Finally finished building enclosure! Pics!!

[tv321406]

Well after about a month of construction and around $120 I have finally finished! All I need to do now is add a few fake plants in there to fill it out, maybe find a way to fit a pothos in there too.
Let me know what you all think! Sorry the images are so huge!

Specs:
20" x 20" x 46"
All Pine construction, treated with stain and polyurethane
Home Depot "Pet Screen" on sides & door
1/4" Chicken wire on top and bottom
5.0 18" reptisun
60W household basking bulb
Ficus Burgundy Robusta

Im going to make a custom basin for the drainage eventually that will just slide out so I can just dump feces and water out easily.

Heres the whole thing

Top with wiring, dripper, lights, etc.

"innovative" drainage system

Baggans posing for the camera

 

[Chameleons Canada]

WOOOWW!! Great Job!

Awesome! I think is one of the best enclosures I have seen. Congrats, great job!

 

[Debmonster]

Nice wood work. And what a great BIG cage!

 

[haleybobl]

Very cool, now you just need to come up here to build me one. I wish I were more inclined to use tools without cutting off my arm.

 

[BigR]

Very nicely done cage. Now I know what to use for the top of the enclosure I'm building this weekend. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[tv321406]

Thanks for the compliments! I'd be glad to build some if anybody wanted one, but I couldn't do it till June. The design is actually very simple.

 

[Ricardo]

Grats!

simple design, good construction... a very nice cage, your cham must be love it

 

[BigBlue]

Chicken wire on the top is really smart. No sagging when the lights are placed on them...great idea.
Nice job on the cage.

 

[haleybobl]

Can I ask how the wiring is done on the top? Looks like a box, but the wires just go through it?

 

[blackbetty]

WOW~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you put the plans/materials up. My husband wants ot make one similiar!

 

[SoCaliSon]

WOW~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you put the plans/materials up. My husband wants ot make one similiar!

Lol.. He does ... does she? Or is this one the "He wants to now that I want him to" type of things. JK. There is a list of things that apparently I "want to do" according to the wonderful other half.lol.. Unfortuantely none of them include anything that might result in getting to buy more Chams.

Very nice job on the cage. Looks very basic, functional, and affordable. What would ousay you ended up spending in the end?

 

[blackbetty]

LOL.. Yea, it was His idea to build one.. We are running out of space with all these little cages so we thought we would build a big cage..and this looks really close to the idea of what -i- had in mind. LOL.

 

[klangford]

What, no ceiling fan?....sheesh.... (j/k)

Sounds like you've inspired many with your handywork; I think the gauntlet has been thrown down - great job!

 

[tv321406]

The wiring is pretty simple. I forgot to show a picture, but on the other side of that box is just a common household light switch that i wired the two lights to so the whole cage plugs in with one cord, and both lights turn on and off with the flick of a switch.

As far as plans go... I have been a draftsman for about 5 years so I could make up some really nice plans with step by steps and bill of materials if there was enough interest. For a small fee, of course (gotta put myself through college somehow )

 

[alhickabee]

Great looking cage. My only concern would be the chicken wire possibly cutting up his feet if he decided to roam upside down on the top. I too had chicken wire as my cage's top until I got to thinking about how abrasive that wire is. Again the cage looks fantastic.

 

[tv321406]

Great looking cage. My only concern would be the chicken wire possibly cutting up his feet if he decided to roam upside down on the top. I too had chicken wire as my cage's top until I got to thinking about how abrasive that wire is. Again the cage looks fantastic.

Actually he loves climbing around on the top, in fact, that's what he does about 75% of the time hes awake! I don't think it would be detrimental, but I have only had him in there for a couple of days.

 

[SoCaliSon]

As far as plans go... I have been a draftsman for about 5 years so I could make up some really nice plans with step by steps and bill of materials if there was enough interest. For a small fee, of course (gotta put myself through college somehow )

Small fee? Nevermind then, there are plenty of DIY threads on the forums where people were kind enough to take the time to share what they built, how they built it, and what it cost to do for the community to benifit from. Should we start asking for a small fee when anyone comes on here asking for advise on husbandry!?!?

 

[nick barta]

beautiful!

 

[tv321406]

Small fee? Nevermind then, there are plenty of DIY threads on the forums where people were kind enough to take the time to share what they built, how they built it, and what it cost to do for the community to benifit from. Should we start asking for a small fee when anyone comes on here asking for advise on husbandry!?!?

Sorry, I didn't mean I wanted to keep the whole design a secret and charge you all for it. I was just saying if I were to put together really nice detailed plans on paper with step by steps and all that jazz I would of course want some kind of compensation. At least to cover the cost of printing and postage. I didn't mean to come off as trying to make money off you all.

 

[alhickabee]

Actually he loves climbing around on the top, in fact, that's what he does about 75% of the time hes awake! I don't think it would be detrimental, but I have only had him in there for a couple of days.

I know the roll of chicken wire I bought had imperfections of what looked to be the coating on the wiring that had to potential to be sharp. If you are still keen on using the chicken wire I'd at least go over every inch and file any of the little "imperfections" off. If he is on it regularly check his foot pads for any abrasions often, better to catch an abrasion early than to find a cut. Also what is his basking temp, depending on his age there might be a reason he is on the "roof" often.