• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

diy cage problems (too many thing to choose from)

mikepanzarella

New member
Joined
Sep 18, 2011
Messages
434
Reaction score
16
Points
0
Location
long island ny
so this is my problem and it sounds more like a mad man rambling about nothing lol
to start i have 2 choices im doing a 12 foot long by 6 foot high unit
i can do 16 3Lx2wx1.5h the problems i see is the light to close to the animals on the basking spot (dont want to burn them 100w mercury bulbs powersun,flukers)
or i can do 12 3Lx3wx3h now this will be ample room for the lights but its smaller and can house less animals

next i have 3 ways to go for the doors sliding glass,sliding plexiglass,screen doors
glass is heavy wont scratch as easy and is cheaper then plexiglass
plexiglass easy to cut and replace some warping may occur also scratches
screen this was just a thought i dont think it will work cause it will let out too much heat but would be the cheapest way to go (not looking to cheap out but dont mind saving money if theres no negitive )

lighting oh man this is going to be a fun convo alone
2 ways too go regular style bulbs or fluorescent bulbs
regular bulbs powersun 100w,flukers 100w both uvb/uva then exo terra has a uva/uvb bulb also
i can get the flukers about $10 cheaper per bulb but they say the life span is 5k hours powersuns say 5k-10k hours i figure each should last a year and i would like to change every 8-10 months unless needed
fluorescent really only one choice

i was going to build custom background and hides ect in the enclosures so thats easy

what bedding should i use soooo many choices
sand looks great ok to maintain but not great if ingested
newpaper/paper liners easy to clean and maintain doesnt look as good
green carpet looks ok easy to clean really not good if ingested

my temps in the house dont really drop too much room temps stay good so i dont think undertank heat is needed (unless for snake area if i make that)

was thinking about doing live plants
i know live plants like to attract parasites but i dont know what kinds would be safe if any to use because mites would be very hard to deal with so i would have to be extreamly careful with this

lol like i said ramblings anyway input and ideas welcome thanks for reading
mike panzarella
 
9-4x2x2 cages
sliding glass for beardies

melamine or sealed wood with title floors

30w basking
30w night
36" UVB strip
No plants (they increase humidity)
climbing rocks or logs
no substrate
 
i wound up buying a unit i got it from a guy who was moving and couldnt take it for $100
the size is smaller then i wanted but works fine for them i just wont put more then two dragons per cage theres a total of 9 cages only 6 in the pic i have set up the other 3 yet it has everything temp gauges lights (all work) sliding glass doors and vents for temp control
i got lucky finding this ive seen ones that look similar go for $1200
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1145.jpg
    IMG_1145.jpg
    112.9 KB · Views: 109
  • IMG_1148.jpg
    IMG_1148.jpg
    158.7 KB · Views: 95
  • IMG_1164.jpg
    IMG_1164.jpg
    87.5 KB · Views: 112
  • IMG_1165.jpg
    IMG_1165.jpg
    128.1 KB · Views: 112
Back
Top