BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi, been a browser or this site before but never joined, so hi!

I'm planning on building a viv in the next couple of days as I have some furniture board spare, and my local reptile supplier has 2 BTS's in stock, finally, and I want one.

I've just got in from work and have to be back in in 11 hours so I'm going to leave you with the image I put together in Photoshop (whilst at work :p) then hopefully I can keep checking back tomorrow (whilst at work, of course ) as I really need to get to bed now.

Just for the record, I haven't decided on the glass/perspex materials yet. I'm waiting for some quotes for glass from a few local glaziers but thought I'd throw the perspex in there just to get some opinions back.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any feedback, thanks!

The dimensions look great. The enclosure is tall enough to attach light inside if you wanted to. That way you wouldn't need to make the opening in the top. I am interested to see how it comes out.

looks like what i JUST bought 2 days ago the front has 2 sliding plexiglass "doors" and the ends are both plexiglass windows if you will and the back is wood...by my lamp is suspended on the inside
its still empty at the moment because i cant decide which bluey to put in it and i was waiting for it to air dry after cleaning it (its obviously dry now) now i just have to choose who gets to move into the new enclosure

Nice! Curious for the real deal!

Not sure about the need for plexiglass at the ends. They probably feel more secure without it.

Thanks for the replies. I was actually expecting replies telling me what I have done wrong etc so I guess I'm pleasantly surprised!

As for the plexiglass sides, I'm taking that idea straight from this site's care sheet. It said that a glass enclosure is the best as it allows the BTS to see out of his enclosure and makes thing more interesting for him. I can't find a 100% glass enclosure though hence me building this.

What do others think about the two windows? It would be a lot easier to not have them there, but I'd feel better if I knew they would be an added comfort as opposed to a discomfort to a BTS.

Also - plexiglass in general? I know u could use plexiglass for both the windows and doors for under £40 but am still waiting for a quote for real glass.

Thanks.

Just a suggestion from experience but my Hogg Island boa is in a similar (but bought instead of made) enclosure with sliding doors. They are actually a huge pain in the butt. Substrate is constantly getting in the track for the doors making them hard to close. I spend a lot of time picking substrate out. All my other reptiles are in swing-opening enclosures and they are a lot nicer. Just a thought.

Substrate shouldn't be a problem if, as it looks in the diagram, you have a lip for the sliding doors that is deeper than the substrate. I prefer sliding doors as you can get up close to the enclosure and not step back to open a lifting door.

Your dimension are the same as the three I have built which are satisfactory for a BTS.

I wouldn't bother with the side windows, just the full length clear front is plenty and lets them feel more secure.

I have used glass as it is much more difficult to permanently scratch than plexiglass.

I don't see any ventilation holes to allow for reasonable air exchange.

Ok I will forget the side windows

I will be putting in vents, I just didn't add any finer details to the diagram.

As far as equipment goes, I already have some electronic thermometers/hygrometers, aspen bedding and hides. I do however need to sort out lighting and heat and other things.

I'm a bit confused when it comes to a basking lamp. Does the lamp have to emit light or is a ceramic heat lamp ok? Also, does the lamp holder need to be a specific size or type as to promote heat distribution in a specific direction? I've been typing in "100w lamp" into ebay and there are a wide range of lamps that come under the incandescent type and then of course there are the ceramics that don't emit light at all, I'm really a bit confused.

As for uvb, I've got my eye on a Repti glow 10 that emits 5% uvb. It is a strip light but would this be adequate for the dimensions of my viv?

I'm using my phone here so it's difficult to get links or images to show you guys, so sorry about that.

Ideally incandescent bulbs are good because the light they emit looks like light from the sun and they bask under it. It needs to be strong enough to raise the temp of the basking spot to around 95-100 degrees. You can use any type of lamp as long as it has a ceramic socket so it won't melt from the high temps.
Ceramic heat emitters are good for supplementary daytime heat and for maintaining a constant temp at night since it doesn't emit light. These should have a wire lamp instead of a domed one to prevent overheating.
With all this power you'd prob need a thermostat to make sure it doesn't get too hot in the enclosure. It can also make sure it doesn't get too cold at night.
For UVB I use the repti glo 5.0, the 10.0 might be a little too strong, but I'm not sure on that. It's rated for desert species and mine is more of a forest dweller. The long fluorescent tubes might be better than the spiral ones since you have a long enclosure.
I use the incandescent, ceramic heat emitter and UVB bulb for my skink, and a bonus use for the heat emitter is that it can quickly thaw anything I feed him that I previously froze.

