![]() ![]() If it smells like paint or finish, it's not ready. Then after a day or so, I removed the fan and closed the enclosure, turned on the lights and left it that way for several hours. Before I put my beardie in the enclosure, I left it completely open with a fan blowing inside to circulate. Almost any finish is going to be safe for the inside of the enclosure once it has cured completely. That requires laminating veneer or Formica on top to cover the guy exposed edges of the chip board/particle board. The problem would be making it look pretty on the outside. ![]() It has a Formica coating so it's extremely durable and very easy to clean up. A great option for the inside would be a white laminated chipboard. This is for outdoor use and has chemicals added to it. Your local home store should have a lot of lumber that is safe to choose from stuff o stay away from would be pressure treated lumber. This will depend on where you are from of course and I'm going to assume that you are from North America. The rule to follow is to stay away from anything "exotic". Hello angeliaT, safe wood would be a standard birch plywood, pine, oak, maple are all safe. Tin-snips (for cutting the poultry fabric). ![]() 1-1/4" screws (I used drywall screws, they may not be that strong for structure assembly but I can compensate that weakness with numbers!).This unit can be made with a half sheet of ply-wood (and some extra shop scraps for the horizontal beams on top and in front.) I recommend 1/2" but the sketch-up plans use 3/4" It is all ply-wood except, the slide rails for the doors and the doors of course. Later on, I can put molding on this unit and paint it if I need to, but for now it is fine. It's looking a bit rough so the end result is going to be more function than looks. ![]() This material has been re-used quite a bit. I did have to peel off a bunch of old tile and glue blotches. Once I dis-assembled the entire enclosure I cut the bottom panel to size. Then I removed the poultry fabric top and the Plexiglas doors with the slide rails. I started by removing the decoration and the basking shelf. Sketch-up plans for the smaller enclosure 30"X24"X24" Sketch-up plans for the larger enclosure is 48"X24"X24" You could easily change any dimension that you would need, to suit your pet. In this step by step, I am dis-assembling the old one and using that material to make a smaller enclosure (about half size.) I have included Sketch-up plans for the large version and smaller version of this Enclosure. PLEASE NOTE: The proper sized enclosure for an adult bearded dragon 8 square feet and at least 8-10" of distance from the bottom of the heat bulb. So the fiancé and I decided to shrink it down a bit to save some space. His enclosure has become nothing more than a bedroom for him. We even purchased a second UVB bulb for basking while outside his cage. When we slide them open, he crawls out and up the ramp to the window sill, where he just stares outside all day. He sleeps in his cage at night and will bask on his rock in the morning but by early afternoon he is scratching on his doors. Sometimes he will lay behind my PS3 and take a nap. He loves laying on a pillow on the window sill and wanders around the living room. He has a thing for the living room window. This is an ideal size for a fully grown adult (normal) bearded dragon. The enclosure is 4' wide and 2' deep 2' tall. I built his enclosure for him and it has served well. I bought my fiancé a bearded dragon 3 years ago. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |