Bearded-Dragons.com Community
May 24, 2012, 10:51:56 PM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Help Login Register  
Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: 1st beardie -- 1st diy enclosure -- looking for feedback!(w/pictures)  (Read 1812 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
EAGLES
Full Member
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 39


« on: June 23, 2010, 11:41:12 AM »

Hello all!
About a month ago I bought a baby beardie.
I had considered one before, but took the plunge after tearing down my large saltwater reef tank.
Since I had the stand still after my sell off, I decided to use it as my beardie's enclosure.
I understand some consider a large enclosure a bad thing for a young beardie....but I 'never' feed him in there, he is removed to a small sterilite bin for cricket feedings.
It is 67" x 18" x 23.5"h internally. Using a ReptiSun spiral bulb(75w) for UVB in the large reflector and a 75w ZooMed heat basking lamp in the smaller black reflector next to it. The warmest spot is actually on the ramp's higher incline section but he likes the driftwood more. The warmest spot reaches 106F.
The floor is textured porcelain tiles.(with DAP kitchen and bath caulk which has MicroBan)
The interior is coated with four coats of kilz2 primer/sealer.
The exterior is stained with two coats of a walnut colored water based stain.

I am looking for feedback on my 1st build....please excuse the cracked acrylic Sad ....I have 2x 1/4" glass on order as well as a c-channel type track.
I am still considering a fake rock wall along the back.

I am wondering if I did anything wrong or if there is  anything I could improve upon?
Also, what type of handle do you guys adhere to your glass doors for sliding?
Also, is this a good track for 2x - 1/4" glass? Any reason it wouldn't work well?
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2275


Logged
Bearded-Dragons.com Community
« on: June 23, 2010, 11:41:12 AM »

 Logged
perfectly_flawed
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 4171

Crystal


« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2010, 12:10:28 PM »

It's gorgeous. There are a couple of changes needed, though. The compact UVB bulbs don't output enough UVB in the correct spectrum to keep a dragon healthy and can actually damage their eyes. It needs to be replaced with a reptisun 10 tube or an MVB light. For an MVB, stick to either the megaray (from reptileuv.com) or t-rex active uv heat.
The cool end of the enclosure needs to be brighter. Dragons thrive best in a brightly lit enclosure. You can either use a reptisun 10 tube that spans the enclosure, or use a low watt household bulb in that end to brighten it up.
What type of thermometer are you using to measure the basking surface temp? What's the temp in the cool end?
Logged
EAGLES
Full Member
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 39


« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2010, 12:17:57 PM »

Thanks.
He does get 2-4 hours of natural sunlight 3-5x a week as well. (i put him in my window and close the glass behind him)
I have considered a 36" reptisun 10.0 tube, but they are $50 just per lamp locally, let alone fixture as well.
The cool end is typically lit for the same photoperiod(currently 13hrs on-11hrs off) by a normal 60w bulb.
So there aren't any spiral bulbs up to the job? With regular bulbs and MV bulbs being phased out what are my options in the future for both UVB and heat lamps?
Thanks for the feedback!
Logged
tommytatz
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 869


"alex"


« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2010, 12:40:32 PM »

looks real good mate, like crystal said tho i would change the uv light and brighten it up abit.  Smiley think the fake wall would work well in there to mate
Logged

"never give up on your dream"
*~* ßêR *~*
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 804



« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2010, 04:47:35 PM »

i have a mvb light and it works for the heat and the uvbs.  i haven't heard anything about mvb bulbs being phased out?  as perfectly flawed said you can get them from reptileuv.com.

looking at the viv, does anyone know the answers to these questions....
i don't know how safe kilz is for them?  it may emit fumes under the heat, is it non toxic? 
is 106 warm enough for a baby?

and eagles, is there any ventilation?  i don't see anything in the pic?
Logged
EAGLES
Full Member
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 39


« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2010, 04:56:10 PM »

i have a mvb light and it works for the heat and the uvbs.  i haven't heard anything about mvb bulbs being phased out?  as perfectly flawed said you can get them from reptileuv.com.

looking at the viv, does anyone know the answers to these questions....
i don't know how safe kilz is for them?  it may emit fumes under the heat, is it non toxic? 
is 106 warm enough for a baby?

and eagles, is there any ventilation?  i don't see anything in the pic?


He tends to not even go to that point, his favorite spot is ~101F.  The Kilz2 doesn't say "non-toxic".  It is a latex multipurpose stainblocker, water based.   There is a small warning under the data/directions/etc....."This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproduction harm."  I have seen others across the net use it and actually reccomend it, but.....
Currently he can get out if he wants there is so much ventialtion, cracks in acrylic and it doesn't close the front opening completely either.  When my glass comes and track I will be cutting and installing 6" x 10" vents on each side.

Logged
EAGLES
Full Member
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 39


« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2010, 05:03:02 PM »

Are these good?  They are what I used...

caulk:
http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?BrandID=25&SubcatID=26

Kilz2:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=202017427&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=202017427&ci_src=64119933&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads&locStoreNum=4108&marketID=68

Logged
perfectly_flawed
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 4171

Crystal


« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2010, 08:47:38 PM »

None of the compact bulbs are safe to use. The only bulbs I know of being phased out are regular household incandescent bulbs - the reptile specific bulbs should be fine. You can order a reptisun 10 tube from petmountain.com or any number of other sites for a lot less than $50, and a regular household florescent fixture from lowes or home depot (or even walmart, depending on the length) works just as well as an expensive reptile one.
Logged
EAGLES
Full Member
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 39


« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2010, 11:00:43 AM »

Ok.

And the caulk and Kilz2 as far as being safe or not ?
Logged
EAGLES
Full Member
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 39


« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2010, 03:18:13 PM »

Here is the DAP caulk MSDS: (I can't determine if it is safe after it's cured or not)
http://www.dap.com/docs/msds/00010079001_english.pdf

As far as the Kilz2, if it is not enough on its own, I've seen a reccomendation for topcoating it with an outdoor paint ?
Logged
Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.16 | SMF © 2011, Simple Machines
SMFAds for Free Forums
Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!