Begginings of a new enclosure

[Lankyrob]

Originally Posted by lukelightwalker

And you keep your snakes in racks. OK well I will just be ignoring you from now on. Read My Post she is under a year old under a foot long and I stated that I would more than likely get her a larger environment to live in as she grows. Is there no positive people on this site.

If you are going to argue a point then at least get your facts straight, none of my snakes have ever been kept in a rack, i dont like racks personally but they dont affect the snakes negatively as shown by snakes that live long lives, eating, shedding and breeding in racks.

In the post that i responded to there was a shaky possibility mentioned that you may build a bigger enclosure later not that you would provide the correct care for the life of the lizard. Your post could be read that if you cant be bothered the lizard will live in an inappropriate enclosure for life.

As for being positive, i dont know many more positive peoplethan myself. Just because someone speaks frankly and honestly doesnt make them negative.

[CanadianEryx]

Sorry that you perceived my response as negative--that was not my intention at all. If you read any of my posts to others on this forum you will see that my main concern is for the animals (including reptiles) that we bring into our homes. I hope you can get past the red in your eyes to see what people here are saying. In the meantime, I'm glad you have thought out all the ramifications of the environment you have created for your baby (and it looks good, as does the sound of some more climbing structures). I look forward to hearing about its next-step-up enclosure as well.

[stephanbakir]

Originally Posted by CanadianEryx

I hope you can get past the red in your eyes to see what people here are saying.

It's statements like this that i was refering to, you could have worded that 10,000 different ways, or just left it out of your statement, the people that you are refering to try their best to help you, the way you are taking their attempts to give insight seams to be a little off, I urge you again to re-read what they are saying because you might be surprised. They have no reason to be against you from the start, they receive no personal gain by acting like you think they are.

[stephanbakir]

Originally Posted by CanadianEryx

Sorry that you perceived my response as negative

I do however find it interesting that you claim that they wrongly perceived your response as negative, and then insult them in the same sentence.

[lukelightwalker]

Ok for starters lets show that I am the big man and can appologize. I am sorry for my rack comment Rob. I saw your post of your snake enclosures and they are very nice. I can see you have very happy and well cared for babies. I must have assumed by some of your posts that you kept your snakes in racks. We both know what happens when we assume, so I will be the *** in this case.. I was having a very frustrating day yesterday and forgot to use my "mind to keyboard filter".

I would like to say though that I find it frustrating that on this site whenever I post anything as a new member. I get way more critique than anything. I have also seen it in other posts from people just trying their best and do right by their animals.

Take some time to get to know your new members. Me for instance. I am a life time aquarist and admitedly a fairly new herpist. I however have a guru who is a lifetime herpist and is conveiniently my room mate. She is also a member of a local rescue society. I am also becoming a member myself.

I have consulted her and done much studying on the web regarding this build and for a baby Water dragon, this is a very good enclosure and will likely serve its needs for up to a year or more. It has lots of plants appropriate for a dragon. a 7 gallon, live filtered water, area that a dragon up to 2 feet could easily submerge in. I will be adding climbing areas, more bamboo and plantings before she arrives.

For our bonded pair of beardies this summer I plan a very large enclosure. It will be 6 feet wide X 3 feet deep X 4 feet high at its highest point. I am planning a large safe climbing area in the back with lots of hang out places integrated in. There will be a nice water feature that gives them room to soak and a maze of stone hides.

I have another beardie who lives in a 4x3x4 home built enclosure. It is built from a wooden shipping crate. I am just now building a live water feature for her.

I have another of these crates in the garage and a line on more. I think one of them built into a nice Water Dragon enclosure would do nicely and one I have built for the "mean time" can be for another small semi aquatic reptile or baby.

I quite enjoy building and designing hides and enclosures and never procrastinate when it comes time for one of my babies to have a new enclosure.

We both take awesome care of our reptiles and always give them the best enviroment that stimulates their minds and is adequate to more than adequate in size.

All I was trying to do was showcase a nice enclosure, as all members are encouraged to do. I was not looking to be critiqued.

Just a thought.

I find the best way to critique and get away with it is to make a statement along these lines " Wow that is an awesome looking enclosure for a small or baby water dragon. Looks like you put alot of effort into it. It is a baby you are planning on putting in there? As it would be to small for a full grown Water Dragon as they will tend to snout rub in a small enclosure and will cause themselves great injury and harm. If it is for a baby then be prepared to get a larger enclosure in a year or so or consider a smaller semi aquatic reptile because it really is a great viv.

Pictures are of the rock and submerged ramp I have added to deal with the depth issue.

Humbly

Walker

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

If you are going to argue a point then at least get your facts straight, none of my snakes have ever been kept in a rack, i dont like racks personally but they dont affect the snakes negatively as shown by snakes that live long lives, eating, shedding and breeding in racks.

