WillemsMom-CBD

[Yoda]

;D ;D \


Hey all....


I just got a PM from WillemsMom and the new CBD enclosure has arrived....(yesterday).wooooooooo


They are having fun with the set up...

Im sure she will update us soon...


James and Yoda

[SurvivorSteph]

I can't wait to hear all about it!

[Debbie]

Oh Wow I am so excited for her!
I know that she will be very glad that she was able to get the enclosure! ;D

I know that she will have a REAL GOOD TIME putting it together. I remember that it took us about 12 hours to get it together.

Congrats WillemsMom. ...... I am anxious to hear all about your adventures of constructing your Igs new home! ;D

Debbie Iggy Bam-Bam and Miss Zak.

[dominick]

Hi Folks-

I too am excited about it. They are some fantastic enclosures!

Can't wait to see pics!

[WillemsMom]

Hello to Everyone! Whew! I'm about 98% done and ready for a break. Holy smokes...this has been something. First I would like to thank James and Yoda for pulling me back into the real world and not allowing me to get stuck in the flu and helping Ed put Will's Sanctuary together. I was awed by the size and James helped me to remember how much Will would LOVE it when he got bigger. I also want to thank Debbie, because she inspired us to believe we could do it. And she too, told me how wonderful it would be once I saw Will in there and Debbie, you were right. All my fussing and stressing disappeared once I saw him sitting on a ledge looking around and checking the whole thing out. He jumped from ledge to ledge and I was thrilled with the exercise I saw him getting. He was very sedentary in his 75 gal. tank. I hung vines all over the place because I didn't think he would be able to go from level to level on his own. How mistaken i was...I think the vines are clearly in his way and I'll probably take them down, or at least hang them somewhere out of his way. He can leep from one height to another with ease going up. He's still clumsy coming down. I put some of his old basking limbs in for him to climb down on, but I don't think he uses them. . I saw the picture of Debbie's enclosure and it looks so easy to keep clean. I'll probably strip the unnecessary additions I put in out very soon. I'm very fussy about Will getting enough UVB rays and and the proper heat zones. I found that we really had to improvise and change what CBD had proposed. My dear husband had the patience of a Saint as I kept asking him to move the lights, etc. In Will's small enclosure I could do that, and was always fussing to get it 'just right.'
Now it's a big deal to move lights and ledge heights.
I THINK we have it right now! UVBs at about 60 and the temp at 93 for the daytime basking ledge. Temp for his sleeping ledge is about 83. Getting the humidty right is tricky too. At first the floor of his enclosure was getting wet to the point where I had to wipe it up so the flooring wouldn't bubble from moisture. Then my brain kicked in and we moved his 'swimming pool' under the misting nozzle. That catches about 90% of the wetness, but I'll still need to wipe his floor a few times a day. I'm sure Will thinks his new home is the cat's meow and that's what it's all about, but from our point of view it is not perfect by any means. There are a few features I wish were different, but I'm sure that's true of everything.

Debbie, I read your post where you asked about the assembly. Arrrggghhhh! It was Hell! Ed and I were both sick, which made it harder I'm sure. He would get up, assemble as much as he could, and then rest again. I think that part of it took nearly a week. When he got all assembled it was lying on it's back. Now what. There was no way he and I could get it upright. Our helpers were away until next weekend and i was tired of waiting. Home Depot said they couldn't send a couple of men to help us, so I called a small local moving company. Two men, 1

[WillemsMom]

(whoops..something just happened) any way, 2 men, 15 minutes, $175.00. So extravagant, but I just couldn't wait another week. Right now, Will mostly just lays on his ledge and watches me at my pc. He and I have a sweet mutual relationship and I'm sure it comforts him to see me at my pc. Something familiar. In summary, I am so glad I made the decision to do this for Will and I learned to take salesmen's words with a lot of skepticism and not to let them talk me out of what I spent alot of effort learning. I'm going to see if i can post some pictures now. So glad to be back.

[Yoda]

;D


Glad to have ya back...and happy to hear the Kingdom is all set up.....CONGRADULATIONS.

James and Yoda

[Tesa]

Wonderful Nance!!
I'm so glad to see you back and to hear that Willem is hooked up in his palace now! I bet you can hardly keep your eyes off him!

[SurvivorSteph]

Glad you're back! Thanks so much for sharing about Willem's new enclosure. We've all been waiting expectantly.

P.S. Glad you're feeling better.

[Debbie]

Nance! Yeah you are back! lol I have really missed talikg to you. Well I am so glad that you are happy with your babies new kingdom!

It took Iggy about a week before he started climbing and jumping and so on. I'm like you I left out the vines, knowing Iggy, he would have just hung himself on the vines. lol

So I take it Willem is thrilled in his new Kingdom?
Tell me you didn't use the reptile bark that came with it? that stuff is soooooooooo dangerus for them!
Take it from me I KNOW and so does Bam-Bam.

