Large enclosure curiosity

[Danimal]

I am curious if any of you that build these large enclosures inside you homes run into any issues related to the inability to move it or replace parts of it? Also I would think that some folks are not settled and will at some point move. Do you demolish it and start over?

[jarich]

I cant speak for everyone, but I built mine so that it could come apart fairly easily. It would have to be resealed if I took it apart, but that would be the only repair necessary if it was moved. I also have it on furniture wheels, so I can move it around within the room while it is full without any issue.

[Danimal]

I'm with you. I build mine to come apart. I'm building one now and because of that I have been searching a lot of enclosures. Yesterday it struck me that there are a lot of people that just build them into a corner of a room. I thought I was settled but I am going to move (empty nest ) one more time so that got me to thinking about it as well.

[infernalis]

Mine can be taken apart, it would be a lot of work.

Most of the anchor points are drilled out and have 1/4" carriage bolts and lag bolts with washers and nuts. Smaller parts with screws, and only a couple nails.

Just get out the wrenches.

[bcr229]

The 8'x3'x30" we're building for our BCI is designed so it can be taken apart and re-assembled if it has to be moved to a different room. It's also on rollers in case it needs to be moved within the room.

[nothsa]

I built my enclosure 5 levels high and i too was faced with the issue of possibly relocating it. locking heavy duty castors at all four corners and proper bracing all took care this problem.

[smy_749]

Do you have pics of that? Is the 5 levels for one animal ? I'd like to see it :D sounds pretty sweet.

[stephanbakir]

Check out jworlds.net

They have stunning cages (generally 5000+$) that knockdown and break into workable pieces. I'm not saying buy their cages, but the designs are definitely something to strive for.
They have a few how to videos that describe cage building in detail.

[Danimal]

Most hallway and room doors are going to be 32" x 80" so that's what you have to work with. Rarely is the width smaller than that unless it's a bathroom or maybe a storage closet. I've not built an enclosure that is larger than those dimensions until recently. That's what got me to thinking about it.

What I am building now is arboreal, 51x30x92 lxdxh(on casters) so I broke it into 2 pieces and used wood inserts (pic attached) and carriage bolts to fasten it. Not having the right tools makes it more difficult but it works. I need a drill press.

The next one is going to be more ambitious, in the neighborhood of 120x72x72 probably a bit larger, I am not sure of my space yet. I could do it the same way, in sections just turned on its side to get through doors. This would limit the height of each section to about 30 inches which means the door will have to be figured out. Could try some kind of dutch door but that might be a pain. Or maybe a board at the top of the middle section and bottom of the bottom section and the door as a separate panel.

[jarich]

Looks like the start of a nice enclosure. Is that for an arboreal monitor? Would make a pretty great prasinus enclosure. ;)

You could simply have the walls all separate and easily join them after each move with a couple of those carriage bolts. That way there is really no width to worry about, and its just the height that is the concern. Since your doorway is almost 7 ft high, that shouldnt be too much of a concern.

[Danimal]

I am going to put my focus on the arboreal monitors in the future with a few exceptions. I was thinking a pair of beccari for this one although I am not opposed to any of the other tree monitor species. If all goes as planned I should like to have a few more pairs as well. In the future I may try a few of the larger arboreal species. And I would like a few groups of the dwarf species, like ackies.

Here is an early sketchup render of what I wanted it to look like when it was done, we'll see. I dunno if it's ocd or just weirdness but I can't do anything without a plan even though I end up winging a lot of it. I have been "thinking" about this build for months and just started it.

[nothsa]

I'd be more than happy to show a pic but am still struggling with the photobucket program/account. It's 5 levels high (each level is 4' wide by 2' deep by 16" in height) for storing my sons corn snake collection. but with the weight of the unit and the slidiing glass doors it was too heavy to even think of moving without the castors. $40 in heavy duty castors saves having to build a new one everytime it needs to be moved.

Once I get the photo thing figured out i will gladly post some pics of the various display racks i have built for his collection.

[DeadlyDesires]

my sav enclosure comes apart in 2 pieces so that i can fit it though the door when moving.

