blackhawk007
New Member
My next one will to 24 deep x 48 long x 48 tall. So I don't think its too big. Its just more to manage.
Enclosure sizes?
- Thread starter Hdale85
- Start date
My next one will to 24 deep x 48 long x 48 tall. So I don't think its too big. Its just more to manage.
Hmm....the bad thing about me going to 48 long now is that I'd have to grab another thing of screen as I got 25' of 36" wide lol.
@Hdale: I didn't follow the thread too closely, but what you "NEED" is 1 basking light (for heat) and 1 UVB light. That is all you "need".
For ideal plant growth, and as some have argued improved behavior/etc/etc you can supplement with 6500K ("full spectrum") bulbs which will help, but are by no means necessary.
As for sizes, 24x24x48 is a solid size and bigger is generally better for adults. I have kept babies in 2x2x4 enclosures with no problems, but I do suggest cup/bin feeding to make it easier to track how much he has eaten (it also makes him get used to going to the same place to eat everyday).
If you can afford it, a slightly smaller enclosure might be better to start a baby off in, but I would not say it is necessary.
I also agree not to let your crickets roam free. Aside from the issues of hiding, you can't tell how many he has eaten, when they die, etc. Cup-feeding solves all these problems and lets you keep the baby in a larger cage more easily imho.
For ideal plant growth, and as some have argued improved behavior/etc/etc you can supplement with 6500K ("full spectrum") bulbs which will help, but are by no means necessary.
As for sizes, 24x24x48 is a solid size and bigger is generally better for adults. I have kept babies in 2x2x4 enclosures with no problems, but I do suggest cup/bin feeding to make it easier to track how much he has eaten (it also makes him get used to going to the same place to eat everyday).
If you can afford it, a slightly smaller enclosure might be better to start a baby off in, but I would not say it is necessary.
I also agree not to let your crickets roam free. Aside from the issues of hiding, you can't tell how many he has eaten, when they die, etc. Cup-feeding solves all these problems and lets you keep the baby in a larger cage more easily imho.
blackhawk007
New Member
It all depends on the size. My guy is 4 months 1 weeks old and was eating 15-25 crickets a day. Three days ago I got a delivery of 1500 crickets that are 2 weeks old. Right now these are really small compared to was he was getting and he goes through 40-60 of these a day and still cones running for more. As the crix rapidly get older and bigger he will eat fewer. I also toss in super worms, silk worms, phoenix worms, and a wax worm here and there. Everyone here will tell you that variety is very important. So much so that no variety can cause him to stop eating.
Ugh! I made a cut on one of my boards and there is a nice big crack right in the middle of it all the way down the middle section of the board. So I'll have to return this board. That's ok I need to grab a couple more boards anyways and exchange my screen material.
I decided to just go with a 24x36x48 cage for now. Maybe later I'll build another and have an extra cage that I can put a second cham in
I decided to just go with a 24x36x48 cage for now. Maybe later I'll build another and have an extra cage that I can put a second cham in
blackhawk007
New Member
Click on my name and you can see my progress, its 1 long 36" sliding door. Most of what is in there is about to change next week. This seems to be our last frost week here and the nurseries expect to have plants and trees in next week. So out with the wooden ladders and in with lush green foliage.
I will go take a pic of what it looks like now so you can see the door better.
This was when it was being built.
Here is a more recent photo.
Yeah I think I'm just going to do one door but it's not going to be the size of the whole cage. I haven't decided if I want to try and setup some sort of drainage system yet or not.....but there is a strong possibility I'll do something with some fiberglass to make a sloped floor that'll drain into a bucket.
Ok, I just got an email back from an ebay seller that sells light fixtures for aquariums. He has a nice T5HO fixture that you can get with or without a timer and 4 bulbs. The non timer version is 85 bucks shipped and comes with 4 bulbs. He said he does have 6500k bulbs and he could swap them out if I wanted it that way. So I'm curious if you guys think this is a bad idea? Then I'd just need to swap one bulb for one of the 6% or 12% UV bulbs.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/28085855410...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_3393wt_1163
http://www.ebay.com/itm/28085855410...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_3393wt_1163
Well I think I'm going to give it a shot for 85 bucks. It's an aluminum housing with a polished aluminum reflector and is pretty nice. I think I'm going to skip the timer one and maybe later I'll get an entire system timer (they make them for aquariums not sure if they have reptile specific ones).
blackhawk007
New Member
Coming from a reef perspective, again I have a huge 12 bulb fixture with 60" T-5HO tubes on my reef aquarium. That seems like a good price for what your getting.
