Well finally, it has begun! I’m still in shock that I’ve actually started, but I have, so now it shouldn’t take me so long to get it finished (I hate leaving things unfinished, although I am a little bit too busy these days for my own good!). Anyway, let’s begin (sorry if some bits are a bit ‘simple’ but I thought I’d make this open to all possible users so anyone can have a go at building it if they like!)
Firstly, decide on a plan that you like. This is probably the most important thing as it’ll help you decide on the wood you’re going to use and the other bits and bobs you’ll need. Here are my plans (I have some pretty good modelling software, so that’s why it looks so neat!)
The plan of your cage is ultimately up to you, but that was mine to hopefully spark some imagination. This stage literally took me months of on off planning as there were so many little things that kept coming up as I was imagining my design in my head. I expect these plans won’t make much sense till I start to show some pictures, so I’m just going to get on with it!
So, the best place to start is with the base. I wanted to build a base that would more realistically recreate a “natural environment” so I planned to build it like a planter and literally create a mini ecosystem at the bottom. Water retention was my biggest problem, but I’ve used the tried and tested method of hydroton (small clay balls) to create a drainage area where I can, if necessary, remove the water from. On top of this will be a fine mesh (hopefully if I can get some, a capillary membrane - but we’ll have to wait and see) that I will then put the soil/fertiliser onto. Into this I will literally plant my plants, then I will cover all the exposed soil with moss, to make sure that Dante doesn’t eat it. It should look something like this (sorry for the crude paint drawing):
I will also introduce a few worms and other creepy crawlies to breakdown the leaf matter and waste that falls into the bottom that I don’t pick out (which should act as a natural fertiliser) and should Dante spot any he is free to eat them! I’m tempted to add a layer of charcoal in between the hydroton and the soil as this will act to clean the water, but I’m not sure I really need to, but I’ll look into it.
Right, so let’s get building! Some of the little quirks will become apparent as the build goes on!
Obviously, the first step is to go out and buy everything! Here is my plywood pre-work!
Then set yourself up a good space to work, and make sure you get a few clamps to hold everything down while you work on it.
(I’d done some work before I’d taken this picture, hence the saw dust and cut off bits!)
Firstly, decide on a plan that you like. This is probably the most important thing as it’ll help you decide on the wood you’re going to use and the other bits and bobs you’ll need. Here are my plans (I have some pretty good modelling software, so that’s why it looks so neat!)
The plan of your cage is ultimately up to you, but that was mine to hopefully spark some imagination. This stage literally took me months of on off planning as there were so many little things that kept coming up as I was imagining my design in my head. I expect these plans won’t make much sense till I start to show some pictures, so I’m just going to get on with it!
So, the best place to start is with the base. I wanted to build a base that would more realistically recreate a “natural environment” so I planned to build it like a planter and literally create a mini ecosystem at the bottom. Water retention was my biggest problem, but I’ve used the tried and tested method of hydroton (small clay balls) to create a drainage area where I can, if necessary, remove the water from. On top of this will be a fine mesh (hopefully if I can get some, a capillary membrane - but we’ll have to wait and see) that I will then put the soil/fertiliser onto. Into this I will literally plant my plants, then I will cover all the exposed soil with moss, to make sure that Dante doesn’t eat it. It should look something like this (sorry for the crude paint drawing):
I will also introduce a few worms and other creepy crawlies to breakdown the leaf matter and waste that falls into the bottom that I don’t pick out (which should act as a natural fertiliser) and should Dante spot any he is free to eat them! I’m tempted to add a layer of charcoal in between the hydroton and the soil as this will act to clean the water, but I’m not sure I really need to, but I’ll look into it.
Right, so let’s get building! Some of the little quirks will become apparent as the build goes on!
Obviously, the first step is to go out and buy everything! Here is my plywood pre-work!
Then set yourself up a good space to work, and make sure you get a few clamps to hold everything down while you work on it.
(I’d done some work before I’d taken this picture, hence the saw dust and cut off bits!)
