mrvoodoo
New Member
Well it's not 100% finished, I've still got to put some more fake vines in there for more climbing (though he did decide he loves hanging upside down from the roof) and his name plate "Dexter's Laboratory" hasn't come in, but when that gets in I'm going to attache it to the frame just below the door (maybe on top).
This wasn't a cheap project by any means, but I don't think I could have had it made for less than double what I spent on it (and I'm not going to dig up receipts because I'll probably cry since I could have gotten a good aluminum screen cage for around $100).
Cage size itself: 30w x 22 1/2d x 48h
The base is a simple two drawer cabinet base from Lowes. I stained it with deck stain and varnished to protect it against moisture. I cut out some holes in the back for tubing and wiring to make life a little easier for me. The top was covered with ceramic tile and a mocha colored grout (same grout used to cover the foam rocks before painting). I left a hole in the counter top for the drain.
The drainage system is setup with a few layers of the plastic base surrounding the edges and then the flat piece of plastic being "pulled down" into the hole through the tightening of the pvc with the drain (a cheap $14 pvc bathtub drain kit from lowes). I covered that with aluminum window screen mesh and caulked it to allow water to flow into the drain and keep crickets in the cage should they escape their cup. The cup has screen material hot glued to the bottom to allow water to escape (and in his few hours in it tonight he's already taken to the cup pretty well). The drainage system runs between the two drawers and into a five gallon bucket.
The side screen is aluminum window screen mesh with a green plastic poultry screen tied to the front to allow him to climb with less chance of injury. The top screen material is hardware cloth - I'm going to keep an eye on this in particular, I used it for it's sturdiness but he seems to enjoy hanging upside down from it and I don't want him to cut his feet up too bad.
I have a 40 watt bulb for heat at 79 degrees on the branch attached to the side of the cage. The light fixture is 20" with an 18" reptisun 5.0, I may upgrade to a 10.0 --- the misting system is a king mist (wow fast shipping guys and awesome product!!) - misting and lighting system set on seperate timers. Misting 6am for 15 minutes, noon for 20 and 6pm for 20, lights on at 7am and off at 8pm.
Here are some of the pics - there's quite a few
click here for slideshow or here for album
Drainage:
cup:
Awesome mistking mister:
Cage:
this one shows the accurite temp station
faux rock detail:
Dex chillin:
and Dex got bored while taking pictures and decided to take a nap:
This wasn't a cheap project by any means, but I don't think I could have had it made for less than double what I spent on it (and I'm not going to dig up receipts because I'll probably cry since I could have gotten a good aluminum screen cage for around $100).
Cage size itself: 30w x 22 1/2d x 48h
The base is a simple two drawer cabinet base from Lowes. I stained it with deck stain and varnished to protect it against moisture. I cut out some holes in the back for tubing and wiring to make life a little easier for me. The top was covered with ceramic tile and a mocha colored grout (same grout used to cover the foam rocks before painting). I left a hole in the counter top for the drain.
The drainage system is setup with a few layers of the plastic base surrounding the edges and then the flat piece of plastic being "pulled down" into the hole through the tightening of the pvc with the drain (a cheap $14 pvc bathtub drain kit from lowes). I covered that with aluminum window screen mesh and caulked it to allow water to flow into the drain and keep crickets in the cage should they escape their cup. The cup has screen material hot glued to the bottom to allow water to escape (and in his few hours in it tonight he's already taken to the cup pretty well). The drainage system runs between the two drawers and into a five gallon bucket.
The side screen is aluminum window screen mesh with a green plastic poultry screen tied to the front to allow him to climb with less chance of injury. The top screen material is hardware cloth - I'm going to keep an eye on this in particular, I used it for it's sturdiness but he seems to enjoy hanging upside down from it and I don't want him to cut his feet up too bad.
I have a 40 watt bulb for heat at 79 degrees on the branch attached to the side of the cage. The light fixture is 20" with an 18" reptisun 5.0, I may upgrade to a 10.0 --- the misting system is a king mist (wow fast shipping guys and awesome product!!) - misting and lighting system set on seperate timers. Misting 6am for 15 minutes, noon for 20 and 6pm for 20, lights on at 7am and off at 8pm.
Here are some of the pics - there's quite a few
click here for slideshow or here for album
Drainage:
cup:
Awesome mistking mister:
Cage:
this one shows the accurite temp station
faux rock detail:
Dex chillin:
and Dex got bored while taking pictures and decided to take a nap:
