What does your BTS call home?

[El Lobo]

Housing for 3 Highland Blotched

1200 x 600 x 40-45 (4' x 2' x' 15-18")

Did you make it?
Yes

How much did you pay?
Cost of materials

What do you like about it?
Front opening, east to clean

What do you not like about it?
They are heavy

Pros? Cons?
I prefer only 1 side with glass to make BTS feel more secure

What would you do differently?
Put pegboard as rear panel for better air circulation

[Susann]

El Lobo, NICE! Those are some fantastic terrariums!
Hat's off!

Just because this thread came up again, I'll post a pic of the cages for my 3 new Meraukes.
Showcase cages; went with 48X24X18 this time, instead of mondo "caskets" (60X24X24), won't have room otherwise, as the plan is to have all 5 cages along one wall up in our "loft".


Just bare minimums inside the cages until we figure out the right temperatures.

[StaceyLeigh]

Susann, I love those cages! They are so modern and a great size. What brand are they?

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

Edit - That is not a basking spot susann...

[Bird_Brain]

That is not a basking spot susann...
Shame...

I dont know if this was a joke or not, however, there really is not an issue with the cages. If the basking area gets to the correct temp, then there is no issue with that set up as it and it would be considered a basking spot.

ML- I guess I should suggest that if you are joking, then maybe say so or maybe put a smiley face or something at the end. If you are serious, then elaborate. I am kinda getting tired of trying to understand what you are saying with your short one line posts.

Other than to increase your post count, majority of your posts lately are almost worthless, IMO.

[Karen]

Definitely looking forward to eventually getting my Showcase cages. They look great Susann.

[Red Ink AUS]

Where/how do you house your BTS, what kind of terrarium, tank, cage, tub do you use?

Melamine stack in the sitting/reading room

What size and what species do you keep in it?

85cm x 60cm x 45cm and I have a shingleback skink

Did you make it?

Yes

How much did you pay?

Probably $250 for the whole stack and electrics

What do you like about it?

Easy to maintain, plus the satisfaction of building it myself to suit the specific species

What do you not like about it?
Pros? Cons?

I should have insulated the top stack a bit more as it's getting a bit of heat transfer through the floor... It's also getting a bit small for it now.

What would you do differently?

I'm in the process of building a new three stack enclosure to consolidate three species. It will free up some room around the hopuse and make it more of a Display enclosure like the rest of them. It's also bigger at 100cm long. It will also be more energy efficient as it's wired with halogen globes instead of standard bulbs. I', about a couple of weeks from finishing it so it'll be a nice Xmas present for the reps and the wife (giving her, her space back).

PIC (BTS enclosure at the bottom)




Cheers

[Susann]

Red Ink, I LOVE the rock hide!
And look at you Aussies making your own awesome enclosures, I'm way impressed!
May I ask what that white square is on the back wall?

Yes, StaceyLeigh, mine are Showcase Cages. Which is why I call them cages when they really aren't cages.
These are smaller than the two I got in May. The previous two I ordered without really understanding how LARGE they were! These three are much more reasonably sized, but surprisingly I find myself preferring the larger two....

Pros and cons with both.

*60 X 24 X 24
PROS
*They look SWEET!
*Lots of room for hides, decorations, and moving around, for both me AND the skinks.
*I like the wells for lamps and raised UTH areas on both ends of the cages.
*I like the height. It may seem like wasted space, but the fact that you get quite a bit of room between the bottom of the lamp wells and the bottom of the cage, actually allows for easier heating of the entire cage, and still allows for a reasonably hot basking area right underneath the well.
*Keeps humidity well for Meraukes.
CONS
*Take up a LOT of space.
*I can only stack max. two on top of each other without having to use a stepping-stool to reach the top one.
*Wish they had a couple of small air-intake vents on the sides.
*For now I use both UTH and CHE to heat. I will in the future figure out how to get the right temps without the UTH because of their high failure rate.

*48 X 24 X 18
PROS
*They look SWEET!
*Take up a much more reasonable size in a room.
*I can stack at least three on top of each other without having problems reaching.
CONS
*They only have a well and a raised UTH area on one side. I’m having a hard time heating the cages, because it’s “only” 18 inches high, the bottom of the lamp well is only about 8 inches from the substrate. To provide a basking spot that isn’t too hot, I have to use a very low Wattage lamp, then the opposite side of the cage isn’t warm enough. Still trying to figure it out.
*There’s the same amount of tank above and below the glass doors regardless of the size of the cage, so the difference in height is reflected on the height of the doors. The bigger cages are 24 inches tall, the glass doors are 16 inches tall. The smaller cages are 6 inches shorter, and it’s the doors that swallow the difference in height; they are only 10 inches tall. So the bottom cage is a bit hard to reach into; you have to get way down there.
We could have bought a higher stand, to raise the stack up a bit, but then this stack of 3 cages, which is now on a 6 inch stand, would have ended up taller than the stack of 2 cages on a 12 inch stand, and since we are planning on putting the two stacks next to each other, we had to go with a 6 inch stand to match in height.
*I do miss the extra foot of space inside the bigger cages. Does make a big difference, and I haven’t even started putting permanent stuff in them yet; still figuring out the temps, which means we’re still taking the stack apart (or at least sliding the stack out from the wall) every time we change bulbs.

