So I'm going to use this as a build/ question thead.

[Setth]

Very nice and inspirative .Isn't there some loose cricket's or another live food on the bottom of cage, where he can't find them? Or how you clean up poops there? In the future i would definitely want something heavy planted, but i have doubts about cleaning. And i certailny do not want to have there colony of crickets

 

[dshuld]

At the moment I'm hand picking the leaves out of the bottom with poo on them until my bioactivity picks up enough to do it for me lol.
I have a starter colony of giant canyons in there already and waiting on springtails to arrive to add in.

As far as the crickets, yes they do explore down there looking for food. I keep a piece of carrot in there so they have something to eat while they wait to be eaten themselves lol. Other then venturing down to eat they actually hang out on the back wall and ceiling of the enclosure 97% of the time. It works out perfect because he can sit there sunbathing and grab them from his perches if he doesnt want to move much.

 

[Setth]

My crickets just hide somewhere to spook me off lol. They even tried to lay eggs in pot's, after i saw them, i just let the pot's dry. Dunno if they can successfully reproduce and live in reptibreeze (i hope they can't ).

Let us know, how is your bioactivity work, i'm considering bigger cage for my veiled now and would be nice to have plant's in substrate without pot (i really don't like pot's in screen cage's)

 

[dshuld]

Lol next to superworms, crickets are my next creepiest bug. I don't know why but I hate them crawling on me lol. My discoids, silks, horns, butters and bsfl I don't mind at all. Lucky for me I suppose, blue is on a bit of a cricket strike atm and not eating as many of them currently as the first few days he was in there.

What size is your reptibreeze? If it's the 24x24x48 why not make a wood "box" to plant in and sit the reptibreeze into/ on the box and secure it? That is what my plan is for now for my planned female. I'll be doing a diy cages xxl and building a plant box to sit it on and then screw the cage to the box. Ultimately though, I plan on doing something similar to @Millwright's build in the long run.

After my cat population (we have 4 lol) starts to thin from old age which won't be for many years to come, I plan on making one with a door that passes through the window to an outside sunning enclosure. I've not sat down to make more accurate sketches of it yet but did show @Matt Vanilla Gorilla a rough idea on it. Basically my thought there is to allow them to go outside and sun themselves as they want while still having the safety of an inside enclosure for bad weather or what ever. Still tons to work out on that before I can really say for sure that is what my plan is but I got the ok from the wife to block off the 8 ft window in our back room to do it lol.

 

[Setth]

If it's the 24x24x48 why not make a wood "box" to plant in and sit the reptibreeze into/ on the box and secure it?

That's exactly what i would like to do, but right now i'm in "think it through, because you spend more than it's worth it" phase. Would be in 48' reptibreeze enough space for him, if there is 12 inch's substrate for example?

I'll be doing a diy cages xxl and building a plant box to sit it on and then screw the cage to the box.

You mean screw the cage to bottom of the box or on the box exactly? Can't figure it out, how to screw my reptibreeze on it (although i'm sure it's possible )

Lucky for me I suppose, blue is on a bit of a cricket strike atm and not eating as many of them currently as the first few days he was in there.

My veiled (still "noname" ) have similar strike 2month's ago, he was only on locust's. Right now he have locust strike, so now i must give him cricket's. Never have luck with any kind of worm's and my wife is against roaches. I'm stick with crickets now, but it's ok because my cresties love them . (but i'm trying to get brown everytime, because that black, or banana crickets bit me many times )

 

[dshuld]

That's exactly what i would like to do, but right now i'm in "think it through, because you spend more than it's worth it" phase. Would be in 48' reptibreeze enough space for him, if there is 12 inch's substrate for example?
My veiled (still "noname" ) have similar strike 2month's ago, he was only on locust's. Right now he have locust strike, so now i must give him cricket's. Never have luck with any kind of worm's and my wife is against roaches. I'm stick with crickets now, but it's ok because my cresties love them . (but i'm trying to get brown everytime, because that black, or banana crickets bit me many times )

48 inches tall sitting on top of the box yes. My climbing height available to him is around 51/ 51.5 inches though he never goes below about midway into the umbrella plants and that is usually only at bed time. Other then that he mostly roams the top of the umbrellas and up from what I've watched on my "lazy days" laying in bed on a weekend day researching other things while I watch him lol.

