New Cage Coming Soon (Hopefully)

[Napolean]

Ok so my mom has a 3'x18''x6' (LxWxH) frame that she got from work that she may be able to get for me for Napolean, i realize that it is WAY to short length wise and width wise...i had a plan to lay it down so it would be 6'x3'x18'' (LxWXH) and one of her workers have a husband that said he would work on it for us so i could ask him to take off the four beams that hold up the top of the cage and we could replace the beams with 6-7' beams so that the cage would be 6'x3'x6' (LxWxH) that would be sufficient for a single adult ig correct? we would add the walls and doors obviously but its a pretty good find don't ya think? and for like 50 bucks (if that) i could have the frame for the cage done ;D

Thanks,
Spencer

[prism_wolf]

napolean said:

i could ask him to take off the four beams that hold up the top of the cage and we could replace the beams with 6-7' beams so that the cage would be 6'x3'x6' (LxWxH) that would be sufficient for a single adult ig correct?

Excellent... ;D. This would be VERY adequate! What do you plan on using for the screen? Or are you going to go with Plexiglas? Will you have all open-air sides or will the sides have water proof wood panels?

Lots of questions... . You can get a lot of ideas, though from the answers you provide.

Just a few tips of LOTS to help you design the rest of the cage:

• Melamine is great for waterproof walls and flooring. It's a little costly, but very effective in a moist environment.
  
• A Plexiglas front will help keep the heat and humidity easier to keep up, though you would need to remember it does need some ventilation.
  
• Place all lights on the outside on top through wire hardware cloth and casters for easy moving.
  
• Make sure you can get it through doorways and hallways...upstairs and around corners. Measure the path where the cage will go!
  
• You may want to make it so it comes apart in two halves. This is VERY handy!
  
• Use lightweight material whenever you can!
  

There are tons of other ideas from so many different websites. Some of those ideas you may have already looked at in the sticky in this section of the forum... .

[Napolean]

I'm going to ask him to use screws when he puts it all together reason being so when it gets to are house i can just take it apart if i have to ;D I was going to get him to use Plexiglas for the doors and we would cut out 4 spaces, 2 on both sides for a plastic floor vent to go in, that way i can close it or open it and decide how much air flow i need for the roof it is most likely just going to be a thick piece of plywood with squares cut out and hardware wire will be stapled on the inside of the top so that the light can just sit on the wire. For the walls i was going to ask him to polyurethane them so they are water proof, i remember reading that if a single air gap to the middle of the board it will rot it away quite fast and over time the Melamine will rot in a high humidity cage even if it is properly sealed.. so that would be why i planned on thick plywood sealed on one side so if it did begin to rot it would be cheaper then a giant board of Melamine...but Melamine would make the whole process ALOT quicker...quite the predicament I'm in lol..save money or save time i think I'm gonna end up saving time ;D lol and ill just put nontoxic caulking in the gaps on the walls/base/top to make sure its sealed properly and wont take as long to rot away ( IF IT EVEN DOES ) now I'm just thinking of how to decorate the cage, i was thinking of using wood but the high humidity would destroy it in no time, i think i may have to order some wood that can withstand high humidity online not exactly what i planned seeing as i don't have a credit card lol.

Thanks,
Spencer

[prism_wolf]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Deadwood doesn't rot as fast as you think it might. In the right conditions it can, but it usually has to be laying on the ground in the midst of other decomposing material such as what you would find in the woods. Besides that...the enclosure doesn't need to stay in the high humidity ranges 24/7. There should be periods of complete drying out time. The wood would certainly look nice...and more natural, but have you thought about plastic-coated wire shelves? You can also use regular shelves with the adjustable height strips. This will be handy as your ig grows and you need to move him farther away from the top of the cage... .

[Napolean]

I was actually gonna mention metal shelves in my last post but i decided not to because when i start thinking about it wouldn't i need to add a plank of wood for the shelf to rest on? or does the shelf act like a L bracket and if it does will i need to support it for when he gets fat and old? lol but i guess it would tell me how much the shelf can support on the box...wouldnt the metal be a little uncomfortable? like with all the gaps in between the bars....another idea i had for "branches" i saw in someones post that they had PVC piping going all around the cage and they just wrapped it in carpet, but the wood would look nice.
Why would i need to move the basking spot when he gets older? if the basking spot stayed the same temps wouldn't it be okay or could he get burnt somehow because he would be closer to the bulb? He never got burnt when his temp were high like the 118 F so id think he could withstand a few degrees higher right? but like i said in the post above though the bulbs would be on the top of the cage and i was planning on getting 2 EB MegaRays ( One on each end the cage ) and just using normal household incandescent bulbs for heat, that would supply a good amount of UVA/B and not to mention my room has 2 windows in it so he would be getting a good amount of UVA.

[crazybaby]

napolean said:

Why would i need to move the basking spot when he gets older? if the basking spot stayed the same temps wouldn't it be okay or could he get burnt somehow because he would be closer to the bulb? He never got burnt when his temp were high like the 118 F so id think he could withstand a few degrees higher right? but like i said in the post above though the bulbs would be on the top of the cage and i was planning on getting 2 EB MegaRays ( One on each end the cage ) and just using normal household incandescent bulbs for heat, that would supply a good amount of UVA/B and not to mention my room has 2 windows in it so he would be getting a good amount of UVA.

Moving the basking shelf as he grows is a good idea due to the distance from the lights. With the mega ray, anything more than 12" away you'll be loosing out on good rays but too close is toooooo much.
As for the 118F you stated there, its not about physical burns, its the fact that you can literally cook him alive at anything above 97F. Always be sure to have temps no more than 96F on the warm and easily accessible to the cooler end of 75.

As for the windows and UV, they really don't do much for it. Window panes are infact made to filter the UV thats good for igs. Best sun (as always) is the nice big ball in the sky you see every day...but only if its unfiltered and direct. My ig likes to sit in sun patches in the house but it really isn't doing much. Good luck with your building project and be sure to share the experience and advice through the process.

[Napolean]

crazybaby said:

napolean said:

As for the windows and UV, they really don't do much for it. Window panes are infact made to filter the UV thats good for igs.

That's why i said UVA UVA is the visible light we see, UVB is what they need to help them with food and whatnot, UVA also keeps them happier and healthier supposevly...im not to sure on that though but it probably makes them alot happier then sitting in the dark with heat coming from no where.

I moved my room around today I'm that eager for it even though we don't even no if i we can get it yet and if we cant get it my dad said he would just pay my moms workers husband to build us a cage for Napster and it would be 6'x3'x7' (LxWxH) not sure how much it would cost for all that Melamine though probably alot though..looks like ill be pitching in a bit to good thing its my B-Day in a month lol (June 11th)

[prism_wolf]

The 118 didn't cause external damage, but internal damage can, will, and does take place... .

The spacing between the wire shelving units are close enough together...and an igs skin is fairly "non-oozy" that extra support isn't necessary. They look pretty darn comfy on that stuff. As for being adjustable...if you start out with shelves that are closer to the light source where the light is say...12" for the Mega Ray away from your igs' back while it's still small...than as it gets older and larger that distance becomes a lot closer as in about 8"-10" away. This is way too close. It's nice to have adjustable shelving to accommodate a growing ig. Of course, if you have the Mega Ray...you will also have the option of moving the lamp... ;D.

As far as the materials you use....that is such a personal option. Yes...wood looks nice, but it can harbor bacteria and is generally not the cleanest. I had a large branch in the old cage for several years though...but also had a wooden shelf well sealed. PVC, wood, shelving (wire or wood), it's up to you... ;D.