[Danimal]

I have a water monitor build coming up. I have time and I have been putting it off because I am going to be making a move but I don't know when. I was going to use a 3'x8' stock tank in a 5'x10' build with a 5' x 5' water area attached to one end. I may just build something in the interim that I can reuse afterwards. I've been wanting a rudi or 3.

[smy_749]

I have a water monitor build coming up. I have time and I have been putting it off because I am going to be making a move but I don't know when. I was going to use a 3'x8' stock tank in a 5'x10' build with a 5' x 5' water area attached to one end. I may just build something in the interim that I can reuse afterwards. I've been wanting a rudi or 3.

I'm confused, is t 3x8 going to be inside the 5x10 ? What is the purpose of the 3x8 if your going to include a water area? Is it for a water monitor or rudi's? Also
where can I get a 3x8 foot stock tank ;) how many gallons is thhat?

A few people who keep multiple rudis on other forums have stated
there can be some aggressive between males and females, and it may be hard to obtain a trio as well. Just a headsup you made need separate enclosures ready to separate them. You can add dumerils to the list too, they love water as well and are less arboreal than rudis as far as I know.

[Danimal]

I'm confused, is t 3x8 going to be inside the 5x10 ? What is the purpose of the 3x8 if your going to include a water area? Is it for a water monitor or rudi's? Also
where can I get a 3x8 foot stock tank ;) how many gallons is thhat?

A few people who keep multiple rudis on other forums have stated
there can be some aggressive between males and females, and it may be hard to obtain a trio as well. Just a headsup you made need separate enclosures ready to separate them. You can add dumerils to the list too, they love water as well and are less arboreal than rudis as far as I know.

Look at the pics above, that's what I am working on now. That is a 2 x 4 x 2 stock tank. I am planning on housing black tree monitors in that one. I like the idea of a framed stock tank when possible but they only come in certain sizes so you are limited and I prefer the metal one because they have straight sides rather than angled. Lose less space. The tanks are for holding the substrate so I don't have to seal wood, if I was building a breeder I might not even frame the tank unless it was necessary to support the top part of the enclosure.

So the 3 x 8 would be framed inside a 5 x 10 box. The tank would probably not be centered but moved into the front corner opposite of the water feature. The remaining surface area around the back and one side of the tank would be log and rock features with basking areas. The area between the substrate tank and water would also serve to scrape off some of the dirt before entering the water. There are a few reasons for a separate area. This would be a smaller stock tank, plumbed with a sump filtration system all housed in a detachable enclosure of its own. If I decide to really go for it, I may go 6 feet and put a 6foot diameter stock tank in for the water.

I was saying that I might build a somewhat smaller enclosure like a rudi might use and put my water monitor in it until after the move, then build the monster enclosure.

I get all my tanks at the local tractor supply (http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&pageSize=&beginIndex=0&searchSource=Q&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&pageView=image&autoSuggestURL=AutoSuggestView%3FcoreName%3DMC_100 01_CatalogEntry_en_US%26serverURL%3Dhttp%253a%252f %252ftsc-prod-lb01.crossview.inc%253a3737%252fsolr%252fMC_10001_ CatalogEntry_en_US&searchTerm=Stock+tank) . You could probably use salvaged tubs from the local salvage supply. Lots of stuff there, windows doors and showers too, like you posted about. All our cows drink out of old tubs, I only buy the new tanks for my reptiles. :)

I am really only interested in arboreal and dwarf species right now, with a couple of exceptions. I am going to get some rough necks but it won't be until after the move. My cold bloods will have their own space and plenty of room for however many enclosures I need.....finally.

[Starbuck]

I have a 3x2x6 tall enclosure i used to house chameleons in; we attached two over-microwave cabinets back-to-back for the base, sunk a square black plastic tub into it to keep dirt and plants in, and then the sides were built into 4 separate frames with screen, attached to each other with carriage bolts. The base is on wheels, and the upper wire frame can be removed and taken apart. There is a double-door on the top 3 feet of one of the sides. It looks very similar to Danimals mock-up, but with screen on all four sides.

I am thinking about replacing a few of the panels with wood or plexiglass/equivalent, for an awesome arboreal snake cage; i just havent figured out what to keep in it yet :)

[Danimal]

Plant it up and put a frilled dragon in it. :)