Enclosure remodel

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jjsull33

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I have a 6x4 semi closed chamber enclosure that I haven't been using for a few months, but I finally had the time and money to fix it up and get it on the way to being a redfoot enclosure.

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The wood was sealed with a water proof paint and then linoleum was laid on top of that, the corners are sealed with a silicone, it's water resistant but not very water proof. It was originally home for my Russians but Rey live outside and are coming back inside to new tables each.

In order to make it more water proof and a closed chamber to hold in humidity and heat better I covered the holes in the top, they were originally for clamp lights but I burnt out a few mvb due to angles so this time I'm hanging inside.

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Next I put some copper pipe insulation around the bottom in the corners and the middle, to act as a separator and lift the tarp that will go on top.

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Then I covered the inside with tarps and covered the staples with silicone... The tip split and caused a mess but that ok, once it's cured ill take a razor to the stringy parts and clean it up a bit.

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The reason behind the pipe insulation under the tarp is that it causes any run off water to pool in the middle of the two areas, where I will be drilling holes and attaching drains to a filter/misting system.

Last but not least was to cover the door and seal the sides around the opening. I used chicken wiring and a clear shower curtain for the door, it's cat proof and water proof, and to seal the sides I used more pipe insulation.

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Now I wait a week or so to finish curing and then ill add the substrate. I will likely make a new thread for that however because I am going to do a false bottom with a built in misting system, water feature and bio active substrate, and plan to take pics along the way for that too.
 

jjsull33

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I finally had time to drill the drains in, they will be attached to rubber tubes for draining extra water from the misting system. There is a pic of each side, plus some visitors, the little guy underneath is Nathan Explosion my room mates Bengal mix kitten.

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wellington

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You have been very busy. Looking nice. You should add to this thread when you do the substrate and false bottom. Keep it all in one. So when someone searches and finds this threa, they will have the info in one place.
 

jjsull33

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Next step was the false bottom. The reason behind this is to keep the dirt from touching the actual bottom of the cage, thus giving an area for water to collect and drain out without sitting and getting stagnant or causing mold.

First I placed a bunch of rows of PVC rings, they are 2 inches tall.

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Next I took light diffusion panels an wrapped them in fiberglass screening, I put some more pipe insulation on the edges to prevent the corners from piercing the tarp.

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Next is the substrate, first I put a layer of top soil, about 1 inch deep.

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Then I filled it in with peat moss, usually I use coco coir but I'm trying peat moss this time because I found it cheaper and I've spent quite a bit on this remodel so far and still have 4 more of these to make so saving is nice lol.

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The depth varies 4-8 inches depending where plus around the big hide its a bit deeper. The hide is just a Rubbermaid flipped over and a big hole cut then all buried. The other container is the water dish, but its not done yet, it will be getting a filter and some other stuff to make it have a mini water fall for the ambient noise as well as fresh water.

After that I started hanging lights but was frustrated by the lights not staying up so I stopped for the day haha, ill finish it this week, I have to find a new way to hang my light anyway.
 

jjsull33

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Ok I placed 2 150 watt Che and 1 UVB 10.0 tube. The Che on the right is on a thermostat set for 83-84, the tube and the other Che are on a timer 9:30 to 9:30.

The original idea was to put the left Che above the hide but I didn't have the room for her to safely walk under it and so I hung it above the entrance to the hide instead.

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I have another 10.0 tube for the right side but decided against it, ill see how she likes it first and add it if necessary.

All that is left is to add all the water features (filtered pool, and misting system) plus a food dish, second hide on the right side and some plants and such, however I will probably move her in before the plants are in. She also had a little shell fungus left so I will be keeping out the misting system until that is all cleared up.
 

jjsull33

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It's a good thing I didn't put her in right away and I tested temps for a few days, the basking temp maxed at 124 while the cool side was 90! Yikes lol, I turned it off and will change to a 100watt when it's cool and start the test period again. I'm going to keep the thermostat one as a 150watt.
 

jjsull33

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Checked again today, the basking spot was at 106 with a max of 108 for the day, the cool side on the other hand is exactly where it should be. I think that I may have too many pieces of slate right under the lamp and that is why its getting too hot now, I am going to move some around and leave the 100 watt in for another day, especially since I don't have a 60 watt right now and don't want to have to buy one if not necessary.
 

jjsull33

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Moving the slate helped, now we cap at 100 so I'm happy with that. I will add a misting system soon and that will keep it from staying too hot.
 

jjsull33

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Pond complete, she is moving in tonight for dinner time.

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Next weekend we will plant plants, and set up the misting system.
 

jjsull33

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The water actually threw off the temps a ton so I let it settle and haven't moved in yet. Good news is the hydroponics store said I could take what I need for the misting system tomorrow and pay them on Friday(it pays to know the owner haha) so I will be setting it up tomorrow evening and then putting her in in the morning before work, my room mate is home and can check on her periodically for me.

For plants I have a bunch of lettuce and turnip greens and mustard greens, they need a new home so I'll be planting them all in there, since I don't really expect them to last long anyway. I don't have any big ones ready, but I will either buy a terrarium kit online or something, just gotta wait a few days for that
 

jjsull33

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So we have a problem, I hooked up my misting system and it didn't work correctly, I need the next step up pump, however the system did show me a rather large leak in the tank that has no way to fix it except to gut it and restart.... I am not sure how that happened but it did so now I am scrapping the misting system and I will just use my hand sprayer instead, as that doesn't put enough water to leak but will keep things humid and moist .

Next problem we had was the temps, I put her in yesterday around mid day after her soak and time outside. She loved it, climbed around and explored and seemed happy, I watched her for about 1/2 hour and everything was fine... about 1/2 hour after I stopped watching her I went back to check on her and make sure everything was still good, It wasn't. The temps had somehow climbed up into the 100s, like 110, and she was in her water trying to cool off, but she had somehow tipped the water bowl over and emptied all 5-6 gallons in her pond, which proceeded to leak through the tarp and out the hole again.....

She was fine and I moved her to her old cage with my other reds and she is happy again but now I have to figure more crap out about this cage.


I am going to put her basking spot on a timer so that it only comes on for 1 hour at a time every other hour or something like that.
 

Teodora'sDAD

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WOW- Great job! thanks for sharing your pictures... BTW Love those Pothos vines growing in the beer bottles- neat concept!
 

jjsull33

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Thanks, I forgot those plants and bottles were in the pictures haha, they are actually one of my room mate's. She has them literally all over the house, pretty much every room has at least one area filled with empty bottles that each have plants growing from them, I think she is going for vines hanging all over the house haha.
 
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