Updating My Room Again

[Fatal_S]

I went and blew a bunch more money on big tanks for my smaller skinks So right now I'm in the process of moving the old tanks around, re-doing the electrical layout, cleaning, etc. Then I'll start bringing in the new tanks (currently residing in my kitchen) and setting those up. I feel like sharing, so I took some pictures.

To start with, this is what the big-tanks looked like. Males had the coco-bark, females had towels. This was originally for maternity purposes, but then I never got around to getting more coco-bark for the girls. I just kept using towels instead. The pans were originally for water, but they rusted, so they became convenient places to put the food/water dishes instead.


Skink was removed and tank was stripped down and scrubbed clean.

Then they get shavings and all their decorations back. They were very happy to have aspen shavings again, and hopefully these new glass dishes will work for water.
Fluke:



Trouble:



And Jenga:



Three tanks down!

And 7 more to go

Then the real fun begins. That's when I get to open up the new tanks and start moving the small skinks around. They are going to freak with this much space I can't wait.

Just for fun a few cute photos of Fluke and Trouble:




To be continued!

[Cathy20]

Good luck setting up all those enclosures! I can only dream of having multiple skinks in the house, what with 7 people plus 4 pets taking up all the space :/

and Jenga looks very slim yet healthy, kinda like the kinds of people who eat like pigs and never gain any weight, very handsome.
is he still an adorable deathrolling nut?

[Fatal_S]

With stacking PVC tanks you can fit tons of animals in a small space. With these tanks I'll have room for 20 adults and 70 babies, all in my bedroom.

Jenga is male, so he stays slim. He eats like a pig for sure. He's still usually a nut, but today he was actually pretty calm. Was a nice surprise.

[Richard.C]

They look great mel

Perhaps jenga is plotting his next offensive move,lol,you have some nice looking northerns

[Niels D]

Nice thread!

[Spindown]

I have one of those glass dishes, exactly like that, its great for water.

[Fatal_S]

More pictures. Much of the same, but different skinks. Today was mostly a shopping-for-supplies day, but I managed to get 2 more tanks cleaned and moved. Tomorrow I hope to complete the second stack of old-tanks, so I can start on the new stacks Wed. Thursday I will likely get nothing done since I'll have some new faces to take photos of I love showing off my pretty tanks, not to mention my pretty skinks!

First up today was Wasp:

His tanks now looks like this:

When he got into his shavings he looked around:

Then took off and tried to climb the corner. The messed-up-back is his signature move:

Then he hid and gave me really dirty looks:


And then was Skids. I woke him from his nap and got the stink-eye:

Both clean tanks:

When I put him away he wandered around checking it out:


And then did some late-night basking:


The stack of 5 tanks now looks like this:

But less sideways. They're on casters so I can wheel them around now And I'll be able to spot any reptiles that get loose.
These tanks are the small ones that are being ditched:


For anyone recalling Skids' brush with death (extremely nasty mouth rot and an infection that nearly killed him last winter) this is him now:


He is extremely active and explorative and loves his food again. No signs of mouth rot. His eye is still bulged and he's missing part of his lip, but I still think he's incredibly handsome <3

[Jeff]

Looks great Mel. What is your opinion on the plexiglass doors? I am going to be building 25 new enclosures in a couple months when my new room gets done. I have been planning to use glass doors, but I would have more options with plexiglass, I have just always been worried that it would scratch too easily.

[Fatal_S]

These doors are a year old, have been scratched at by the skinks constantly, and were just cleaned with a rough scrubby (the skinks love to rub stuff along the front between scratchings). They'll never be clear, but they do a decent job at being see-through? Glass is definitely prettier when clean, but I prefer the plexi I think. Besides, my front doors rarely stay clean for long -.-'. I'll have to give the doors a closer look and see if any doors have copped major damage. They definitely get abused a lot here.

