Reptile & Amphibian Forums

this is the new gecko rack i built, much more easy to clean than glass tanks

another one

one more

very nice! looks like you could use some more geckos though!

yeah i have some crested geckos im going to put in ,but i think they like it a little warmer than satanics so im debating on putting heat pads on the remaining drawers

i have both cresteds and satanics which i keep at the same general temp (72 F) and they all do great.

You look like you put a lot of time into that system and I looks really nice but I wonder how much actual ventaliation the geckos recieve. Maybe I don't see anything but I looks like from the photos that they get hardly any ventalition. Even though phantasticus is a high humidity species I still believe a proper ventalition is required. My suggestion would not to keep the satanics or cresteds in there. In a cage like that you are going to have mold growing out of control.
-Matt

Actually I can give a better suggestion. I use rubbermaid tubs personally because they are super cheap (I'd rather break plastic versus glass). I cut large sections out of the sides of the rubbermaids and put 1/16 inch steel screen over the whole using a silicone based sealant. I make the vents along the sides and place a low powered fan near by to give better ventilation. I've down it to all my enclosures except for my glass tanks. It works really well. especially for those of us who are budget minded.

Jason.

Seems to me that not much natural light would get into those cages as well... Didn't see room for lighting fixtures... ???
-----
Ben

I keep my cages on a utility rack so there is space for lighting.

is missing with the tubs, I have used tubs without lids for small bigger lizards, at times while preparing their permanent enclosure.

But I like to veiw them all , so the plastic kinda of takes the fun out!
-----
PHEve/ Eve

Contact PHEve

thanks for the advice , but the peg board i used seems to work well enough because i just use paper towels as substrate along with some moss ,and change and clean it freqently i always look for mold when i spray and feed them. and as for lighting there is 4, flouresent cieling fixtures above that can not be seen in the pics.

please excuse my spelling , im not on the comp. very often and working construction you really dont have to write very often, so im a little rusty

Take our word on the ventilation, the more there is the better the geckos will do.

You are in the perfect field for cage building then...

only mine has screen on the top. just wait for a few months ( the drawers won't fit so great....) mine were perfectly fine when i made it. and they would still work great if the tubs were more squared on the edges ( like little kritter keepers etc.) the rounded edges on the tubs make it more difficult to effeciently size the rack system and more difficult to slide in and out without having it drop. since really all of the weight is on the center of the tub since it is the widest and thickest part of the tub.
as for if you're going to use screen and use jason's suggestion. i've tried using silicone, and hot glue works a TON better. it's difficult to set the screen effeciently and keep it tight whereas the hot glue sets within a minute and you can pull against it to lay the next section. i too keep a fan going near my rack system ( one of the thin, vertical rotating ones) to keep ventilation up.

Thats a great tip. I never thought to use hot glue. Thank you sooo much for that. Now I don't have to wait a day before puttin the geckos in.

also works great for making screen tops for tubs for showering. here's a picture posted by someone else. i have the exact same thing and it works great for showering the geckos. here's a link http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=779434,779434
( p.s. email me if you need any screen...)

chris or I never mentioned the hot glue to you?!
-----
Ben

Nope. Totally bummed me out because I've been wasting so much time with freaking silicone.

Whats with not returning emails. I've sent you like three.

i've been using hot glue quite a bit recently, with the various tubs and extensions i've worked on. honestly, im not too big on hot glue anymore. granted its quick and easy, but it just hasnt lasted for me the way i had hoped. i dont know what the deal is, but i figure its got something to do with all the wetness/humidity all the time. after a while, it just loses its grip. i think im gonna look into one of those staple guns with the heavy duty staples now, as long as the staples wont rust.

staples have worked well. you should be able to get stainless steal or alluminum staples. the reason i suggested hot glue is because you can't exactly staple the screen to a thin plastic top. i found it works quite well if you get a newer hot glue gun and let it heat up enough so the glue starts running out of it a little bit. give you more time to work with it and has been holding up great.