enclosure build question

[lucasrusinak]

So I have been thinking about building another enclosure because I like the fact that I can make it exactly how I would like it and give my skink the floor space it needs. I have built one before, however I have been thinking about a way to make the cage easiest to clean.

My question: has anyone built a enclosure with a floor that is removable in some way to make cleaning easier than either getting inside the cage to take the substrate out or literally dumping the enclosure over to empty it? I know with rabbit cages and cages for other rodents the have an easy pull-out system to clean the cage, however I am stumped on how to make it work without creating a way for the skink to possibly escape. any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[SmaugTheBluey]

I use a tray that came with my dogs old cage that I put at the bottom of my bluey's enclosure which is pretty handy when changing his aspen, but it depends on how big your going to build it because you might be able to get away with an industrial baking pan that holds substrate like it does with cake batter or have to make a custom tray out of a pvc sheet. Good luck building it!!!

[jdheff1982]

So I have been thinking about building another enclosure because I like the fact that I can make it exactly how I would like it and give my skink the floor space it needs. I have built one before, however I have been thinking about a way to make the cage easiest to clean.

My question: has anyone built a enclosure with a floor that is removable in some way to make cleaning easier than either getting inside the cage to take the substrate out or literally dumping the enclosure over to empty it? I know with rabbit cages and cages for other rodents the have an easy pull-out system to clean the cage, however I am stumped on how to make it work without creating a way for the skink to possibly escape. any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I was thinking the same thing for my cage build and decided that the bottom will be a drawer. The front will be accessible with a hinged door which will mate with the drawer. This way, I can pull it out, clean, manage and get easier access to my BTS. I haven't built this yet, I have to save up for it first.

[lucasrusinak]

I was thinking the same thing for my cage build and decided that the bottom will be a drawer. The front will be accessible with a hinged door which will mate with the drawer. This way, I can pull it out, clean, manage and get easier access to my BTS. I haven't built this yet, I have to save up for it first.

I was actually throwing the idea around of making the enclosure out of an old dresser if i could find one that i liked enough just to save time on building the frame of the enclosure, so using the botome drawer and modifying it a bit would possibly be my best option if i went that way, thanks for the idea!

as far as dimensions go, i want it no smaller than 4 feet in length, but preferably 5 or 6 ft long. depending on how long i have it will depend on how wide it will be. ideally, i dont want it narrower than 20 inches though. These dimensions also depend on whether i make it totally from scratch or use the dresser idea.

Speaking of which, has anyone ever made an enclosure out of old furniture? i feel like it might make the job a little bit easier, nicer, and possibly even cheaper if you know someone with an old dresser or find one cheap.

[timisimaginary]

not an enclosure idea per se, but i've found the one tool that makes cage cleaning and substrate removal much easier is a shop-vac.

[lucasrusinak]

not an enclosure idea per se, but i've found the one tool that makes cage cleaning and substrate removal much easier is a shop-vac.

Yeah, i could see a shop vac being the easiest way but its not totally feasible for me to get one of those at the moment. although it is a good idea for the future!