Looks great... (is Fredrick an iguana?) I can't wait to see more pics when it's done. Someday I'd like to make a walk-in enclosure for my snakes... although it would cost a fortune to heat!

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Andrea

Thanks. Yes, he's an iguana. I can't think of many other reptiles that would require an enclosure of this size...

Actually, odd as it may seem, a device I came up with will heat the new enclosure for less than it currently costs to heat his existing enclosure with CHEs. The wall material of the new enclosure is somewhat insulating and the high-efficiency heater will keep it the right temperature with less than half the energy consumption of resistive heating. In theory, it'll be easier to produce an 'ideal' temperature gradient, too - all he should need to do is relocate on his basking platform for best digestion (and I'll be able to adjust where he lays by slightly adjusting the heater setpoint).

Sometime next weekend the enclosure itself should be done, including the climbing toys (hopefully). The heater won't be ready for probably another month or two; I'll still be using CHEs until then.

Can't wait to see the finished product! This cage is going to be massive from the dimensions you have given in another post...other forum. Maybe this forum, too. Hadn't visited the thread you listed yet. Great job Eric! For starters...

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Veronica
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Exotic Animal Rescue of Henry Co.
~~Rescue - Rehab - Rehome~~

Thanks.

You should look at the other thread - it gives a much better idea of what the finished enclosure will look like (sans all the glare I'll be getting from the reflective acrylic).

Yup...saw it on another forum first. I commented on it there, too. With the Mega-ray HE and EB...you're ig will be living first class....

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Veronica
,,
/_^.)///////////,,,,,
...\\\_#_#_#_//_#_#_#_#_#_£_£_&_&_
..._//......_\\
Exotic Animal Rescue of Henry Co.
~~Rescue - Rehab - Rehome~~

that looks so awesome! i'm sure yur iguana will love it. can't wait to see what it looks like with everything finished.

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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

I agree,,,,that's quite a set-up....looks awesome !!!

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

So how are you heating, where where the heater be located, Do you plan on using it only for ambs then provide the basking spot via the lighting?

I have long been a fan of a space heater type system if installed correctly (caged off but within the cage) just I have not been able to use one in my current design. The new(er) radient wall panels look real promising too, like any heat element it has to be protected correctly.

Black and white makes for classic clean lines, especially against brushed Al or steel.

Do you plan on having flashing or a back splash type thing around the bottom of the walls with a water tight seal against the floor?

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~ Mark

With the mini heater unit. It's designed to hang from the ceiling and blow in a circular motion on each end of the enclosure. Unique in that it is: a) not resistive heating, b) simple, c) small, d) efficient, and e) can cool the enclosure, if necessary. It could be mounted on any solid (air-movement-blocking) wall.

I plan to use a pair to provide an ambient temperature gradient from ~95-100 (upper warm corner) to ~75 (lower cool corner), but I'll adjust it based on my observations of Fredrick's behavior. They will also serve an air circulation function and provide emergency cooling in the case that the house A/C goes out. I'll test some different options for the basking point.

This would need to be caged off if it was low enough to be touched, but even if it needed to be protected, it's so small that it wouldn't take much to cover and it would waste minimal space.

It's good to know that I didn't create a horrendous gaffe.

I'm using silicone caulk around the lower panels and floor to keep moisture inside. There's no other reasonable option as far as I know. Due to the size of the floor the material options were limited, but it isn't different from issues with similar enclosures. It appears that the floor is the most complicated and least obvious part of any relocatable framed enclosure.

I plan to use a pair of EBs, but I don't know if I'll need an HE. We'll see.