slightly larger space so I could fit mercury vapor bulbs. My next cage will have that.

One thing you want to avoid is the upper lip being too tall. I'd figure out how little space you can get away with and then add an inch or two "just in case".

Also, I prefer my upper and lower lips to be the same height. I think the look is more balanced. If the lower lip is too tall and makes it hard to see the dragon you can always raise the floor with substate or something else.

In my case I put down a couple of layers of foil-covered poly-iso insulation board and covered that with linoleum. Between that and the Reflectix on top my cage is remarkably efficent. Even with the entire top being screen and ventilated out the back.

A 36" tall cage probably would look nice. With 8" upper and lower lips, for example, that would give a viewing area about 20" tall.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)