Remkon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm making preparations to build a ~6m2 shed in my backyard for my Reptiles (and future addition(s)) and tools.
Reasons for this project are because my wife wants to use the chameleon room as a guestroom and she doesn't like insects in the house all that much... My motivation obviously is that I will have more space for my animals and will have less work as I can get a bigger reservoir for water and will have drainage water just run into the backyard. I will also not have to worry about escapee insects anymore or molding in the room.
I may update this thread as work progresses.
Below a picture of the shed I've ordered (2weeks ago), personally I think it looks awesome, the only downside are the big doors and windows on the front that will obviously leave less space place stuff against.
On a positive note the big doors will allow so much ventilation on a hot day!
Delivery on the shed takes around 6 weeks so I got plenty of time to clear some ground in the backyard, lay a proper foundation for my shed and plan the interior.
Right now I ran a electricity cable from the house to where the shed will be, which made me go to a place of the house you otherwise never get to see and will rather avoid... the crawlspace.
As I'm a complete gardening noob I wanted to do it as simple as possible without having to spend many hundreds of euro's on a concrete foundation. I came across TTE-system foundation that looks easy to place, is used for parking lots (apparently) so allows a big load per m2 and will offer stability since the tiles link into each other. The tiles are made of recycled material and have a hard rubbery feel.
(Googled picture of the foundation, not my work)
You can fill the holes or leave them open, I think I'll leave em open or possibly add some gravel.
It will be awesome for drainage.
I will isolate the shed on the inside with 5cm thick EPS 200-SE (styrofoam). I hate that I will lose space on the inside but it is how it is and decent isolation will keep the shed warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
I chose EPS 200-SE because it's cheap, the isolation value is pretty good, it's easy to work with and it's insensitive to moisture (glasswool/stonewool will lose all it's isolation value when it gets wet.). My main concern was that EPS is flammable but further research showed me that the SE version is fire retardant.
The windows are of acrylic glass, I expect much heat to get lost there so I will have to double that up as well.
I'm planning on modifying the top window (depending on how easy that will be) so I can swap the glass for something like aluminium mesh in summer to let out heat.
My only worry with this project is that the shed will be in a sunny space and temperatures may get high during summer, plenty of ventilation will need to be added.
Enclosure sizes are not yet set in stone, I am kinda planning to use the space next to the doors and devide it in half which should give each chameleon a ~110cm wide x 60cm deep x ~ 150cm tall enclosure (I will place the water reservoir under the enclosures). I may instead create 2x 60cm and 1x 100cm instead so I can add a female Jaxonii. My current plan is to keep the top part of the enclosure open and just build a glass 80cm tall wall to keep the chameleons inside their enclosures.
On the other end of the shed I will build a big corner enclosure where my ackie will live out her senior days and which I will eventually use to keep a Tegu (probably Salvator merianae) (or maybe two/trhee).
I got a question!
I was planning to order a LED tubelight to stimulate plantgrowth, will a 6000k LED tubelight do the job?
Reasons for this project are because my wife wants to use the chameleon room as a guestroom and she doesn't like insects in the house all that much... My motivation obviously is that I will have more space for my animals and will have less work as I can get a bigger reservoir for water and will have drainage water just run into the backyard. I will also not have to worry about escapee insects anymore or molding in the room.
I may update this thread as work progresses.
Below a picture of the shed I've ordered (2weeks ago), personally I think it looks awesome, the only downside are the big doors and windows on the front that will obviously leave less space place stuff against.
On a positive note the big doors will allow so much ventilation on a hot day!
Delivery on the shed takes around 6 weeks so I got plenty of time to clear some ground in the backyard, lay a proper foundation for my shed and plan the interior.
Right now I ran a electricity cable from the house to where the shed will be, which made me go to a place of the house you otherwise never get to see and will rather avoid... the crawlspace.
As I'm a complete gardening noob I wanted to do it as simple as possible without having to spend many hundreds of euro's on a concrete foundation. I came across TTE-system foundation that looks easy to place, is used for parking lots (apparently) so allows a big load per m2 and will offer stability since the tiles link into each other. The tiles are made of recycled material and have a hard rubbery feel.
(Googled picture of the foundation, not my work)
You can fill the holes or leave them open, I think I'll leave em open or possibly add some gravel.
It will be awesome for drainage.
I will isolate the shed on the inside with 5cm thick EPS 200-SE (styrofoam). I hate that I will lose space on the inside but it is how it is and decent isolation will keep the shed warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
I chose EPS 200-SE because it's cheap, the isolation value is pretty good, it's easy to work with and it's insensitive to moisture (glasswool/stonewool will lose all it's isolation value when it gets wet.). My main concern was that EPS is flammable but further research showed me that the SE version is fire retardant.
The windows are of acrylic glass, I expect much heat to get lost there so I will have to double that up as well.
I'm planning on modifying the top window (depending on how easy that will be) so I can swap the glass for something like aluminium mesh in summer to let out heat.
My only worry with this project is that the shed will be in a sunny space and temperatures may get high during summer, plenty of ventilation will need to be added.
Enclosure sizes are not yet set in stone, I am kinda planning to use the space next to the doors and devide it in half which should give each chameleon a ~110cm wide x 60cm deep x ~ 150cm tall enclosure (I will place the water reservoir under the enclosures). I may instead create 2x 60cm and 1x 100cm instead so I can add a female Jaxonii. My current plan is to keep the top part of the enclosure open and just build a glass 80cm tall wall to keep the chameleons inside their enclosures.
On the other end of the shed I will build a big corner enclosure where my ackie will live out her senior days and which I will eventually use to keep a Tegu (probably Salvator merianae) (or maybe two/trhee).
I got a question!
I was planning to order a LED tubelight to stimulate plantgrowth, will a 6000k LED tubelight do the job?