I think I'm being a bit stupid here but what do you mean by domed and wired?

/dumb

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Ah right, things are becoming a bit clearer now.

I've just had a look at the B&Q website. Is this the correct type of bulb to use? http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/lighting/l ... ck-9279574
I can't find anything on the B&Q website that seems suitable as the ceramic holder and lamp, so I guess I'll order something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004 ... t-supplies

Are things looking good so far?

If I have the lighting figured out, I'm pretty much set to go building my viv and seeing as I'm off work tomorrow, I'll be making a day of it!

After much trial and error I settled on the use of a simple setup consisting of ceramic ES holders using a nice cheap incadescent spotlight (60W) (or 40W in summer) run off a light switch wired into the enclosure and a 60W ceramic heat emmitter which runs independantly through a simple on/off thermostat. Reason is that temps can still be maintained at night (at whatever level you want) with no light emmission and doesn't blow globes all the time as typically occurs with lights attached to a simple on/off thermostat. So far a single CHE as lasted 4 years even on an on/off thermostat.

I find that a light can be simply mounted on the roof of the enclosure without a cage as long at it is at least 15cm from the edge as blueys typically can stand but slide down the side of an enclosure without doubling back into open space, making a cage redundant.

Anyway here is a photo of what it looks like very simple, not particularly aesthetic but effective and easy to maintain.

Globe wattage should give you a spot temp of around 100F but the ambient temperature at the warm end is almost irrelevant. I find that a cool end temp of anywhere from 60-70F is adequate. I think that a lot of people fall for the idea of big hot heating systems that are simply not necessary for blueys and produce temps that don't provide enough gradient in the enclosure.

I'm using a Radiant Heat Panel, and it is my new favorite heat source EVER EVER!! Maintains a great 95-100 heat spot and I can set my hand right on it and be unburnt! IT puts out no light, and has a great gradient by itself! I'm sure not using lights ever again once I get my custom cages all built!

My tanks used to have no light. Now I use a cheap 75W bulb I can buy in bulk anywhere, and there's both light and heat. I will never go back to those dull, dark, awful tanks. The skinks behave a million times more naturally when there's good light for them during the day (not just whatever room light gets in). There was a huge turn-around in activity level, health, behaviour. I love the lighted tanks now

My light setup is like Lobo's, no guard, but just the one light bulb. Ideally I'd like to have a radiant heat panel as well, or under tank-heating on each tank, for even more temp-control in each tank.

I also prefer doors that open, just because it annoys me greatly to only have access to half the tank at a time. Just me though.

Ok, I've built my viv. It doesn't have the side windows in, or the panel on the top.

However, I've set up my 100w lamp INSIDE the viv, and the heat below it is FAR too much. Almost 140F! I have the option of either trying a lower wattage bulb, or going ahead and adding the panel into the roof and trying it that way.

What do you guys think would be best? Adding the panel in now is going to be quite an inconvenience and tricky to do, but on the plus side I think I might prefer the lamp out of the viv altogether as it is pretty big but then that's just be being picky.

Also, if I was to add a panel to the roof, is it ok to use glass? I have a perfect size panel of glass that I could use. In case anyone isn't sure that I mean, I'd be cutting a square out of the roof of the viv, fixing a panel of glass to it, then mounting the 100W lamp (with grill cover attached) above it so that the light and heat shines down into the viv. Pretty much what you see in the diagram I posted in my first post, but with the lamp sitting on top.

This is a major pain in the rear for me, as I've been at work a lot over the past week but was hoping to pick up my BTS in the morning, but now I have another round of trial and error to go through. \everything else, I think/hope is in place and good to go though.

Just use a lower watt bulb. I use a cheap 75W floodlight (I can buy them in bulk just about anywhere) and it works great. A flood light provides a large area of light/heat, while a spot light focuses the light/heat more. Try some different bulbs until you find the right one. Having a lamp on the other side of glass is pretty pointless - you're just heating the room outside the tank, when you want the heat on the basking spot.