36x24x48 enclosure

[xephyr17]

I custom made my own enclosure for my Cham. He's been staying in a 18x18x36 for a while but he's gettin' pretty big so I'm making my own with better drainage and plants, etc.

Because it's going to be like 3ft wide, should I have more than one heat lamp in there? As in, should I make it so there are more basking spots? Also, will I need more UVB lamps?

If anyone has a good forum I could ask similar questions about my Crested, Gargoyle and Golden Geckos, please send me a link!

Thanks,
Dillon

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

I think one heat lamp is good

 

[TKexotics]

Crested and gargoyle gecko's don't need any special lighting other than a normal daylight bulb, so no UVB and heat lamps are required.
Golden gecko's, if you mean Gekko badenii with that also don't need UVB but they do need heat so a normal heat bulb would be sufficient.
If you don't reach the right temps you could always place an under tank heater under it's enclosure, it will keep things warm, and because it will evaporate the misting water it will help in keeping your enclosure humidity nice and high, wich they really like, given that you also provide sufficient ventilation offcourse.

Hope this is allowed, if not, mods please remove it and excuse us.., but if your looking for good information abouth gecko's, any species of them, we highly recomend the gecko's unlimited forums.

 

[carol5208]

You could have more than one basking spot. I had two in a 24 X 24 X 48 and my chams utilized both basking areas. It also brightened up the cage.

 

[xephyr17]

So far I've put the heat on one side (left) and the UVB on the other (right). I think I'll set up another spot for basking near the UVB later with vines for him to sit on, etc.

 

[NorCalAnthony]

I built a custom 36"x24"x54" enclosure for my guy, Loki, and use one basking bulb towards one side and a 36" Tropic Blaze fixture from LYR with one UVB and 3 plant lights towards the back of the enclosure. Having the one heat bulb lets him move to that spot when he needs to bask and still lets him have the rest of the cage to explore without having to change elevation to reach ambient temps and cool off. The Tropic Blaze fixture is the samw width as the enclosure and having it towards the rear lets him determine how much UVB he wants to take in without having to have full exposure as if it were smack in the middle (having lots of plants helps to accomplish the same thing). Here's a couple pics of my setup so you can see what I mean:

 

[Tonystandman]

That's a nicely built set up ! Are the front doors screen or glass? And if screen how did you attach it to the wood?
Thanks

 

[NorCalAnthony]

That's a nicely built set up ! Are the front doors screen or glass? And if screen how did you attach it to the wood?
Thanks

You're right they're screen. I used little threaded wood certs (found at HD in the fasteners section) in the wood frame and then screwed the screen's frame in to them. Here's a link to my enclosure build thread that has some pictures and a lot more details: https://www.chameleonforums.com/diy-chameleon-mansion-build-102657/. I don't want to take away from the OP's thread too much lol.

 

[xephyr17]

You're right they're screen. I used little threaded wood certs (found at HD in the fasteners section) in the wood frame and then screwed the screen's frame in to them. Here's a link to my enclosure build thread that has some pictures and a lot more details: https://www.chameleonforums.com/diy-chameleon-mansion-build-102657/. I don't want to take away from the OP's thread too much lol.

Lol it's all good bro, I'm interested in your enclosure as well! xD

It looks like you took an armwar and gutted it haha. Very nice

 

[NorCalAnthony]

Lol it's all good bro, I'm interested in your enclosure as well! xD

It looks like you took an armwar and gutted it haha. Very nice

Thanks I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It would've been much easier to convert an armwar in to a big enclosure but I could never find any good ones at yard sales or thrift stores so I wound up making the whole thing (stand included) from scratch. It was my first time ever doing a major wood working project but I had to take some time off from work due to an injury and needed something to occupy my time anyways lol. Let me know if you have any questions or anything I'd be more than happy to help you out if I can.

 

[xephyr17]

Thanks I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It would've been much easier to convert an armwar in to a big enclosure but I could never find any good ones at yard sales or thrift stores so I wound up making the whole thing (stand included) from scratch. It was my first time ever doing a major wood working project but I had to take some time off from work due to an injury and needed something to occupy my time anyways lol. Let me know if you have any questions or anything I'd be more than happy to help you out if I can.

Haha dang that's pretty insane! I'm pretty happy with mine too--I'm just glad I could get it to fit through my door I think I had 1/4 of an inch on each side and just barely made it!!

Did you stain the wood?

 

[NorCalAnthony]

Haha dang that's pretty insane! I'm pretty happy with mine too--I'm just glad I could get it to fit through my door I think I had 1/4 of an inch on each side and just barely made it!!

Did you stain the wood?

I know what you mean lol. I measured the different doorways in my house to make sure I didn't build it too big to fit through any of them before I got started. I also installed some swivel casters from a big tool box on the bottom of my stand so I can roll it around whenever I need to move it for cleaning or rearranging things.

Yes I used a dark cherry stain with a few coats of a satin poly urethane sealer. Loki has been living in it for about a year and a half now and everything still looks like it did when I first built it.

 

[kplatvoet]

I didn't read through everything (I did look at the pictures- nice cages) - but I thought I would say that I have two basking spots in Chumley's cage - Mine is a custom made by Canvas- not quite double width and depth - they made it to fit in a stand I had gotten- anyway I have two lights with different temps one on each side of the cage and he uses both and I'm really pleased with how it came out and how much happier he is in his big new cage - he used to travel a bit but now he seems much more active and healthier.