New Cage and Substrate Setup

Here's what my cage looks like. I stained the wood then used one layer of polyurethane for every piece of the cage and 2 more layers on the bottom and 2 inches up the sides. The edges were sealed up using silicone.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/SNV30836.jpg


This is my heat cable setup. I grooved in an extra piece of stained and sealed birch. The put a slab of glass on top held down using mirror clamps. It extends to the other side of the cage too. The heat cable is controlled using a dimmer and I have a temperature gauge on top of the glass.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/SNV30837.jpg


Here's my females set up. She's burrowed right above her water bowl. :D
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/SNV30835.jpg


I'm using cypress mulch but have been having problems with dust. So I came up with a solution. I duplicated the technique used to pan for gold to pan out the large pieces of cypress. This removed a large portion of dust and smaller pieces. Take a 5 gallon bucket with a lid or a large enough bin with a lid. Cut into the lid. I used 1 in diamond chicken wire for my filter. After the filter is fixed to the cut lid, put in 3-5 hand full of cypress. Then shake to remove the smaller pieces and dust. Remove the lid and dump into another container. There will be some dust and small pieces of cypress. This won't remove 100% of everything you don't want. I ended up with a desired to undesired ratio of cypress 2:3 by volume.

Filtered Cypress Mulch in 5 Gallon bucket:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/SNV30834.jpg

Desired mulch:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/SNV30832.jpg

Undesired Mulch:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...1/SNV30833.jpg

Sorry this is so long. Just thought I would share my technique for mulch lovers who hate dust. :D

You may want to figure out a way of sealing the edges of the glass covering the heat cable. I know it would make me nervous that the wood chips are sandwiched in there where it can get hot, and that the cable can get wet also. Maybe that's just me though.

I'm not too worried about water getting near or on the cable. I cleaned the glass of all the chips after the picture. I have the cable around 84 in the day and 76 at night, so it's not hot enough to warp the cable and expose the wire.

You have any other tips or advice? I'm getting my male on Wednesday. I've added another piece of wood down the middle so neither one can cross over and I sealed any extra space using foam tubing.