I will add that the PVC tanks are a dream to clean. Even baked-on feces and urates come off easily, and what look like minor scratches disappear when cleaned. Gouges however (at one point these tanks had extremely heavy, rough landscape rocks in them) do not come out. Skid's tank is covered in gouges. I definitely love these tanks. However, I don't like having them 5-high. I'm short. In my own home I'll stick to 4-high stacks so I can see everyone and get to them easily

[Fatal_S]

Another update. I'm a day behind schedule. Mostly because I cannot move the tanks on my own, so I'm constantly waiting for someone to arrive and help. Anyways, the old tanks are finally all cleaned and moved. Tomorrow I move in the new tanks. I hope it all goes smoothly. I really can't wait to give the smaller skinks the added room. Especially Cash - maybe I'll finally see him out more than 2x a year...

Photo time!
To start with I wanted to mention my giant skateboards:

I wanted the tanks raised up off the ground - I want to be able to see any escapees & I want airflow underneath so the floor doesn't sap the heat. The wheels make the whole stack easy to move. Loving this.



Anyways, onto the skinks!
Pryce was first for stack 2:

His tank is pretty now:

He seems happy:



Next was Mizu:

Sexy tank:

Happy lizard:





Izuru:

Her tank:

She's so pretty:




Hank the Tank:

She is super muscular. Her clean tank:

And more Hank(ette) pics:





And finally Evita:

Pretty tank:

She loved it:




Two stacks done!


Alrick would like to know when it's his turn for a big pretty tank?

Soon buddy, soon.

[Fatal_S]

I have some other random photos to post, might as well add them here. In between cleanings I also have to feed/water/bother my reptiles. That means more photos of course!

Tonight's food was a salad mix, with cranberries and sweet potato, mixed with chunks & gravy dog food. Very crunchy meal - usually my meals end up being more of a paste. This one looked pretty good:

Some om-nom photos:




Last night the babies got baths while I worked:






Nubby watches me work (blurry because I'm across the room):


The fat tails just nap:



And that's it. Out of photos. I'll have to take more to share tomorrow!

[Richard.C]

Coming together nicely mel,i need to organise my lot better

Izuru is a vert nice looking lass,love the orangey look

[Karen]

All great pictures, but that last one of the fat tail is just adorable. Hope the rest of the cleaning goes just as well!

[Niels D]

Awesome room. Didn't realise you had so many animals. Nice!

[Fatal_S]

Izuru is beautiful and extremely sweet. She rocks. Mizu the male has delicious colours, but he's not as cuddly.

Fat tails rock. They're addicting. I may be getting a few more...

I have tons of animals in my room. I seriously need a big house so I can have a useable bedroom again.

[Bird_Brain]

Looking good. I just have to say, have fun moving all of those cages when you move!

[Fatal_S]

Thankfully we have a trailer to haul the tanks around. Will definitely be a pain though. I can also say that when I move the tanks will only be stacked 4 high, not 5. I hate needing a chair to be able to check/get to the top tank. I'm so short.

[Fatal_S]

Update again. I spent yesterday learning how to wire lights. The first few took a while, but I can do them really quickly now. I took photos (of course) in case anyone else is interested. Also, I'm not an electrician in any way, so if anyone sees something I did wrong please let me know. My biggest fear is to mess up and cause a fire-hazard. I had my step-dad check it all over, but he's not an electrician either, he just has more experience than I do. Anywho, photos!
To start with I have these fancy new PVC tanks:

And all these nice tools to use:

Drilled some bigger holes (1.5 inches apart) for the cords to come up through:

Then I put the fixture in and had a friend hold the leads to keep it there while I drilled holes for the bolts to go through (drilled from underneath with a small drill bit):


I re-drilled the small holes to make them bigger so the bolt would fit, then installed the fixture:


Next step was wiring. I split and stripped my cord:

Then twisted the copper from the cord to the copper from the leads and wrapped it in several layers of electrical tape:



Next step was putting a plug on the end of the cord. I purchased simple plugs:


Split and stripped the wire from the cord again:

Twisted and shaped the copper end:



Then attached the cords to each side (doesn't matter which side is which for this simple light):


I closed the plug (had to use a clamp to hold it closed) and screwed it back together:

Installed the light, plugged it in, and it worked!

So then I did it again and again and again:

[Fatal_S]

While I did all the electrical work I had a gorgeous assistant feeding my geckos


She also helped me with the lifting, holding things, and splitting/stripping the wires. The last of which I seem to be completely rubbish at.

Having a friend around makes the work so much easier

[tiliqua38]

I really am enjoying all these pics. Stacking cages are my dream!