Why is it NOT recommended in the building of Ig enclosures?
I read here it should only be used outdoors...??

Screen cages makes it very difficult to control heat and humidity in the enclosure. All your heat and humidity go out into the room! This also drives up your electric bill when you are supplying tropical temperatures and the A/C is trying to keep them down.
Additionally some types of screen are known to cut off those long toes!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Lucky me..i have no AC in the house....so it gets pretty darn hot in here...lol
We were gonna go the plexiglass windows in the winter to control his temp and use screen in the summer months.
House stays at 70 in the winter and pretty humid since we have a humidifier on the furnace.
In the summer on the other hand, it can get about 80 - 90 inside the house (again, no ac..open windows with a breeze if your lucky) and again humid..as we use a dehumidifier in the basement only.
They sell Pet Friendly screening (supposedly good for those animals that scratch on the screen to come in or out) which is plasic coated wire.
That's how we came up with this idea in the first place.

I was also looking at the member here who makes his own cages and like that idea of canvas and zippers. Might have to look into that one a bit harder as well.
The floor idea was super...tarp velcroed in for easy removal...hmmmmm..

The plastic coated wire is ok to use.
And the member you are thinking of is Mar (Mark).

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I use wire mesh myself by choice. I keep the enclosure in a small room that is about double the size of the enclosure. Nothing else in there. It is actually easier for me because the mesh lets the humidity and head get IN (the lights, night heater, humidifier are all outside the cage.). Of course, I keep mine in a small room separate, so the heat doesnt escape to much room space. If you have it in a big open room, it would be a different story.

With the temps you describe, you'll still need an additional heat source for the basking area in summer and for ambient temps in winter (solid panels will be necessary in the winter). You'll also need a UVB light source year 'round.

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck

You're in south east Michigan if I remember correctly. In the summers I suggest you make a nice big mesh cage for use outside. You will be amazed at how much healthier the ig gets when it can go outside for at least an hour a day. I lived in the Detroit area over the summer, and still do when I go back to my dad's, and I took my ig outside daily over the summer; it was great.

Don't use the pet friendly screen as it is a fine bug type screen. For an ig cage you want a square shaped mesh screen with holes at least 1/4 inch on a side. 1 cm square mesh is commonly available in 3' wide rolls. Steel is best, plastic covered if you can find it. Don't trust fine plastic meshes typically used for bird crop protection -- I used one of these and my ig opened it right up even though I was unable to tear it.

If you would like to see more on my floors and canvas wall systems click here

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~ Mark