The Perfect Enclosure

[Fatal_S]

And no, "in nature" isn't a valid answer to this one

How would you create the ideal captive enclosure for a BTS?
What is your perfect BTS enclosure? I want details, people!
- What species? How many?
- Indoors? Outdoors?
- Size?
- Made of?
- Heated/lighted with?
- Substrate? Hides? Decorations?

What makes your idea great? What makes an enclosure perfect? Discuss

[Niels D]

My ideal enclosure was my old one, which I want to recreate again. I had two of them, each containing one Merauke.

Size : 100x40x60(height) cm
Temps + Lightning: It stood in a room wich was influenced by winter temperatures. In the winter nighttime temps could reach 15C. Daytime temps remained 30C at the warm side of the enclosure throughout the year. Warm side had a basking spot which could be controlled with a dimmer. No UVB. Used a timer.
Substrate : Coconut fiber with leaflitter
Heating : No heating except the basking spot. A stone was placed under the spot.
Hides : Just one big piece of cork bark which was never used. They burrowed a bit.
Made of : Full glas terrarium
Background : Made the background out of foam and grout. It contained pots filled with plants like pothos.
Humidity : Gave the plants water twice a week and sprayed the cool side of the terrarium three times a week.

I loved the fact that the room did the winter cooling period for me. The plants and background gave it a nice naturally look. A couple of times a year I put the female into the males terrarium for a couple of hours hoping they would mate. If I'm starting to make the new enclosure I will post some pics.

[Spindown]

I want to get some boaphiles or some AP cages (or make my own from xpvc), somehow make them a split level with a removable soaking/drinking pool (for easy cleaning), with the bottom being aspen and hidey holes.
Species: Various//1 per cage
Indoors
Size: 48 x 24 x 17.5 if I went with BP cages, not sure on height for split level
Made of xPVC/molded plastic, with aquarium grade silicone in the edges to seal it
Sliding glass doors in front on tracks
Heat: CHE (with guard) or RHP (still looking into the details behind RHP's)
Lighting: internal overhead fluorescent or LED chain lighting
Substrate: Aspen on the bottom, probably reptile carpet velcroed on the plastic in other places, with extra carpet for continuous washing, maybe something different
Hides: would be an area under the second level full of aspen to hide in, probably provide hides that I have made from the flour/salt "clay" recipe, painted and sealed.
Decorations: would find a way to put greenery in there somehow, either real or fake.

I'm really leaning on making my own xpvc cage after typing all this out

[Richard.C]

If they occur locally or in a similar climate hard to go past outdoor enclosures

Indoors i like big cages,with the aim being to create a large temp gradient,gives them choices,i dont like consistant warmth

[Rani-May]

Any amount, i think they get along fine or do well on their own, either or
Bigger enclosure the better
made of glass so i can see in and they can see out, we are all curious buggers lol
in a room with natural light but without sun hitting the enclosure itself if indoors, summer room temps dont often need heating for me, winter usually just a basking spot
a natural hollow log hide found in the bush with natural type substrate with a few plants. i personally use bark with a corner filled with snake/reptile bedding, always see the wild ones sprawled in bark here so why not use bark in an enclosure (bought packet version still though)
A happy skink makes the enclosure perfect. I like my enclosures natural

[Spindown]

So i've spent the last two days designing my "perfect" bluey cage...Its heated by a RBI RHP, and lighting will most likely be a fluorescent fixture on a timer. The bottom, where the two "PVC" pipes are, will have a generous layer of aspen (which I couldnt figure out how to render). The two layers will be tiled, for easy clean up. There are two large vents, (the rectangles with the x's in them), when I test this build, I will add more if necessary, one is hidden behind a PVC pipe on the left of the pic...I'm not sure how I'm going to do the pool yet...




I know I want to have some greenery in there somehow, either fake or real, but true decoration will have to happen when this cage gets built....someday when I have a job

[Rani-May]

I want that enclosure please

[Spindown]

I used google sketchup to design it. Its very doable, but I'm guessing it will be a total, with supplies and everything, just over $300 per cage. But thats a fully furnished, heated, lighted, 2 level xpvc cage custom built...
oh forgot to mention, dimensions are 4 ft long x 2 feet wide x 17 inches tall.

[Rani-May]

thats the average price for a second hand single layer 4x2x2 tank here. so id be more than willing to pay that for an enclosure like that! cheap as chips

[Richard.C]

Something to consider with enclosures to,especially indoors with quite enclosed ones is temps can be consistantly to warm,might be fine for more tropical occuring species but not so great for the more temperate forms,some of which are from places with quite fluctuating temps,can be very hot,can also be very cold to,even at active time of year,its why for temperate forms i like a long cage,with large temp gradient,gives them options,plus if its cold outside,indoor cage fluctuates a bit similar to

Its funny actually as even with a hot spot,some prefer to just rest in cooler area till room warms up,some even hold out on breeding until the outdoors ones breed

Another often overlooked issue is where we keep our cages,all the different conditions surrounding our cages,the exact set up that works a charm for joe blow in one town may be a horrible set up for someone else elsewhere,some people have climate controlled rooms,others dont,so its important to test temps when setting cages up as depending on where cage is located,you can get alot different temp readings,not to mention what works for one species may not work for another

[Rani-May]

I was always worried about overheating, thus having open enclosures. it makes keeping the humidity up a bit more difficult, have to mist it every day or two, but better than having temp issues in my eyes.

[Niels D]

Love your sketch. Looks like skink paradise.

[Spindown]

thanks

I plan to run this model after its built for at least a week, probably 2, to allow for any outgassing, as well as to see if the vents are appropriate size, and to see how it heats.
I'm more concerned with the proper humidity in this setup, which is why the vents are where they are...my native humidity is about 30-40%, so I dont want to get much higher than that with the blueys, but I want the nice pool for them, since my guys love their water bowls

My reptile room is as climate controlled as I can get it, considering that its on an old dial-up thermostat X_X. I keep it about 80*F in the summer, but I'm dropping it to 75*F end of November to begin a room-wide brumation.