fenrisswolf
New member
I had this on the design and setup section earlier, but it probably fits here better.
Well, the couch and the cat I've already had for a while, but I just got this one up here last Sunday:
Flickr link
It was pretty much a give-away, since all it took was a very small donation to my local herp club, and I even got it delivered.
As an aside: Join (or start, if there isn't already one near you,) a local herpetology club! not only do you get to know some pretty nice people who like reptiles and amphibians, you can also occasionally get a hold of some fairly nice, well kept bargains from local sources!
There was a glass door on the left shelf-space that broke in-transit, but that's a minor cosmetic thing at this point.
The hood area has one (uncovered) incandescent bulb for heat above the platform, and there is a fluorescent light in the back that's not visible in this photo for extra light. Now, I'm not 100% sure what this setup was being used for originally, but I was hoping to be able to convert it for gecko use, of course.
Some obvious things to consider would be:
I'm sorry I don't have any measurements on hand to give to people, but any other suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
And I'm still not quite sure what I would like to keep in there, but because of the size, some nice, large arboreally inclined geckos might do nicely.
The local weather here tends towards the hot and dry, so genus like Uroplatus that require high humidity and lower temperatures are generally a bad choice, and not recommended for local keepers without a lot of advance planning. While humidifiers are fairly easy to come by and modify for terrarium use, I for one, would prefer to move to a newer place with more efficient insulation and air-conditioning units before even trying to keep any. So at least for now, those are right out.
Ideally, I'd like to see what I manage to make this into before making any real choices on geckos, as I would like the ones that will eventually wind-up living in there to be as healthy as possible.
Well, the couch and the cat I've already had for a while, but I just got this one up here last Sunday:
Flickr link
It was pretty much a give-away, since all it took was a very small donation to my local herp club, and I even got it delivered.
As an aside: Join (or start, if there isn't already one near you,) a local herpetology club! not only do you get to know some pretty nice people who like reptiles and amphibians, you can also occasionally get a hold of some fairly nice, well kept bargains from local sources!
There was a glass door on the left shelf-space that broke in-transit, but that's a minor cosmetic thing at this point.
The hood area has one (uncovered) incandescent bulb for heat above the platform, and there is a fluorescent light in the back that's not visible in this photo for extra light. Now, I'm not 100% sure what this setup was being used for originally, but I was hoping to be able to convert it for gecko use, of course.
Some obvious things to consider would be:
- - Adding (or cutting) a small access door somewhere in the front for feeding purposes. The terrarium front is Plexiglas, fastened by screws to hinges that swing down completely, so temporarily removing it, and doing this should be no problem.
- Reducing the gaps between the front panel and the rest of the enclosure to keep prey items (and enterprising geckos) from attempting to colonize my living room or adding to my cat's diet. (She does quite well on cat food, and needs no other snacks, no matter what she may think about it.) I've read this can be done with various forms of weather stripping, so it may not be too difficult, either.
- Covering the incandescent light with metal mesh (or glass, or something else,) to reduce the chances of any gecko getting too close and getting burnt. This, I'm a little worried about. I'd like to set this terrarium for arboreal geckos, but the idea of them getting too close to a hot light bothers me. I can use a smaller wattage lamp or something, but any advice in this area would be very appreciated.
- ventilation: after limiting off most of the gaps in the enclosure to prevent escapes, I'm not sure how well ventilated this terrarium will be. I could add some fans on the hood, or screened ventilation slits on the front, somehow. Once again, advice and suggestions on this theme would be greatly appreciated.
I'm sorry I don't have any measurements on hand to give to people, but any other suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
And I'm still not quite sure what I would like to keep in there, but because of the size, some nice, large arboreally inclined geckos might do nicely.
The local weather here tends towards the hot and dry, so genus like Uroplatus that require high humidity and lower temperatures are generally a bad choice, and not recommended for local keepers without a lot of advance planning. While humidifiers are fairly easy to come by and modify for terrarium use, I for one, would prefer to move to a newer place with more efficient insulation and air-conditioning units before even trying to keep any. So at least for now, those are right out.
Ideally, I'd like to see what I manage to make this into before making any real choices on geckos, as I would like the ones that will eventually wind-up living in there to be as healthy as possible.