Just some extra info there for anyone thinking about buying or making new terrariums.

[Red Ink AUS]

Thanks Susann

The white box is a wall mounted thermostat... All my enclosures have them. They control my CHEs for the ambient night time air temps. Their also analogue which is great as no electrics means less things to go wrong. Their just like the old wall thermostats in houses lol.

[Spindown]

Where/how do you house your BTS, what kind of terrarium, tank, cage, tub do you use?
4 glass tanks, 1 in my bedroom, one downstairs, and 2 in my reptile room.
What size and what species do you keep in it?
3 40 gallons (indo, ij, and merauke) and my Northern is in a 75 gallon we got when we picked him up. (hes spoiled )
Did you make it?
Nope.
How much did you pay?
too much for all 4 X_X
What do you like about it?
Easy to clean, nice visibility
What do you not like about it?
I'd like them to have bigger tanks, glass is fragile and HEAVY, the stupid mesh lids get destroyed by my evil cat, etc...
What would you do differently?
Get some melamine tanks, or make my own.

[Susann]

The white box is a wall mounted thermostat... All my enclosures have them. They control my CHEs for the ambient night time air temps.

If that ain't the smartest thing I've heard in a while... No way I would have ever thought of that!

[sd reptiles]

Where/how do you house your BTS, what kind of terrarium, tank, cage, tub do you use?

Wooden enclosure in the reptile room.

What size and what species do you keep in it?

115 cm x 55 cm x 50 cm

Did you make it?

Yes

How much did you pay?

I bought verry much wood in one time because i working on other enclosures for the other reptiles to , so difficult to say.

What do you like about it?

Everything !

What do you not like about it?
Pros? Cons?

Nothing !

What would you do differently?

Larger size.

[Crazy76]

Where/how do you house your BTS, what kind of terrarium, tank, cage, tub do you use?
I use wooden enclosures with glass fronts, 4 foot long

What size and what species do you keep in it?
2 shinglebacks in the top and one Eastern BTS in the bottom one

Did you make it?
No

How much did you pay?
300 each enclosure

What do you like about it?
Really easy to access and clean, and has a great look

What do you not like about it?
Nothing really, except it is a bit small for the two shinglebacks

What would you do differently?
Nothing really except if i had the room and the funds i would have bought much bigger enclosures!!!!!

[Red Ink AUS]

Where/how do you house your BTS, what kind of terrarium, tank, cage, tub do you use?

Melamine stack in the sitting/reading room

What size and what species do you keep in it?

85cm x 60cm x 45cm and I have a shingleback skink

Did you make it?

Yes

How much did you pay?

Probably $250 for the whole stack and electrics

What do you like about it?

Easy to maintain, plus the satisfaction of building it myself to suit the specific species

What do you not like about it?
Pros? Cons?

I should have insulated the top stack a bit more as it's getting a bit of heat transfer through the floor... It's also getting a bit small for it now.

What would you do differently?

I'm in the process of building a new three stack enclosure to consolidate three species. It will free up some room around the hopuse and make it more of a Display enclosure like the rest of them. It's also bigger at 100cm long. It will also be more energy efficient as it's wired with halogen globes instead of standard bulbs. I', about a couple of weeks from finishing it so it'll be a nice Xmas present for the reps and the wife (giving her, her space back).
Cheers

New improved and revised stack i've been working on finished I just need to get the glass for the front cut...


Lighting/heating also improved by using 35w halogens, should make a difference in the power bills.

[Kurt]

Where/how do you house your BTS, what kind of terrarium, tank, cage, tub do you use?
I have my bts in a 36x18x18 melamine enclosure in my living room.

What size and what species do you keep in it?
merauke, 21-22 inches long.

Did you make it?
nope, but added fixtures.

How much did you pay?
150 for 2 tanks.

What do you like about it?
it looks good (compared to the glass tank I had on a ghetto shelf)
it holds heat and humidity well but still has good ventilation
its light weight so i can move it easily
its easy to clean

What do you not like about it?
rather than having slide doors i wish it was a hinge door.

What would you do differently?
i wish i would have guessed the right wattage bulb correctly. i bought 4 or 5 bulbs that were much too hot before i found one that could keep the right temps.
i would put a pedestal under the bottom tank (probably will before i get another bluey)
i'm still adding things (next on my list is a slate tile to put his food/water dishes on and some fake leaves for him to bury under)