Plans....

I just drew this up, and wanted some ideas. It is for my iguana I recently recieved and need to put him in something that can accomodate his needs for his whole adult life. I am gonna use plaster on the back and two sides on the inside and make ledges and give a cliff like look too it.
I will also shape and smooth a pool on the left side with a pump and tubes running inbetween the panels up to a ledge about 2 feet high to create a waterfall into the pool. Will be setting branches in place and using the volcano humidifier mentioned in a past topic. Will use window screens halfway up on each side that are not included in the drawing. Please, if you all have any ideas, let me know.... thank you

https://ball-pythons.net/albums/albu...Cage_Plans.jpg

nobodies got anything?

Sounds like a really cool cage. I don't know enough about Iguanas to know how proper it is, though. What I am wondering is if it has enough floor space. Aren't Iggy's really big when they are fully grown? Do they climb and therefore need that much height to their enclosures?

yes, iguanas get stressed out when they have to look up at everyone and everything around them. They are tree dwellers and like to look down on everything. They usually will only come down (rom what ive heard) to eat or bathe. 4 feet by 2.5 feet is plenty of floor space.

If that's the case, then it seems like a very cool enclosure! I'm anxious to see pics when you get it built!

i can't wait to start. its gonna be a great display. I need help on a good paint to treat the wood (but i think i can that in another thread), but how about a good plaster paint? any ideas?

I don't know much about paints and such for these kinds of projects. Mostly, I wouldn't be sure what might or might not be toxic to the animals. Here's what Steelsack said to Godfather(BallKingdom) on another thread in this forum:

Quote:

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Ball, go to wall mart, get a gallon of Kilz (primer/sealant), and some bathroom paint which is designed for humidity. Prime it, let it dry, paint it and dry again. Should be easy and not take too long. That's what I would do.
The primer seals the wood and does a real number on any microscopic crawlies that may be in the wood. I cuts the ammount of coating you would have to do with paint in half, also.

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If you put kilz over the plaster, you can probably paint it with any type of paint you wish. I know for sure you'll want something water proof. Probably whatever you choose will be fine for animals, so long as it's allowed to fully dry and harden before being used.

thanks so much

Sounds like cool plans, especially with the volcano. :) And I'm impressed with the illustration as well. I think this is going to be one happy iggy. How do you plan to enclose the top?

I haven't decided yet.. I am not sure wether i will place a plywood sheet and mount the basking lights or cut circular openings with screens and make a custom hood... what do you think?

Hmmm. Well, you definitely need to be able to mount the lights and to keep them elevated enough to prevent burns. Maybe you could do two layers of mesh about 2" apart so that you can set lights right on top and not worry about burns?

i could place on single mesh and put the branches and ledges far enough away also. That might prove a little easier?

I'm sure that would prove easier. I'm not sure how good big iguanas are at climbing awkward areas, though, so I don't know how well that would keep him away. If those with more iguana experience say go for it, then it sounds like a plan.

double mesh sounds good enough

If you can get ahold of Rusty, I'm sure she'd know if single mesh will work. I've taken care of two iguanas for friends, and haven't had the best of luck with them (though I didn't kill them or anything).

yeah, this is my first one. Hes doing great. He just needs room to climb.

Do you have any idea how old he is? And do you plan to get your vet to sex him? When males hit adolescence (2-4 yrs old), they go through a state of being very territorial and aggressive, and human females at certain times unfortunately give off pheromones which are much like male iguana pheromones, so they will behave especially aggressive toward adolescent and adult women.

hmm, i didn't know that. I am taking him into the vet here in about two weeks to have him checked and sexed.

you'll definitely want to get an age estimate while you're there if the vet says it's a male. From what I understand, they will come back out of this phase eventually and be their nice normal selves again, but first you have to make it through 18 months or so of charging, lunging, biting, tail-thwacking iguana.

well, he isn't aggressive now, but he is not tamed at all. He does not like to be handled and runs at the site of my hand. everytime i open his cage he runs right out and takes me about 10 minutes to get him and when i do i haev to keep a firm grip on him or else hes gone again running into walls and such,. I try not to take him out for now, letting him get used to his home.

Yeah, I think that's a good plan. Poor guy probably hasn't been socialized properly and is way stressed out over the move. You can try throwing a washcloth over his eyes when you open the cage if you need to handle or move him. It may calm him a little.

well i am off to bed, thanks for all the advice

Sure, good night.

Maybe something like this...

https://ball-pythons.net/albums/albu...and_bottom.jpg

Sure, that would definitely work. I had envisioned something even simpler, like just two sheets of hardware cloth composing the top of the enclosure. You could also do one sheet of hardware cloth and then two inches above that the solid top with the mesh circles as you illustrated above.