enclosure

Question
Dear Thea. you have proved to be a reliable source of information and I would like your help once more. Many care sheets and informational documents say that it is most wise to build your own enclosure while others say that only shop bought ones can do the trick. which do you recommend? and if it is to build your own, the what supplies do I need? How much will it cost? please help me on this matter.

Answer
Hi N,

The short answer is that any cage that is designed and built specifically for the type of reptile that you have is always going to be better then using a glass tank.

Glass tanks have a few advantages like being easy to clean completely but many disadvantages as well. They are heavy, breakable and can make shy animals feel over-exposed and stressed. They are open to the top so heat (which rises) is more easily lost and they require moving your lighting to access the cage. I have known a few people who set their cold heat light on a nearby surface to open their bearded's tank and then forgot to put the light back on top. The bulb was later turned on by the automatic timer and very nearly caused a fire! Heat bulbs also tend to need replacing more  often when they are moved because the filament inside is very fragile.

Cages made for reptiles open from the front with either a hinged door (or doors)  or sliding glass doors. They can be built to accomodate heat from above or below and the lamps and wires can be hidden from view by the construction.

Whether you try to build your own cage really depends entirely on whether you already have access to some standard power tools and are comfortable doing some basic carpentry. Lol, I know that does not describe me so building my own cages is really out of the question! If you know someone who is handy with tools then you can have them help you or pay them to construct it for you.  

Custom built cages allow you to pick the exact cage dimensions, amount of ventilation etc. The climbing branches can be permanently mounted inside the cage. You can choose to use basic, functional materials like melamine for the inside and then make the trim out of a more attractive wood so that the cage looks like a nice piece of furniture. Obviously, you can stain it or paint it exactly as you want. The quality of the final product will depend on both the materials used and the skill of the builder. Keep in mind that any porous material should be painted or sealed with a safe product and  floor/wall joints siliconed to prevent leaks or insects escaping.
There is so much variation in the type of materials that you might use that it is really impossible to estimate a cost.

If building your own is not possible there are custom built cages available commercially. The number of custom cages available is increasing as the reptile- keeping hobby keeps growing.

You can also get some ideas for cage plans published online. This first site is excellent and also from Australia. The plans are not free but are very thorough with lots of great ideas and bonuses. It gives step by step instructions on exactly what you will need and how to proceed.    


http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com/

You can look through this link for ideas on cage styles:

http://www.reptile-cage-plans.com/examples.html


This site has free instructions for building your own:

http://www.reptileranger.com/ucmember/index.htm