New habitat for my girl

[ronhalling]

Well finally everything but the glass has arrived from 1 of the sponsers of this forum (Reptile Direct) for my girls new habitat. Today i put together the habitat carcass





As can be seen at the bottom i have incorperated a raised lip so i have the benefit of being able to use Kritter Crumble or newspaper sheets on the bottom, the boxed area at the top will hide all the hardware ( themostats, pc power pack, pc fans and wiring for the heat emitter and light) this habitat will be sitting on top of another cupboard very similar to the 1 i am building so nothing but the controller for the main thermostat will be visible.
Tomorrow i will install the heat emitter, UVA/UVB light, lighting cages and hopefully the main thermostat and vents.
Hardware i have bought for this build are:

TMZ-455 UV Lamp
JET-200 Digital Thermostat
JET-300 Digital Probe Thermometer
JET-001 Day Night Thermostat Timer
ZHX-002 Mesh Light Cage Large x2
ZJT-001 Sliding Door Lock
GCE-004 Heat Emitter 100W
FCM-002 Ceramic Battenholder x2
PC Power Pack
PC Fans x2
Round vents x? (decided to go with the round vents as i am going to have a go at creating a 3D background for the back of the habitat and the round vents are less obtrusive)
Sliding glass tracks (Bunnings)
the PC fans will be connected to the JET-200 thermostat via the PC power pack to cool the habitat if the abient temps go above 33deg C
Included in the build will be a combination basking platform/hide the dimensions for which will be decided when everything is up and running and i can get a good average temp below the heat emitter at differing heights. will update as it goes along

Ron

 

[Shotta]

niice looking forward to seeing it once its finished thnaks for sharing

 

[J-A-X]

Someone's been shopping LOL. What size is the enclosure and from your previous posts I'm guessing your 5yo 2 metre coastal is going in there
If that's the case, don't worry about night heat, and be careful with the 100w ceramic.
Ventilation and plenty of it will help. For an inhabitant of this size you can just drill some decent (10mm) size holes in a group rather than small round vents. That way you can drill where it suits your rock wall
Make sure you seal inside the holes you make - even if you buy vents. The tiniest bit of moisture will make the melamine swell.
Take lots of pics, ask lots of questions I'm sure we can help you through )

 

[ronhalling]

lol, sorry i forgot the dimensions, it is 900h x 900w x 450d, i have done it this size as my next build will be bigger and i can use this 1 for my next yearling....yes there will deff be another, thanks for the feedback....all is appreciated neg and pos

Ron

 

[ronhalling]

Well the sparky was here today and wired in my light and heat emitter so it is all systems are go again



Ron said let there be light and lo there was light (and heat)



i think that will do for today, can't get too out of control can i lol
vents and thermostats tomorrow i think, if i can get motivated that is.

More to come
Ron

 

[J-A-X]

Well done on leaving the electrics to the sparky
You've made progress in the right direction. Keep going but pace yourself

 

[ronhalling]

Ok it has been a week since i reported on progress, vents are now in bottom right inside and out, vents for fans are also in, hide built and installed still waiting for 30x30 sandstock tile to finish it, Fans are installed and wired, thermostat for fans installed, main thermostat/timer installed for heat emitter and light, so now all that is left to do is install sliding tracks and glass, pretty it all up and add furniture i.e log branches substrate and maybe a bit of greenery to break things up a bit then run it for a few days till i am satisfied with temps and zones. till next time Ron

 

[J-A-X]

Looking good Ron ! Great tutorial too. I love that people are doing progress pics as they go. As they say - a picture is worth a thousand words- or to quote the APS unwritten rule "pics or it didn't happen"

 

[ronhalling]

Ok, the glass arrived today and it is a perfect fit, so the tracks, glass and lock are now installed, or if you put it in builders terms "Her house is now at lockup stage" lol will test all the electrics in a real time situation over the weekend and if everything checks out after a couple of days "run in" i will then get the tile for the basking platform and install it and put all her furniture in minus the water bowl, then run it again for another couple of days to ensure a "hot" and "cool" zone exist and the basking temp is ok, then she can pack her bags and move in. then i can concentrate on my bubby spotty when it is ready.....exciting times ahead--------------------------Ron .............. only the 1 pic this time, will put up more as i decorate and when she moves in and signs off on the build lol

 

[Shotta]

nice job that is one cooly cool enclsoure

 

[ronhalling]

he he he, i had to cross out the glass coz i kept going to put my hand in there without opening it first.....toooooo used to it not having any glass lol........................................................Ron

 

[ronhalling]

Wow do i feel like an idiot, here i have been basking in the warm glow of compliments about this build and now -------- i have fallen flat on my face, what are the first few rules of construction a) measure twice cut once b) make sure you have everything required for the build on hand, well it would seem in my rush to get this enclosure built i have broken rule "b", i had all the timber, glues, nails, screws and electrics but neglected to source the part that will turn a "nice" enclosure to a "niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiccccccceeeeee" enclosure, yep you guessed it "THE FOLLAGE", in my haste i forgot to get some nice follage to finish things off, now !! in the beginning i did not think i had a real budget to stick too but after buying all the best electrics i could it would seem the well has sorta run dry, i parused all the sponser sites and although they had IMO the best looking follage available (especially reptiles direct) they were all out of my price range to finish this build.............soooo it was off to ebay i went and found what i wanted (if not the same quality of the sponsers products) for under $20, but now i have to wait untill the 13th feb or later for it to arrive from china Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr so i can finish it and our girl can move in. what mainly prompted this particular post was a warning to the budding enclosure engineer's to not just measure twice and cut once but to also check to make sure you have everything needed to build your reptile home from start to finish and if you are on a budget maybe unlike me you might think about some cheaper electrics so there is still something left in the build bucket for those unexpected costs albiet 1s that should have been thought about in the first place..................................................Ron

 

[J-A-X]

Check you local $2 shops Ron - you could be pleasantly surprised at what you might find -
Try craft outlets too- 2nd hand shops are worth a visit if you've got some nearby

 

[pharskie]

eBay. Search wedding plants

 

[sharky]

Looking awesome ron, can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[Bananapeel]

+1 to sharkyy. It will look stunning

 

[TheJoyces]

I love looking at people DYI's glad it's coming along so well

 

[ronhalling]

Well finally finished, now just add occupant tomorrow, i did not add as much greenery as i was going to, decided to leave it a little understated rather than cluttered....tomorrow i will put in her water bowl her log and her at which time i will add the final pics, hope you all have had as much enjoyment watching this build as i had doing it, there is a certain pride in completion that cannot be matched by just buying a store bought model, cheers all....................................Ron

 

[J-A-X]

Well worth the wait Ron .
it is a great feeling once its done isn't it !
Test the temps for awhile before moving the precious pet into it.
I normally recommend putting the tank where it will live and set it running as if the occupant were in residence. That way you know there won't be any nasty "too hot" spots and it gives all the timbers and air chance to come up to operating temp
Can't wait to see what the housemate thinks of it -

 

[ronhalling]

Ok 4 days of making sure temps are good, now just add snake, just a few pics of our girl checking out her new surroundings......................................................Ron