DJ Kirk
Active Member
So I got a red foot about a month ago. Table wasn't working because of low humidity. I researched all the PVC and custom enclosures out there. They were way too expensive! For the size I need the cheapest was $700 and the most expensive was $1200. So I decided to build my own. I think it worked out awesome and I am so proud of myself.
So here is what transpired (if there is no cost I already had it):
1. Grabbed two old IKEA tables from our basement that together are 110"x30"
2. Went to the local re-use store and looked at kitchen cabinets - found a re-use fridge melamine cabinet 95"x29" - $35.00
3. Also found a re-use melamine sideboard, same colour for the top 95"x15" - $10.00
4. bought a piece of ply wood for the bottom at Home Depot - $26.00
5. bought some rubber mats and shower curtain at dollar store to layer the bottom - $17.00
6. put it all together, drilled holes for fluorescents and CRE's - I have two (2) 18" 5.0 UVB and two (2) 100W CRE's in ceramic socket lamps held up by carpenter clamps
7. bought a custom piece of glass for the other half of the lid 95"x14" and glass shower door hinges - glass $30.00 and hinges $12.00
8. installed a BetaZero reptile fogger
9. sealed all the edges and corners with caulk and gorilla tape
10. filled the enclosure with hides, water dish, plants, and feeding tile.
*with a Zoo-Med thermostat the ambient is 80F with two (2) spots that reach 90-95F during the day - ambient goes down to 70-75F at night when everything goes off
*humidity is kept steady at 70-80% with fogger and barely any condensation dripping now that things are dialed in
*CRE's on 15 hrs, UVB on 12 hrs, with a night bulb that raises one part to 80F overnight just in case
*the glass articulates independent of the wood lid on it's own hinges but the wood lid also has hinges so the whole thing opens for cleaning
Overall the enclosure is basically 8'8"x2'5" - so 22 sq.ft area - with a height of 1'4" - if I need more I can add a ramp and a 2nd story in a few years by taking the bottom plywood off and adding some melamine boards then re-applying the plywood bottom, but I think that's big already
So total all in cost me approx. $100 keeping in mind I had all the equipment from previous terrariums so I didn't need to purchase again - I built the enclosure for the equipment I had.
So here is what transpired (if there is no cost I already had it):
1. Grabbed two old IKEA tables from our basement that together are 110"x30"
2. Went to the local re-use store and looked at kitchen cabinets - found a re-use fridge melamine cabinet 95"x29" - $35.00
3. Also found a re-use melamine sideboard, same colour for the top 95"x15" - $10.00
4. bought a piece of ply wood for the bottom at Home Depot - $26.00
5. bought some rubber mats and shower curtain at dollar store to layer the bottom - $17.00
6. put it all together, drilled holes for fluorescents and CRE's - I have two (2) 18" 5.0 UVB and two (2) 100W CRE's in ceramic socket lamps held up by carpenter clamps
7. bought a custom piece of glass for the other half of the lid 95"x14" and glass shower door hinges - glass $30.00 and hinges $12.00
8. installed a BetaZero reptile fogger
9. sealed all the edges and corners with caulk and gorilla tape
10. filled the enclosure with hides, water dish, plants, and feeding tile.
*with a Zoo-Med thermostat the ambient is 80F with two (2) spots that reach 90-95F during the day - ambient goes down to 70-75F at night when everything goes off
*humidity is kept steady at 70-80% with fogger and barely any condensation dripping now that things are dialed in
*CRE's on 15 hrs, UVB on 12 hrs, with a night bulb that raises one part to 80F overnight just in case
*the glass articulates independent of the wood lid on it's own hinges but the wood lid also has hinges so the whole thing opens for cleaning
Overall the enclosure is basically 8'8"x2'5" - so 22 sq.ft area - with a height of 1'4" - if I need more I can add a ramp and a 2nd story in a few years by taking the bottom plywood off and adding some melamine boards then re-applying the plywood bottom, but I think that's big already
So total all in cost me approx. $100 keeping in mind I had all the equipment from previous terrariums so I didn't need to purchase again - I built the enclosure for the equipment I had.
