DIY Chinese Water Dragon Enclosure.

[gillsy]

Hmm perhaps you can help walk me through a proper fish setup when the time comes.

Any for some reason you seem familiar, like maybe from another forum or something

I seem familar, not sure why. I was mod for a short time on Turtle Forum, but I didn't have the time to do it.

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

I seem familar, not sure why. I was mod for a short time on Turtle Forum, but I didn't have the time to do it.

Nope, maybe a youtube account?

Cool no worries, I don't know what desease can be passed on from fish to reptiles, I have fish eating snakes and never had any issues.

[Follow up Post]

"They are fatty as well as having very little in the way of vitamins and minerals in therm but also the contain a chemical called thiamesse this stops your pet absorbing the vitamin thiamine (vitamin b1) a deficiency of this can cause both neurological problems and cardiovascular problems."
Are goldfish really bad to use as feeders? - Yahoo!7 Answers

Guppies on the other hand breed like rabbits. I went to an aquarium specialty store yesterday and explained to them what I was doing. They suggested a simple aquatic setup as well (go figure), so I might think of adding a couple things. We'll see.

This will be the locking mechanism used to hold all three of the main pieces together (12 in total).

 

[gillsy]

Nope, maybe a youtube account?
[Follow up Post]

"They are fatty as well as having very little in the way of vitamins and minerals in therm but also the contain a chemical called thiamesse this stops your pet absorbing the vitamin thiamine (vitamin b1) a deficiency of this can cause both neurological problems and cardiovascular problems."
Are goldfish really bad to use as feeders? - Yahoo!7 Answers

Guppies on the other hand breed like rabbits. I went to an aquarium specialty store yesterday and explained to them what I was doing. They suggested a simple aquatic setup as well (go figure), so I might think of adding a couple things. We'll see.

This will be the locking mechanism used to hold all three of the main pieces together (12 in total).

Who said anything about goldfish, you read any of my keelback posts, and they all say I don't like feeding goldfish for the thiamase issue.

I just said fish, I use native rainbows, there are plenty of fish you can use. And if you are using dusted crickets and insects, whole pinkies etc you wont have that issue anyway.

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

Who said anything about goldfish, you read any of my keelback posts, and they all say I don't like feeding goldfish for the thiamase issue.

I just said fish, I use native rainbows, there are plenty of fish you can use. And if you are using dusted crickets and insects, whole pinkies etc you wont have that issue anyway.

I've only been a member here for a week, so unfortunately no I haven't read your keelback posts. apologies.

 

[Chris1]

cage looks fantastic, so do its future occupants!!!

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

Here's the finished framing waiting on the glass sliding doors now

 

[Specks]

nice its really coming along
will have to keep us posted and thanks for joining our forum, we need a bit of a change.
Canadians are popping up over here in Australia.
at my school just this year i have had 3 Canadian teachers come to my school.

 

[Sterlo]

That looks mad keen to see the finished product

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

nice its really coming along
will have to keep us posted and thanks for joining our forum, we need a bit of a change.
Canadians are popping up over here in Australia.
at my school just this year i have had 3 Canadian teachers come to my school.

A lot of Canadians go to Australia for teacher's college. It's very very common.

The styrene gluing has begun

I used liquid nails as slayer suggested for an adhesive, but I wasn't too sure how well it would hold the weight of the grout that will covered the siding, so I used addition nuts and bolts to give added anchor support between the foam and the wood.

This was a last minute decision. This hole will serve as a cup holder for a live pot plant (probably a pathos). This way the plant can have full drainage at the bottom of the pot

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

There will be more branches added, but this is the concept so far.

I'm going to add a couple more shelves, then it's finally on to grouting.

 

[Dinoizmadragon]

Super keen to see how this turns out, excellent looking build so far

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

[video=facebook;10150158877404420]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150158877404420&comments#!/video/video.php?v=10150158877404420&comments[/video]

 

[zack13]

Video doesn't work.

 

[Emilie]

Awesomw. Looks like lots of work. Can`t wait to see it the finished product

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

Let me know if it works now

People were asking how it disassembles.

I had extra insolation foam so decided to put it on the bottom since the enclosure will be on the tile floor in the basement.

And the grouting has begun

Waterfall entrance.

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

This is the plumbing setup for the waterfall. The hose

The Canadian elections are finally over (depressing results mind you) so I have the time to get back on track with my vivarium.
Sorry for the delay guys.

Acrylic sealer time

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

Wall Plant mounting
I came across a particular problem while building my vivarium. I guess no building project is without a bump or two in the road. Originally I sufficed with merely poking my fake vegetation into the wall and letting them hang, but the more I thought about it the more I realised this might end up being a disaster. Anyone who owns a CWD, or any lizard for that matter, will know that reptiles have a hard time distinguishing between decoration and perches. It would only be a matter of time before my dragons decided to climb all over these plants and rip them out along with the grout work.
So this was my solution.

First I grabbed aluminum tubing like so. It's not actually a tube, it's more like a coil, and I will explain why.

I drilled a hole through the grout, insulation foam and wood, then cut a piece of aluminum tubing to fit inside the hole. The hole I made was the exact diameter of the aluminum, but since the tubing coils like a spring it keeps the piece snug in place. (If anyone familiar with this type of product feel free to name it)

Here I slid the stem of the fake plant through the aluminum and staple gunned it to the plywood. I also used an adhesive silicone to plug the hole so no potential bugs can get in or out of the opening.

And here is the end result. It's must more stable than before and the aluminum gives enough support for my lizards to climb on without stressing the grout.
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This is the ventilation system. There is another one on the opposite side and both can be adjusted open and closed. There will be two more on the lid to provide an adequate circulation of air.

Here I drilled small holes into the perches and slid fake plant stems into them. For the most part the holes were just big enough to fit the stems while keeping them snug in place.
When I began this project I was actually adverse to using fake plants, but I've come to realise that they are an excellent source of basic vegetation. You can craft them to the exact look you want with the freedom of growing live plants in and around them.

 

[user 16324]

looking awesome mate!

 

[Dinoizmadragon]

Wow, great to see the progress - and incredible logs you've got there

 

[cleothecoastal]

My coastal carpets are lookin at this now and thinking that im a stingy bastard haha