Yeah I'm going for it. I think it'll be pretty nice. I imagine the LED moon lights won't hurt the Cham at night?
Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do for my mist/rain system. These kits that are out there in the 100-200 dollar range have extremely loud pumps from what I see in videos........so that kind of makes me want to build my own setup.
blackhawk007
New Member
You seem to be walking many roads that I either have walked myself or am currently walking with you. I find myself responding to lots of your posts, if I get annoying please feel free to tell me. I'm sure you are looking for input from everyone.
As far as a misting system, I took my pump from my Reverse Osmosis filter system (again from my reef tank) and I just ordered the mistking nozzle. I got them form a more local company because of the shipping rates. I added a timer and that's all it took. The tubing you can get at a home depot type store for a few $. The 1/4" booster pump can be found all over the net. Any place that sells R/O filter systems usually sells the pumps. If you look hard enough you can find one pretty cheap. I will look through my records to find where I got mine from. I have had it so long that I can't remember off hand. I am currently looking for a better price on nozzles because I want 2 more. When I find that price I will share it with you.
As far as a misting system, I took my pump from my Reverse Osmosis filter system (again from my reef tank) and I just ordered the mistking nozzle. I got them form a more local company because of the shipping rates. I added a timer and that's all it took. The tubing you can get at a home depot type store for a few $. The 1/4" booster pump can be found all over the net. Any place that sells R/O filter systems usually sells the pumps. If you look hard enough you can find one pretty cheap. I will look through my records to find where I got mine from. I have had it so long that I can't remember off hand. I am currently looking for a better price on nozzles because I want 2 more. When I find that price I will share it with you.
Thanks, and by all means I appreciate all your input lol.
I've always been a DIY type person. But the biggest reason I want to go DIY for the misting system is because of the noise of the pumps I see in these commercial systems. I'll look for a R/O pump though as that sounds like its probably perfect. It only needs to be like 20gph or less really, that's what the commercial systems use is a 1.1Lpm pump which is like 18 gallaons per hour.
I did find a site with metal misting nozzles for pretty cheap (2-3 bucks a piece) but I wasn't sure about how they would attach to what and so on and they wouldn't be adjustable really. I'd really like to get a nice fine mist rather then something that just sort of sprays water. Timers are cheap all over, I think you can pick up one of those cheap light timers at Walmart for 10 or 15 bucks, can probably find an electronic one for not much more.
I've always been a DIY type person. But the biggest reason I want to go DIY for the misting system is because of the noise of the pumps I see in these commercial systems. I'll look for a R/O pump though as that sounds like its probably perfect. It only needs to be like 20gph or less really, that's what the commercial systems use is a 1.1Lpm pump which is like 18 gallaons per hour.
I did find a site with metal misting nozzles for pretty cheap (2-3 bucks a piece) but I wasn't sure about how they would attach to what and so on and they wouldn't be adjustable really. I'd really like to get a nice fine mist rather then something that just sort of sprays water. Timers are cheap all over, I think you can pick up one of those cheap light timers at Walmart for 10 or 15 bucks, can probably find an electronic one for not much more.
blackhawk007
New Member
The mistking nozzle I have uses .9 gallons per hour. The only other one I have seen is a 3 gallon per hour. This may help you plan for your pump size depending on how many nozzles you plan to use.
Yea right now probably 2 nozzles for this one enclosure, who knows if I'll had more enclosures and chams later? It's possible.
I did find this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330526812336?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
But it looks similar to what mistking uses, and that ones kind of noisy.
blackhawk007
New Member
By the description I think this may be a bad choice. It says 20 PSI. My local water pressure is 42PSI and is barely enough to start the nozzles misting. My pump pushes 85 psi and that creates a very nice mist. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the mistking pumps are 125 psi.
