Hello,
Looking to get some ideas for a new cage for my 11-year old pair of leopard geckos. I have yet to measure them, I will try and get some pics of them next to a tape measure and post them in the next post.
I am going to build them a large wooden cage - width is the main problem I am having. I have to find a way to make this functional, so it's going to be a big furniture piece, with the cage on top and a bookshelf on the bottom, and possibly something else on top.
The cage is going to be 4 feet long - this is set in stone. I am not sure of width though - if the bookshelf is much more than 12" from front to back, it's going to be awkward. But a 12" wide cage for these lizards is thinner than I'd like it to be. Their cage now is 12" front to back and they are fine, but I want it to be wider because it will give them more space to roam and it'll give me more room to make it natural-looking - more on that later.
I also want the width so I can add a background. I will be making it sloped, because I can guarantee you they will try and climb it, and I don't want any chances of them falling, especially if there is a bit of height to it.
I have three ideas here:
After that's done I have to decide on some other stuff, like what's actually going inside.
So that's what I'm working with right now. I'll try and post updates here whenever I get them, I think this should be able to start by September or so. I need to finalize the plans though, and figure everything out before I go into it.
Drew
Looking to get some ideas for a new cage for my 11-year old pair of leopard geckos. I have yet to measure them, I will try and get some pics of them next to a tape measure and post them in the next post.
I am going to build them a large wooden cage - width is the main problem I am having. I have to find a way to make this functional, so it's going to be a big furniture piece, with the cage on top and a bookshelf on the bottom, and possibly something else on top.
The cage is going to be 4 feet long - this is set in stone. I am not sure of width though - if the bookshelf is much more than 12" from front to back, it's going to be awkward. But a 12" wide cage for these lizards is thinner than I'd like it to be. Their cage now is 12" front to back and they are fine, but I want it to be wider because it will give them more space to roam and it'll give me more room to make it natural-looking - more on that later.
I also want the width so I can add a background. I will be making it sloped, because I can guarantee you they will try and climb it, and I don't want any chances of them falling, especially if there is a bit of height to it.
I have three ideas here:
- Build it 12" wide and suck it up about the background, just use something 2D or a very thin 3D background and find a way to make it climb-proof - this way I won't have to do anything about the bookshelf
- Build it 18" wide, and get to have a decent 3D background in the cage - and put a sheet of plywood in the base for the bookshelf, so that the bookshelf appears 12" front to back - with 6" in the back that can be braced
- Build it 24" wide, have one hell of a 3D background, and do the same plywood and bracing thing in the back so the bookshelf appears 12" front to back
After that's done I have to decide on some other stuff, like what's actually going inside.
- Heating will probably be heat cables run in the bottom of the cage - I may have a hatch so that this can be accessed if needed, or it may just rest under the substrate
- The background will start with several layers of insulation foam board, stacked and carved to my liking, and filled in with spray foam as necessary. Then it'll be painted and covered with epoxy resin so I can stick some sand to it to make it look as natural as possible
- I am planning on four vents, two at the top in the back (out of view) and two at the bottom on either side (also out of view, unless you look for them)
- I am not sure about plants - whether I will keep live or fake plants - I think live would be much nicer looking but I don't want the high-intensity lights needed for most succulents - so fake is probably going to be my choice
- Substrate, I do not know yet - I have thought about a solid substrate layer with clay soil spread over the bottom and cracked, or maybe a 50-50 mixture of peat moss and play sand mixed together and compacted down - I'll probably get some of each of these and try them out in a smaller viv and see how I like it
- I'll use a combination of slate and foam to build hides, I can easily fit two or three for each of them in here - I might do two hot hides, two cool hides, and one bigger moist hide
- For water, my girl likes a big water bowl that she can get inside of (surprisingly she doesn't defecate in the bowl though), while my guy doesn't like the water that much. I am thinking I'll build a bowl from small pieces of slate and some kind of cement, so it looks like a natural feature but I can still remove it to clean and refill. I am a bit worried about cleaning it - I may need to either make it smooth on the inside, or make a mini pressure-washer to clean it with
So that's what I'm working with right now. I'll try and post updates here whenever I get them, I think this should be able to start by September or so. I need to finalize the plans though, and figure everything out before I go into it.
Drew
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