It won't take you but about a week of studing the enclosure and you will start getting ideas and different ways and things that you want to do inside of the "kingdom". lol ;D

Iggy now had a flowing water pond with a filter system in it to keep it clean. He uses it as his pottie and it really makes a differance in how clean it stays now. He uses the pond and not the floor of his house. Mkes clean up a lot easier too.

Well I am rambblingon and on and on! silly me! lol
Keep us posted as to the ideas that you have in the future and we can compare notes.

Really glad that you are feeling better and are back in the posting game.

Debbie Iggy Bam-Bam and Miss Zak

[WillemsMom]

Hi Debbie.....what is the reptile bark? I don't think we got any. How did you fix the flowing water in his swimming pool? I've wanted to ask you about that.
I still take Will for his morning bath and that's where he poops..most of the time. But I haven't filled the pool yet, because I had no idea how I'd clean it. The mister runs for one minute every hour and I use the pool to catch the drips. I'd love to do what you're doing though. If you don't mind sharing how you did it, I'd be very grateful! I'm looking for some pesticide-free hibiscus plants to add. I was able to post a pic on the GIS board. I'll try again here, now, but it hasn't worked yet Still doesn't

[Debbie]

Hey Nance, The pool is equiped with a fishtank filter system in it witch keeps the water moving and keeps it from stagnating.

All we did was get a bag of rock for the bedding and got the filter. After we put the rock bedding in the floor of the pond we put in the filter and then we taped down the wire to the floor and ran it out the little vents in the back of the cage.

All we have to do is add water everyday and take out the filter and clean it 3 times a week.

When we add the water we add hot water witch keeps the water temp up so that it doesn't get too cold. With all of the lighting in there it evaperates quickly. Did the mister come with the cage?

Yes I saw the pictures of the cage and it is beautiful. I wish now that I had gotten the back drop! It looks awsume!

As far as the reptile bark, it came with ours and we didn't use it. It is chopped up wood, looks like tree bark just stripped off of a tree. Very dangerus for the iggys.

What do you have in the bottom of Willem's kingsom? Looks like sand but couldn't really tell.

I want to put some plants, and other thing s inside for Iggy but I'm not too sure about the live plants and I'm afraid that her would try to eat plastic or silk flowers or greeery. What do you think?

Debbie Iggy Bam-Bam and Miss Zak.

[WillemsMom]

How creative you were with Iggy's pond. Are you using the swimming pool from CBD or did you buy a separate pond. I can't wait to show Ed what you're doing. Such a good idea!

You know, AJ from CBD tried not to influence about the backdrop, but when he could hear I was on the fence, he said the backdrop in his snakes enclosure makes all the difference, so I went for it. And I'm really glad I did.

What I have for vines are only Petsmart vines. I was told we could even get them at a craft shop for less.

I used strips of duck tape to hold them securely (?) in place and so far so good. They are not in Will's way and they add a natural touch, I think. Will doesn't try to eat them. I have taken all our our plants and put them outside of his enclosure at one end. They look nice, too, but poor Will started scratching at that end of his enclosure. He wanted to climb on them in the worst way.

I've been seeking pestcide-free plants for inside Willem's home, but so far no luck. Someone send me instructions for grafting hibiscus cuttings and therefore getting safe plants. I haven't figured that out yet, but I can send the instructions if you want to try.

The whole ordering and assembly process is still a blur, but on the bottom, under Will's pool, are two panels that came with our stuff. (No reptile bark.) I don't know if I ordered them or AJ threw them in. They are water resistant and work beautifully. I have a white towel around the bottom of the pool to catch the misting spray if necessary.

I ordered my mister from Big Apple Herp and it is great. BUT, it's expensive and it shouldn't be. Parts are very simple. If you and your dh are handy, which I'm sure you are, I can tell you the parts and you can make your own. Home depot probably has everything you need.

Guess that's it. I think you can drape enough vines and things on your back to create a very nice tropical look. I would just secure them well. Also, I think I saw huge backgrounds for sale somewhere on the internet for much less than CBD sells them for. It's not too late. I think there are ways to make it look very natural.

Thank you again for your encouragement in this purchase. I'm so glad I went for it! Have fun and let's stay in touch!

[Debbie]

Hey Nance, I'm really glad that you are happy withWillem's new house.
If you would like to e-mail me about the p[lants and what ever else, my e-mail address is [e-mail]

I guess that with the vines you could secure them behind the rocks and then tighten the wing nuts in the back to hold them in place?

Let me ask you another question. How did you secure the wires comming across the top of the enclosure and out of the back vet holes at the top?

Iggy loves to get up on the very top rock and then hang from the cords. The only thing that I can think of is to use a staple gun and secure the wires to the top of the cage? What do you think?
We tried duck taping them but so far that has not worked.

Debbie Iggy Bam-Bam and Miss Zak.

[WillemsMom]

Will email you tomorrow, Debbie.
Sweet Dreams to all.