New Skink Enclosure

[Gezt]

Hey guys and gals,

As of now I have a juvenille Northern Blue Tongue Skink and I will soon need a larger enclosure and I had something in mind. Feedback and opinions will be GREATLY appreciated.

I was thinking a 4' by 3' cage with 1.5' height. On the back side I would use that corkbord stuff with small holes for proper ventilation. Both side panels would by Plexiglass. The front will also be Plexiglass and will slide.

Well thats decided, but my concerns are with the top sides and bottom.

I want to open up with hinges on the back panel so that it opens up like a chest. Any idea how I could do this? Also, top will be made of mesh.

As for the bottom, any suggestions for materials to use? Plexiglass might be to weak to support all the substrate. Also, something like a slide out tray would be awesome, but I think it's beyond my expertise.

Sorry for the long post. Would love feedback! Thanks.

GZ

[Calcarifer]

Hi Gz, I have kept and bred a number of Tiliqua ( Blue Tongue ) species over the years and I have a few suggestions. Personally I prefer either all glass tanks with tight fitting screen lids or melamine enclosures with sliding glass doors. I wouldn't really advise going with the acrylic for a couple of reasons. For one it is not the easiest to work with and for two you have to keep in mind that if your Skink decides he wants to climb up the glass he will scratch it. Some times Blue Tongues will try to climb the glass (obviously they can't ) so they end up just sitting there scratching the plexi which WILL leave unsightly marks in it. It is difficult to buff these marks out of certain types of plexi glass and it could be expensive if you need tools to do it. Also I would not really advise using corkboard or press board wood at all. Blue Tongues are very easily infested by mites because of the formation of there scales. This being said if you use a wood like this the mites can quite easily lay there eggs in it and it will make them quite difficult to eradicate. Corkboard dosen't react well to being sprayed or wet at all either and over time it will bend. I have not personally experienced the following but it could possibly happen. Corkboard and pressboard are ofcourse multiple chunks of wood formed together with glue. If this glue becomes heated it could start to give off vapours that might be toxic to your inhabitants. Well I am not going to go too much more into the flaws in your design but I will tell you what I recommend. I prefer glass tanks that measure 48"x18"x18" with secure screen lids. I also suggest 48"x24"(depth)x18" melamine wood enclosures. I prefer sliding glass doors in the front for easy access. Make sure your ventilation is adequate, a few holes drilled in the back aren't enough. Try to find a vent of some sort at home depot or other such home hardware stores. Also make sure that the heat bulbs have a protective cage or something around them to keep the Skinks from coming in direct contact with it. Anyways if you have any questions just drop me a line.

Later, Calcarifer

[Gezt]

Thanks for the reply, but whats melamine? And how's it priced?