As for the sub, I used 1 x 10 on top of 3/4 in plywood and honestly I wish I had gone 1 x 12. My sub consists of a ~3/4 in layer of safe-t-sorb which is montmorillonite clay and 8.75 in of organic topsoil/ sand mixture with some osmocote + under the plants. The last ~1/2 in of the 10 is leaf litter. My next box will be lined differently though, I'll either be using coruplast or the plastic wall sheeting like is hung in kitchens of restaurants, siliconed in and probably sink drains installed for the drains.

 

[dshuld]

That's exactly what i would like to do, but right now i'm in "think it through, because you spend more than it's worth it" phase. Would be in 48' reptibreeze enough space for him, if there is 12 inch's substrate for example?


You mean screw the cage to bottom of the box or on the box exactly? Can't figure it out, how to screw my reptibreeze on it (although i'm sure it's possible ) )

Not the bottom of the box no lol. Either make the box so the bottom rails of the reptibreeze sit on the "rim" of the box and screw down through the bottom rails into the rim of the box. Or, make the box slightly bigger so it sits into the box on top of your sub and screw it to the sides of the box. Sitting it on the rim of the box would probably be the better way to go though.

 

[Setth]

Thanks for ideas, now only to find time to do this . Cage would be in living room in month or so, so i need to make it pretty too for my wife .

though he never goes below about midway into the umbrella plants and that is usually only at bed time

My did this long ago in glass viv, but now after he is in reptibreeze (although in 18x18x36 right now), he uses every inch, crawling here and there...he looks like he has lost something lol (cricket maybe?)

 

[dshuld]

Thanks for ideas, now only to find time to do this . Cage would be in living room in month or so, so i need to make it pretty too for my wife .

My did this long ago in glass viv, but now after he is in reptibreeze (although in 18x18x36 right now), he uses every inch, crawling here and there...he looks like he has lost something lol (cricket maybe?)

Lol, I'm sure as he gets used to the enclosure he'll start using more of it. Up until 2 nights ago he would only sleep in the middle or left side of the umbrellas. The last two nights he's been on the right side.

I couldn't find a pic of it already done so here's a rough drawing of what I was trying to describe.

 

[Setth]

Thanks for drawing . I need to check my reptibreeze back home, right now i'm in work but you mean i need to make holes to reptibreeze, yes? (dunno if i have courage for that )

 

[dshuld]

Yes, you will have to drill through the frame of the reptibreeze. I would pull the bottom frame off the enclosure and clamp it to the box gently. Put a wash cloth or something similar between the clamp and the frame of the enclosure before tightening the clamp. I'd first make the pilot hole for the screw into the wood with a bit the size of the screw core to keep the wood from cracking. Then I'd remove the frame and secure it on a scrape piece of wood. Chase your smaller holes with a larger bit the size of the screw threads to make them a little bigger. Then put the frame back on the box and screw them together. Stainless steel screws and the right size washers, I would think 3 per side should be plenty, and you should be golden . Without being in Home Depot looking at the screws, I'd hazard a guess of maybe #10, #12 or #14 x 1 1/4 screws should be fine.

Edit: depending on what thickness the frame is on the reptibreeze on the screws! I don't own one to know what size screen frame they use.

 

[Katacara]

@dshuld Just wanted to say your a ingenious! And remind you to come here and build Peepers a new cage ... Peppers says he is trying to wait but it's hard

 

[dshuld]

@dshuld Just wanted to say your a ingenious! And remind you to come here and build Peepers a new cage ... Peppers says he is trying to wait but it's hard

Lol thanks . Tell peepers to get me some gas and I'll load up my saws and what not lol.

 

[Katacara]

Lol Peepers, says... Yah I'll run right out and get a job... maybe as an "all natural - no chemicals" exterminator

 

[dshuld]

 

[Setth]

@dshuld - thanks for manual, i'll keep that in mind . I have that enclosure right here on my pc desk, but i think that frame is too thin for screw from upside down. Maybe i'll use silicon or some kind of glue, idk but anyway, he must wait a while longer, i'll need to pay for car servis right now and then we'll see

Keep us updated how's your bioactive setup works and again many thanks for good idea's

 

[dshuld]

The panels screw together right? It'll handle being screwed to a box I'm just not sure on what size screws specifically to tell you use to do it is all. But, I can understand the needing to wait part believe me lol. And, I will update the thread as changes are made here and there along the way lol.