Closed Chamber Ideas

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You've gotten great tips from Ramsey. I wanted to chime in with a few thoughts too.
  • In my opinion, a 2x4 will be a big waste of time. You'll be building another one in 6 months. If you go 4x8, it will last until your tortoise is large enough to live outside full time.
  • I've had no luck using plastic liners. They don't last under tortoise feet. I recently used Pond Shield for the first time and love it. I also want to try the counter top paint Mark recommends.
  • If you are going to spend the money on indoor UV, use a hood. It greatly increases the effectiveness of the bulb you buy.
  • 5.0 bulbs are a waste of money and produce hardly any measurable UV. Regular 10.0 bulbs work, but must be mounted 10-12 inches away for the tortoise to get a little bit of UV. The newer T-5 HO bulbs are the way to go. I prefer the Arcadia brand, but the ZooMed ones work too.
  • I you decide to skip the UV bulbs because your climate allows you to use natural sunlight all year, you should put in a HO florescent tube in the 5000-6500K color range, with a reflector hood, to brighten up the enclosure during the day.
  • You should not need a humidifier in a closed chamber. If things are drying out in there, it means you have too much ventilation and all your warm humid air is escaping.
  • I no longer think MVBs are the way to go. They run too hot for a closed chamber, they frequently burn out prematurely, the cause tremendous desiccation to the tortoise's carapace, and one of our vet members here says that he was checking them with a UV meter and they were only making UV for about 3 months, even though the bulb still lit up and appeared to be working. I suspect some of the European remote ballasted, lower wattage ones might still be useful, but I haven't tried them myself to verify this.
  • Sliding doors are a pain in the rear! I intend to use hinged doors on future builds.
Hope these things help! :)

I can't thank you guys both enough! I will definitely use the doors with hinges and invest in the better reflector hood. My only remaining question now is, will tiles work on the inside? And also, could I use the glass from my 20 gallon aquarium? What way (up, down, or out sideways like french doors) should the doors open. I am definitely going to make two doors on it no matter the size. Thanks again!
 

Tom

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I can't thank you guys both enough! I will definitely use the doors with hinges and invest in the better reflector hood. My only remaining question now is, will tiles work on the inside? And also, could I use the glass from my 20 gallon aquarium? What way (up, down, or out sideways like french doors) should the doors open. I am definitely going to make two doors on it no matter the size. Thanks again!
Here is how Mark did his doors. Fine example:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/our-new-closed-chamber-for-our-new-group-of-tortoises.138430/

Yes you can re-use the glass from the tank.

I think tile will work great if the edges are properly sealed one way or another. That will make the enclosure heavy if you ever have to move it...
 
Joined
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Here is how Mark did his doors. Fine example:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/our-new-closed-chamber-for-our-new-group-of-tortoises.138430/

Yes you can re-use the glass from the tank.

I think tile will work great if the edges are properly sealed one way or another. That will make the enclosure heavy if you ever have to move it...

I do think it will be heavy, but I like the look of tiles as well as how if it's sealed, it's very waterproof and easy to clean. I have seen Mark's post and am planning on doing the doors exactly like those with my aquarium glass which will be more than enough. Thank you once again! And I will definitely keep this updated with photos as I begin to build!
 

Markw84

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I do think it will be heavy, but I like the look of tiles as well as how if it's sealed, it's very waterproof and easy to clean. I have seen Mark's post and am planning on doing the doors exactly like those with my aquarium glass which will be more than enough. Thank you once again! And I will definitely keep this updated with photos as I begin to build!
I make my door double pane. I use regular window glass (which is quite thin) but once installed not a breaking problem. I break the 8 foot enclosure into 4 doors so the opening swing is not great, nor the weight of any single door. The doors end up quite light weight. I get the glass at Lowe's and have them cut it to size. The glass for four, double pane doors runs about $80. I use regular surface mount cabinet hinges.
 
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I make my door double pane. I use regular window glass (which is quite thin) but once installed not a breaking problem. I break the 8 foot enclosure into 4 doors so the opening swing is not great, nor the weight of any single door. The doors end up quite light weight. I get the glass at Lowe's and have them cut it to size. The glass for four, double pane doors runs about $80. I use regular surface mount cabinet hinges.

Okay thank you! I will definitely do this then.
 

Markw84

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Also, any thoughts on melamine? I would still obviously silicone seal the seams, but I was wondering if it's easier than water proofing plywood?
This was just asked by carol from S Africa in another thread of hers...

Melamine absorbs water and swells, then becomes very soft and unstable. I would not use it. Kind of like particle board, but melamine uses a different process to blast the wood fibers into tiny particles, then presses together. There is a special, "tempered Melamine" that is designed for exterior use and claimed to be quite moisture resistant. Personally, I would stick with exterior grade plywood.
 
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This was just asked by carol from S Africa in another thread of hers...

Melamine absorbs water and swells, then becomes very soft and unstable. I would not use it. Kind of like particle board, but melamine uses a different process to blast the wood fibers into tiny particles, then presses together. There is a special, "tempered Melamine" that is designed for exterior use and claimed to be quite moisture resistant. Personally, I would stick with exterior grade plywood.

Okay thanks! Then I will plan on using plywood and water proofing it.
 

Ramsey

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This was just asked by carol from S Africa in another thread of hers...

Melamine absorbs water and swells, then becomes very soft and unstable. I would not use it. Kind of like particle board, but melamine uses a different process to blast the wood fibers into tiny particles, then presses together. There is a special, "tempered Melamine" that is designed for exterior use and claimed to be quite moisture resistant. Personally, I would stick with exterior grade plywood.

Need to somehow earmark this response. This question is asked frequently.
 

dwright27

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Hi. I don't know where that design originated from, but I like it.

Few words from experience: go with as few windows as you can, just like you stated. I built one that was fully "windowed" and it doesn't retain heat very well. I hear the heater click all day. My complete wooden ones don't have this problem.

Next, don't use "plexiglass" acrylic. Just doesn't work well for our applications. There will be varying opinions on this, but it's expensive, doesn't hold heat well and has reactions to humidity like shape shifting.

Oh, cripes. Wish I'd seen this sooner :'(
 
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Oh, cripes. Wish I'd seen this sooner :'(

I just finished it and it looks fine, but was nearly impossible to build lol. The angles caused more trouble than it’s worth. Plus, I am not able to place the lights exactly where I want them because they can only hang as far out as the wood overhang goes if that makes sense. I wouldn’t recommend building it like this.
 

dwright27

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I just finished it and it looks fine, but was nearly impossible to build lol. The angles caused more trouble than it’s worth. Plus, I am not able to place the lights exactly where I want them because they can only hang as far out as the wood overhang goes if that makes sense. I wouldn’t recommend building it like this.

My enclosure is in another thread... I'm having a LOT of trouble.
 
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