I have lots of questions today =3

iBaman · 08-03-12, 12:30 AM

I've come to the conclusion that building my retic a cage is the way to go. We have all the tools and materials close by...so why not? I have quite a few questions though, so bear with me....

Will humidity not be bad for the plywood? Doesn't it get soft after a while? What materials do you suggest?

How many ventilation holes do I put, and where are the best places for them?

Flex watt...how do I use this stuff? I hear it's great, it's priced good, I just have no clue what to do with it xP Do I put it under the wood cage or inside under the substrate?

for the bottom of it, should I just use wood? or something like resin or tile or something?

...I'll add more as I think of them...I just want to get it right the first time...

KORBIN5895 · 08-03-12, 05:12 AM

I just made an enclosure using birch plywood as long as you seal the inside well you won't have any problems with the humidity.

I am not sure about ventilation on the enclosure you are building but I have three 1½" vents on the hot end of mine.

Flexwatt probably isn't going to work well on thus project. Someone posted a link about using it in a plywood enclosure so if you can find that it would help. Personally I used radiant heat panels which work amazingly well.

I put vinyl over the plywood bottom of my enclosure. You can see it in my avatar.

Gungirl · 08-03-12, 07:04 AM

Use any type of plywood that you wish and just be sure to seal it 100% with a high grade sealer. I used a 2 part epoxy on my vivs Famowood epoxy coating glaze coat 2 deals

As for vents I used a few Soffit vents in mine I placed them Low on the hot side and high on the cold side ( the picture of the viv I posted was before I moved my vents) . I did 2 1 1/2" on each side. 2 in. White Round Soffit Vent-SM-RSV 2 at The Home Depot

For Heating I used a Radiant heat panel and wouldn't use anything else... Here is a picture of one of my vivs.

iBaman · 08-03-12, 11:27 AM

with the radiant heat panels then, do you still do the 1/3 rule, or cover the entire cage?

Gungirl · 08-03-12, 11:32 AM

You only need it to cover a small portion of the cage. The viv in the picture is a 4ft x 2ft x 18" and I have 1 40watt radiant heat panel in it. This allows for a good basking temp and ambient temp. If you go with a larger heat panel more of your viv will be kept at the basking temp and you might get to high of an ambient temp. It all depends on how well made your viv is and how hot you need to keep the basking spot vs how cold your house is..

iBaman · 08-03-12, 11:43 AM

My house is about 73...so not too bad. The one I want to make will be 6ftx3ftx3ft, as it's a male retic, and it's unlikely he'll need the 8ft one. I guess I'll go with a little bigger than 1/3 radiant with a thermostat. Thanks for your help! I'm stoked for this project =3

bcoop1234 · 08-03-12, 12:11 PM

I know its a little heavy but I built all mine out of melamine.. Its basically shelving so humidity doesn't effect it at all, and when you want to clean it you just pull out all the crap and just spray it down and was it off.

KORBIN5895 · 08-03-12, 12:16 PM

Looks nice BC.

iBaman · 08-04-12, 06:23 PM

Has anyone used the reptitherm habitat heater? It's 18"x18"...will that be big enough for the 6 ft enclosure, or should I get 2? I'm still looking around, but I have these readily available to me, and they're a little cheaper than the radiant heater (but seem to be a radiant heat source)...input?

KORBIN5895 · 08-05-12, 08:32 PM

Go on fauna classifieds and check their caging supply classifieds for used gear.

I am not familiar with what you are referring to in your post.