DIY Chinese Water Dragon Enclosure.

[Hoyle00cdn]

Second road bump. The waterfall was leaking, so I had to break off the covering rock and examine the problem. What I eventually decided to do was remove all the pebble rocks and completely silicone the waterfall basin (as directed at LizardLandscapes.com). I let the silicone completely cure then gave it another test run...voila no leaks (so far, fingers crossed). I glued most of the pebbles back on and then some more to help disguise the silicone the best I can. When it comes to custom waterfalls I've learned that simplicity and quality always trumps aesthetics. Once I have added enough acrylic sealer I will regrout the wall and mount the covering rock back in place. Hopefully then I can have a video of the waterfall working.

I couldn't resist giving the little guy a tease of his new home.

Thanks for all the comments guys....
When everything is done, I may go back and put together a pictorial walkthrough of everything I did, so others can benefit from it as well.

 

[melluvssnakes]

I've been following this from the start and I cannot wait to see the completed enclosure. Would love to recreate something similar for my Eastern Water Dragon one day

There are a couple of branches that are only attached to one side of the enclosure. What have you used to attach them that they aren't too top heavy?

 

[guff_man]

Amazing work mate, awesome looking dragons too

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

I did the lid today. It consists of a 6x3 plywood sheet with 2x4s outlaying the perimeter on both sides. I cut two holes for two additional vents. The vents were then screened to prevent bugs from getting in or out.

The locking mechanism for the lid is done with 4 dowels and a drill bit.

I regrouted the waterfall where i had to break the covering rock off to reseal the leak i had. I will probably glue the rock back on after the grout dries and i give it a couple coats of acrylic.

There are a couple of branches that are only attached to one side of the enclosure. What have you used to attach them that they aren't too top heavy?

Excellent question. I will take better pictures to show how it was done.

 

[Pinoy]

Really admire your work and appreciate the time and effort you have put into making this journal of your progression.

Thank you for sharing

Those Dragons look awesome, but I still like our Big Eastern males better

 

[saximus]

Dude that looks amazing. I finally decided to check out why this thread had hit three pages. All I can say is well done and add my thanks for sharing in such detail

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

Those Dragons look awesome, but I still like our Big Eastern males better

I do too.

Dude that looks amazing. I finally decided to check out why this thread had hit three pages. All I can say is well done and add my thanks for sharing in such detail

Everyone's encouragement has made this project that much more enjoying to complete.

Here's the UVB lighting system I will be using. It is not a canopy so I won't lose ceiling space from it. I will have to cut holes in the lid however to slide the cables through.

It took me a while to decide whether or not to add this to the enclosure. It's one of those Exo-Terra magnetic fake rock hides for smaller lizards. I glued the one half to the wall and grouted over it to make it match the texture. I have decided not to house my Haitian Curly tails separately anymore, but I am undecided whether I will sell them along with the enclosure or simply place them into this one with the water dragons. If I do the latter this hide will be perfect for them and I'd probably set that entire ledge up with foliage and a separate feeding dish to make them feel secure.

As per requested by Bamboo, here is the move.

That pink spot is the only damage received during the move. A quick regrout and a couple layers of sealer will fix that.

And that's with the glass doors in.

 

[Dinoizmadragon]

So in love with this. Hopefully when I'm on break I can give something like this a try.

 

[sammy09]

can you get some photos of your Haitian Curly tails please

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

 

[Pinoy]

They look so cool!

Is the background staying that colour?
Or are you going to paint over it with a more natural colour?

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

They look so cool!

Is the background staying that colour?
Or are you going to paint over it with a more natural colour?

The background is staying that color. I wanted a more rocky look than a wood look. I may velcro some chord piece and glued some dried up mushroom ledges in the future, but for now I'd just like to get my guys in there.

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

That looks fantastic!

 

[melluvssnakes]

Hey, you never answered my question about how the logs are attached to only one wall without being too top heavy...

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

Hey, you never answered my question about how the logs are attached to only one wall without being too top heavy...

I used three 3in wood screws. I will more than likely tie the ends off to the ceiling to give additional support as they get older and bigger

I wouldn't be doing my proper due diligence if I didn't record any of the mistakes or learning curves I've come across in this project. There have been two in the last couple days.

A minor problem occurred with the pond. Once I filled it up with water the weight immediately started to expand it and the grout cracked all along the rim. Thinking back I probably should have filled the tub with water before I began grouting. Either way I immediately regrouted the cracks and then applied a coat of acrylic sealer, as seen in the photo.

This isn't so much a construction problem than a behavior problem of the lizards. Originally I had my window tracks closer to the front, but this gave a ledge for my dragons to sit on and rub their noses back and forth. I moved the track further to the back so there's less of a ledge to sit on.

 

[bluey87]

mate all i gotta say is this is amazing its awesome how much time and effort u have put into your dragons home building and designing this enclosure massive thumbs up mate

 

[sweetangel]

looks very impressive! amazing job!

 

[bt1vn]

gday champ, i thought the one that i have just finished was good but this one poo's all over it. that looks like many hours of solid work gone into what can only be described as a masterpiece. good on ya, you should be very proud of yourself

 

[Hoyle00cdn]

[video=youtube;lpRT0vfPODw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpRT0vfPODw[/video]

 

[KaotikJezta]

Looks amazing and love those dragons