In the post that i responded to there was a shaky possibility mentioned that you may build a bigger enclosure later not that you would provide the correct care for the life of the lizard. Your post could be read that if you cant be bothered the lizard will live in an inappropriate enclosure for life.

As for being positive, i dont know many more positive peoplethan myself. Just because someone speaks frankly and honestly doesnt make them negative.

[CanadianEryx]

I am impressed with how you have done your water feature--it looks great. My brother did a similar thing for his newts way back when, but did not do as good a job as you with the silicone!! May your baby dragon find much enjoyment in his new habitat!
BTW, criticism sometimes does hurt(even when their is truth involved), but it should always be constructive. I hope we have all learned something from this whole thing!

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by lukelightwalker

Is there no positive people on this site.

Rob has got to be one of the nicest people on this site, and I take great pride in keeping this site one of the friendliest most unified forums on the entire net.


I read your apolgy, so I just wanted to point out, not angry or anything ok

[lukelightwalker]

Thanks, much appreciated.

I so look forward to taking the same idea to a larger enclosure. With a little thought and some custom pans that will hold the moisture I belive I can do the same thing in the shipping crate I mentioned. However building my beardie enclosure first this summer should give me all the skills I need to do an awesome large Viv for her when she gets bigger. I am planning a large waterfall in the middle of the climb area with a shallow river effect through the middle of the enclosure. We all know beardies love their water too.

As far as the silicone goes I need to do some trimming to assure nothing is accessible to her and I have made sure to apply from the back and put most of my plantings so they hide access to silicone as well. This will all be done before she arrives.

Newts now there is a thought for down the road when I move her out of there.

Walker

Originally Posted by CanadianEryx

I am impressed with how you have done your water feature--it looks great. My brother did a similar thing for his newts way back when, but did not do as good a job as you with the silicone!! May your baby dragon find much enjoyment in his new habitat!
BTW, criticism sometimes does hurt(even when their is truth involved), but it should always be constructive. I hope we have all learned something from this whole thing!

[CanadianEryx]

Wow, you are ambitious!! I look forward to seeing what you come up with in terms of that waterfall idea!! When will your baby arrive? Please post some pics once he's settled in his new home.

[infernalis]

I so look forward to the photos....

[Lankyrob]

Thank you for taking the time to apologise.

If you look through all my comments it is extremely rare for me to be negative or critical in the first instance. In this thread we had already discussed the ideal size for the enclosure and in your post i assumed (assumption being the mother of all evil) that there was little intent to increase the enclosure as the dragon requires it.

As you have now explained your plans then fair play to you for rescuing the animal and it looks like he will have a long and healthy life with you.

[lukelightwalker]

As soon as the snow melts and my garage dries out I will be purchasing some melamine for the main structure of the habitat and I will start a new thread posting the construction in its various stages.

Walker

[mld]

May I suggest not using Melamine for your enclosure! Its very hard to work with and if it gets wet it basically falls apart. For a water dragon I would suggest using a good quality plywood, and lots of sealer. When you do build look at an enclosure about the size of a refrigerator, make the water part something that can be pullout out of easily for cleaning, most filers aren't going to be able to handle the amour of poop that will be in the water.

[lukelightwalker]

Thanks for the awesome suggestions.

This build is not for the water Dragon though it is for my bonded pair of beardies. My Water dragon habitat will be after that, after she grows a little in the one I have set up now. It will be built in a shipping container and the dimentions will be 4' X 3' X4'.

I was originally planning to use marine grade plywood however a customer on my route sells all kinds of higher grade melamine style board that has laminate factory inslalled and when properly glued and sealed is 100 % moisture proof. It brings the price to about middle between regular plywood and marine grade.

For both builds i do plan on making any water feature area in some kind of water tight pan. I really hadn't considered the removable part. I will also have to design all the features within the water area to be removeable or not to obstruct the removal of the main water pan. Also any substrate area that will be planted with live plants will also need a waterproof pan at least. As I do look forward to giving my beardies some real plants as well.

As I said in another post I will start posting pictures of future builds as they progress.

Walker

Originally Posted by mld

May I suggest not using Melamine for your enclosure! Its very hard to work with and if it gets wet it basically falls apart. For a water dragon I would suggest using a good quality plywood, and lots of sealer. When you do build look at an enclosure about the size of a refrigerator, make the water part something that can be pullout out of easily for cleaning, most filers aren't going to be able to handle the amour of poop that will be in the water.

[stephanbakir]

I described something a few weeks ago i think you would enjoy working on.
A friend has a chameleon which he keeps in a unique enclosure. Its a large wide plant pot with a plant similar to a banzai in it, he also has some small vine like plants growing in it aswell. There is no cage surrounding the enclosure because his chameleon would never jump the 2 feet to the ground. He maintains temperature and humidity in the reptile room.

Its a tricky project to plan out, but something i believe you might enjoy working on.