Gecko house deluxe

[Marla]

As promised, here is a series of photos on my new gecko enclosure. The original one made with hardware cloth and pvc pipes and joins worked well, but I wanted to give them a little better humidity retention, privacy, and live plants, as well as to make cleaning easier for me.

First, I started with a Black & Decker SpaceRite series wall cabinet ($25 at Lowe's). These come in three sizes, wall (23.6" x 14.1" x 23.6"), base (about 36" tall, otherwise same), and full (about 5' tall, otherwise same).



These are durable plastic cabinets with tool-free assembly, and the wall size comes with hardware to wall-mount it, which might be handy in the future. The doors have a hollow square-shaped frame and single-thickness plastic panel in the middle. I used a soldering iron to "cut" out the panel in the middle (use a table saw or jigsaw if you have one), then burn a trench in the middle all the way around where the panel had been. If you use a soldering iron to melt plastic, be sure that you use it in an area with plenty of ventilation, or better yet, outdoors. The fumes are noxious.

I then used two layers of 1/2" plastic garden fencing ($10 at Lowe's) cut at an offset (use 1/4" if you can find it, or plastic craft mesh or hardware cloth if you like) to replace the door panels. This allows for viewing, misting, and air circulation. The 1/2" would have been fine alone with this size geckos, but I wanted to prevent cricket escapes as well, so I made effective 1/4" holes by cutting at an offset, 1" larger than the panels for 1/2" inset on each side. I used hot glue to ensure the mesh would stay put, even if tugged by cat claws.

I wanted to be able to view the geckos both day and night and to use both live plants and fake, so I melted small holes in the frame of the cabinet sides' top edges and screwed in cup hooks for the vines, then mounted two 18" fluorescent fixtures ($12 ea. at Lowe's) to one side of the cabinet using double-sided tape sold as strong enough to mount door mirrors. I also melted holes in the top of the wall and the bottom of the roof to allow the lights' power cords to pass through. The front fixture holds a black light and the back fixture holds a UV light. They are mounted vertically so as to give nearly equal light distribution through the height of the cage and both on the same side because I was concerned about misting them.



Because of Waldo's recent demise that appeared to result from being, er, liberated by a cat, I wanted some security to the cage even though I knew the geckos couldn't open it themselves, so I added two hook latches to the front doors. Slide bolts would have been more secure, but I'm protecting against cats, not toddlers. You may notice a bit of a gap between the doors and top. It's not enough for the geckos to escape, but I plan to add small shims anyway.



Here's the full-sized cage, with everything but the since-added lay box and the to-be-added in the next day or so pothos.



And finally, user reviews from Sandiego:



And Scooby:

[led4urhead]

Incredible Marla! That looks sweet and relatively easy to construct. Where did you get the idea?

[Ironhead]

Very nice Marla. I bet Sandiego and Scooby are very happy!

[Marla]

Thanks Carson! The hardest part was getting the mesh in place, but as long as you do it *before* putting the tops and bottoms on the doors, you should be in good shape (smacking forehead). I got the idea because everything I see is evaluated as a potential herp enclosure, and I kept seeing these cabinets in the sale circulars. I forgot, too, that I should publicly give credit to the kids for helping, especially Adrian for her help with the doors.

[led4urhead]

Marla .. you're giving me too many ideas!

[Marla]

Carl, they seem to be, and Carmen does too but wouldn't pose for a decent photo.

Carson, let's hear 'em! I am always glad to hear new herp enclosure ideas, and might be open to cat enclosure ideas at this point.

[Brandon.O]

woa !! thats freakin AWESOME i never ever thought about that before, if i ever get some geckos i will be sure to get one of those to keep them in !!!

[Marla]

Thanks Brandon! I'm glad you like it. It would be a waste of space for ground-dwelling geckos, but I think it's going to do well for my arboreal crested geckos.

[Smulkin]

W0AH!!!

Killer mod of that cabinet Marla! I think you may have gotten some dangerous wheels turning!

[Marla]

Thanks, Smulkin! Consider this a challenge to you and Carson and the rest of you to out-do me.